Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka gets ADB loan to repair roads after war
Sept 17, 2009 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is giving Sri Lanka a 70 million dollar road rehabilitation loan to support its drive to revitalize two provinces in the north and east. The loan, from ADB’s concessional Asian Development Fund, will fund the upgrade of 370 kilometres of roads and rebuild […]
Sri Lankan stocks up 2.05-pct for second consecutive day
Sep 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks extended gains Wednesday closing 2.05 percent higher, up 95.8 percent over the beginning of the year, while an initial public offer of a power firm was over subscribed, brokers said.Hemas Power which offered 31.3 million shares to raise 626 million rupees has attracted subscriptions valued at over […]
Sri Lanka expands state by 305,000 people since 2004
Sept 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has expanded an already bloated state sector by 305,060 persons since 2004, including 43,981 in 2009, data released by the island’s finance ministry showed.Deputy finance minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the government was continuing to give state jobs and 1,000 people would be absorbed to state-run Bank of Ceylon […]
Sri Lankan stocks rebound 1.52-pct
Sep 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares bounced back Wednesday as investors heavily placed bets on index heavy John Keells Holdings (JKH), Distilleries Company and Commercial Bank, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 1.65 percent (46.80points) to end at 2,884.79, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained […]
Sri Lanka bill yields fall
Sept 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields fell across maturities at Wednesday’s auction with 3-month yields falling 50 basis points to 10.04 percent the government’s debt office said. The 6-month yield fell 43 basis points to 10.96 percent and the 12-month yield fell 47 basis points to 11.50 percent. The debt office which […]
Sri Lanka pioneer closed-end fund raises Rs1.0bn
Sep 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first listed closed-ended fund, NAMAL Acuity Fund had been oversubscribed on the opening day and managers said an option to issue additional units will be exercised.Its managers said Wednesday it will issue 10 million units to raise 500 million rupees. The firm was planning to issue 10 million […]
Sri Lankan 2009-end inflation to be 6.0-pct: Statistics office
Sept 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s year-end consumer inflation measured by a revised Colombo Consumer Price Index is estimated to be 6.0 percent by December, and seasonally adjusted number even lower, the government’s statistics office said. The United States has reported a negative 2.1 percent inflation for July and hard pegged Hong Kong, which […]
‘s level in August: Treasury official
Sept 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues for August had reached last year’s level in line with a recovery in import trade and domestic economic activities, and is expected to show a positive growth in this month, an official said. “In August we have reached break-even level and we are expecting revenues will […]
Sri Lankan stocks down 0.85-pct on profit taking
Sep 15, 2009 (LBO) – A rally in Sri Lanka share prices that lifted them to a 30-month high skidded to a halt Tuesday as retail investors took profits from an overheating market, brokers said.The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 0.85 percent (24.26 points) to end at 2,837.99, while the Milanka […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves top US$4.0bn
Sept 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross foreign reserves have topped 4.0 billion US dollars on September 10, the highest in the island’s history, the Central Bank said. The Central Bank also acquired dollars by directly swapping domestic assets to a foreign fund manager. The central bank started to collect foreign reserves after floating […]
Sri Lanka GDP expands 2.1-pct in second quarter
Sept 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2009 from 7.0 percent a year earlier, but was up from the 1.5 percent growth in the first quarter, the government’s statistics office said. Agriculture Agriculture grew 4.4 percent despite an 11.7 percent reversal in tea which was hit […]
Sri Lanka shares hit new high, seen over-valued
Sep 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares hit a 30-month high Monday as bullish investor’s placed bets on financial and healthcare sector stocks, brokers said.The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.77 percent (21.92 points) to end at 2,862.25, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained 0.49 percent (15.66 points) […]