Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka pension fund earns real returns
May 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main pension fund of private citizens earned a large real return as the Central Bank brought inflation down in 2009, though the national debt expanded as the state could not inflate away debt and impoverish pensioners. In the 2009 annual report the Central Bank said the government should […]
Sri Lanka exports up on commodity boom; imports recover
May 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports grew 20 percent 629 million US dollars in February 2010 on the back of booming agricultural commodities while apparel, the country’s main industrial export, contracted 9.7 percent to 248.6, official data showed. The Central Bank said apparel exports however had improved from January. Earnings from tea grew […]
Sri Lanka stocks close flat, Dialog heavily traded
May 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as gains on small and midcap shares were offset by price drops on selected high value stocks, while Dialog Telekom shares rose after it returned to profitability, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,222.04, down 0.03 percent (1.09 points), while the […]
Sri Lanka forex reserves lower in February
May 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves fell to 5,032 million US dollars in February 2010 from 5,135 million US dollars in January, which was equal to about 5. 5 months of past imports, the Central Bank said. Reserves with balances at the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), a regional arrangement of non-convertible currencies, […]
‘s Baltic states
RIGA, May 9, 2010 (AFP) – Seen from the eastern rim of the European Union, the looming austerity drive in crisis-afflicted Greece reads like old news. For almost two years, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have brought in repeated draconian anti-crisis measures, slashing public spending and hiking taxes to try to dig […]
Sri Lanka will use presidential powers to fix economy: minister
May 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa who crushed a 30-year separatist war in the island and won landslide election last month will use his extensive executive powers to fix the economy, a powerful minister said. “The president used his executive powers in the last three years to finish the war,” Basil […]
Sri Lanka partly shielded from Greek crisis by IMF, donor loans: S&P
May 08, 2010 (LBO) – A fiscal and monetary prudence program backed by the International Monetary Fund and donor loans will partly shield Sri Lanka from the fallout of a European credit confidence crisis, a rating agency has said. Sri Lanka hit a balance of payments crisis in late 2008 and some foreign lenders refused […]
Sri Lanka shares becalmed, Nawaloka in demand
May 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed almost flat Friday with Nawaloka Hospitals heavy traded after it sold a stake in a debt-ridden hotel, and better March quarter earnings boosting investor sentiment, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,223.13, up 0.08 percent (3.53 points) while the more liquid Milanka index […]
Sri Lanka allows forex accounts for overseas service providers, employees
May 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan companies providing a range of international services and their employees earning foreign exchange income can open foreign currency accounts at commercial banks from Friday, the central bank said. Companies and individuals providing the following categories of international services and their employees can open foreign currency accounts: Accountancy, tax […]
Sri Lankan stocks close flat
May 6, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Thursday as price drops on selected high value shares were compensated by price gains on small and midcap stocks, brokers said. This created a buying spree from retail investors who expect Nawaloka Hospitals financials to improve in coming quarters, brokers said. In a privately negotiated […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields fall
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields eased at Wednesday’s auction despite the government raising an additional billion rupees than the maturing stock, the government’s debt office said. The 3-month yield fell 16 basis points to 8.24 percent with only a billion rupees of bill being sold and the 6-month yield fell […]
Sri Lankan stocks close 0.3-pct up
May 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed 0.34 percent higher Wednesday as investors scrambled for Nawaloka Hospitals shares after it sold a large stake of Galadari Hotel which had hurt the hospital group’s balance sheet earlier, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,219. 76, up 14.25 points while the Milanka […]