Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka to bond deal draw top investment banks
Sept 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is getting closer to choosing managers for a 500 million US dollar bond with top names in the international investment banking circuit making presentations to the island’s authorities. Sri Lanka has been attracting the attention of big international names of late, more than a billion US dollars pouring […]
Sri Lanka investors take profit after hotel share rally
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended marginally up Thursday as investors took profits on a hotel share rally but trading volumes remained above a billion rupees for the third straight day, brokers said.“Profit taking was seen in stocks like Sampath Bank and the hotel sector.” HDFC Bank closed at 170.50 rupees, up […]
Sri Lanka to issue US$50mn dollar bonds to local market
Sep 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is selling 3-year bonds for 50 million US dollars in the local market to qualified investors who can hold dollar assets, the government’s debt office said.The bonds will pay interest based on the 6-month London interbank rate (LIBOR).A 35 million US dollars in bonds are maturing this month. […]
Sri Lanka first sovereign bond trades above par: official
Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first sovereign bond which has a coupon above 8.25 percent has started to trade above par in recovering from steep discounts seen before an internal war ended, an official said. Sri Lanka is now evaluating bids from seven international investment banks to float another 500 million US dollar […]
Sri Lankan shares hit new 28 month high, up 84.9% in 2009
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up 2.3 percent Wednesday hitting a new 28-month high as retail investors pushed up the market, though expectations of profit-taking are emerging, brokers said. The benchmark had gained 84.9 percent from the beginning of the year while the Milanka was up 91.7 percent, the Colombo Stock […]
Sri Lanka lags Pakistan and Maldives in ease of doing business: IFC-World Bank study
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – Bangladesh was the top reformer in South Asia in the past year, and Pakistan and Maldives remained in the lead as the easiest places to do business, with Sri Lanka a distant third, an annual World Bank’s survey said. Nepal had cut the fee for transferring a property from 6.0 […]
Gold higher, the best bet in uncertain times
PARIS, September 9, 2009 (AFP) – Gold is back in favour, hitting 18-month highs above 1,000 dollars as investors hedge their bets on the dollar in a global economy struggling out of its worst slump in decades, analysts said. Gold is the ultimate store of value when all else fails and in uncertain times like […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields flat
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – Yields of Sri Lanka government bonds remained flat at Wednesday’s auction with only 8.8 billion rupees out of 12.0 billion rupees of maturing bills being sold to the market, the government’s debt office said.The 3-month average yield was down 01 basis point to 10.54 percent, the 6-month yield was down […]
Bursting economic bubble may have averted greater disaster ahead: Sri Lanka CB chief
Sept 08, 2009 (LBO) – The bursting of a global economic bubble in 2007-2008 may have averted greater disaster ahead, but the global financial community must implement a new framework to prevent recurrences, Sri Lanka’s central bank chief has said. Cabraal said complex financial instruments, especially derivatves, should be subjected to tighter rules and like […]
Sri Lanka heads for record deficit despite better revenues in June
Sept 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues fell 6.15 percent in June from a year earlier, implying an annualized deficit of 10.8 percent of gross domestic product for 2009, but the gap has narrowed from previous months, the latest official data show. In the 6-months to June the state took away 289.7 billion […]
Sri Lankan shares close 1.66-pct up
Sep 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up almost across the board Monday as retail investors bet heavily on hotel stocks, while strategic investors bought into high value counters such as Commercial Bank, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) was up 1.66 percent (43.78 points) to close at 2,674.55 […]
Sri Lanka roads closed to keep economy stable
Sep 06, 2009 (LBO) – Some of Sri Lanka’s roads will remain closed despite the end of a 30-year civil war to prevent a post-Soviet style collapse of the economy, the island’s prime minister told Thai investors. “It is true the ongoing battle is over but we are still unearthing and finding various things that […]