Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka to issue US$500mn sovereign bond in Sept-Oct: report
Aug 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will issue a 500 million US dollar 5-year sovereign bond in late September or early October to international investors, a media report said.“Minimum benchmark size in the international capital market is $500 million,” Reuters news agency quoted C.J.P. Siriwardena, head of Sri Lanka’s government debt office as saying. […]
Sri Lankan stocks close flat as buyers take stock of earnings
Aug 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat on Thursday as retail investors recovered from a spate of weak earnings the June quarter, while plantation stocks that had exposure to tea picked up in price, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.08 percent (1.95 points) to end […]
Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields bottom out
Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka 3-month Treasury bill yields showed signs of bottoming out at Wednesday’s auction with 6 and 12 month yields up marginally, despite the government’s debt office not accepting the entire offered volume from the market. Since a float of the currency ended a balance of payments crisis in March […]
Sri Lankan blue chip shares fall on weak earnings
Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed down Wednesday, dragged lower by index heavy blue chips as retailers, worried about weak June quarter earnings, sold out to cut losses, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 0.72 percent (18.07 points) to end at 2,506.85, while the Milanka index […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves US$1,556mn in June
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official foreign reserves without an advance to local banks were 1,556 million US dollars in June, up from 1,291 in May, with 270 million US dollars flowing in to rupee Treasuries so far this year, the Central Bank said.In July, with the approval of a 2.6 billion US […]
Sri Lanka has space for commercial borrowing under IMF program: officials
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has ample space for foreign borrowing under a 20-month International Monetary Fund program, which has set a ceiling of 1,750 million US dollars for new commercial loans, officials said. A US dollar bond issue, sold mostly to domestic buyers with access to foreign exchange, matures this week. “A […]
Sri Lanka exports, imports fall in June
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell 18.0 percent to 3.1 billion US dollars and imports 36.7 percent to 4.4 billion US dollars in the 6-months to June, and the trade deficit contracted 59.9 percent to 1.2 billion US dollars, the central bank said.Agricultural exports were down 18.2 percent to 725.3 million US […]
Sri Lankan shares close flat, blue chips down
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat Tuesday as retail investors were seen taking profits on selected blue chip and high value shares, while there was renewed interest in certain mid-cap counters, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.09 percent (2.15 points) to end at 2,524.92 […]
Sri Lanka sells US$190mn 2-year bonds
Aug 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has sold 190 million US dollars of 2-year bonds at an average yield of 449.8 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) the government’s debt office said. Today’s LIBOR rate was 0.91 percent, the debt office said. On June 19, Sri Lanka sold 115.8 million US […]
Sri Lanka collects US$739.35mn US dollars since float
Aug 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has collected 289.10 million US dollars from forex markets in July, bringing the total to 739.35 million US dollars since the float of the currency in March, the latest official data shows. The IMF has put in conditions to prevent inconsistent policy in the future, requiring […]
Sri Lankan shares down 0.27-pct
Aug 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices fell Monday, dragged down by index heavy blue chips as investors stayed away, waiting for corporate earnings, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 0.27 percent (6.76 points) to end at 2,522.77 Monday, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks lost […]
Canada triples aid to Sri Lanka
MONTREAL, August 8, 2009 (AFP) – Canada has decided to triple its humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka to assist people displaced by the country’s conflict with Tamil separatists, Canada’s top development minister said Saturday. The move came after Minister of International Cooperation Beverley Oda spent three days visiting the island nation and will take Canada’s […]