Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka could gain more in next phase of trade liberalization: study
March 15, 2008 (LBO) – A new study on a south Asian regional trade deal has said Sri Lanka will gain more in the next phase of liberalisation but the island’s private sector representatives have expressed scepticism about the outcome. The study on the benefits of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) found that […]
Sri Lanka central bank to drain foreign cash with own securities
Mar 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it would issue its own securities to drain excess cash generated from foreign exchange interventions after running out of Treasury Bills which are usually sold to drain liquidity.The Central Bank said its Treasury Bill stock has fallen to half a billion rupees by March 12, […]
Sri Lanka sells bills over auction offer; rates steady
Mar 12, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka sold 10.8 billion rupees of Treasury bills at an auction Wednesday without moving rates up, the government’s debt office data showed, but it was later offering more bills at average rates, dealers said.However, analysts say in the past excess liquidity had been inflationary in Sri Lanka due to […]
Sri Lanka offers Rs5bn bonds to foreigners
March 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is selling three maturities of rupee bonds to foreign buyers valued at five billion rupees under a new process with bids closing on March 17, the government’s debt office said. Updated The Central Bank which runs the debt office said two billion rupees of bonds maturing on 2010, […]
Sri Lanka sells 3-year bonds at 17.05-pct
Mar 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised 400 million rupees from 3-year bonds at a average price of 17.05 percent, the government’s debt office said. The government offered one billion rupees of 2011A series bonds maturing on February 15, 2011 which carry a coupon rate of 14.5 percent at Tuesday’s auction. The debt […]
Sri Lanka rupee gains on greenback; exporters sell forward
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka rupee gained against the greenback in early trading Monday with state names coming in to cap the domestic currency at 107.50/55 levels while exporters scrambled to sell forward, dealers said.Authorities have been holding the rupee at around 107.70/80 levels in the first two months of 2007, but on […]
Sri Lanka stocks end flat with SLT trades boosting turnover
March 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended flat Monday but volumes were boosted to over 700 million rupees on heavy trading in Sri Lanka Telecom after a court ruling cleared a sale of an equity stake to a foreign buyer. The All Share Price Index ended 0.1 percent lower at 2,567.45 while the […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves move to US$3.2bn
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves had increased to 3.4 billion dollars by March 06 with the monetary authority collecting 366 million dollars since the beginning of the year, the central bank said. The Central Bank had been heavily intervening in the inter-bank foreign exchange market in a bid to keep the […]
Sri Lanka stocks close higher; rupee kept down
March 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed marginally higher Friday with the help of heavy trading in Sri Lanka Telecom shares, brokers said. The market All Share Index closed up 1.5 points at 2,567.79 with the more liquid Milanka Index closing up one point at 3,217.91. In forex markets the rupee briefly spiked […]
Sri Lankan shares lose momentum
Mar 05, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks lost momentum Wednesday with the indices barely managing to maintain the previous day’s gains and trading in York Arcade and John Keells Holdings being the main activity.The All Share Price Index up just 3.98 points to close at 2,566.23 and the more liquid Milanka went up 2.87 […]
Sri Lanka business should demand better governance not subsidies: senior executive
March 05, 2008 (LBO) — A senior business executive urged Sri Lankan businesses not to ask for subsidies which were needed for a safety net for the poor that is hardest hit by inflation, but ask for better governance and economic management.“What the private sector should ask for is good governance, good macro-economic management and […]
Sri Lanka loan deal to Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank
March 5, 2008 (LBO) – Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank has won a deal to raise up to 300 million dollars for Sri Lanka, priced 259 to 370 basis points above London benchmark rates, the government’s debt office said. . Standard Chartered has been mandated to raise 150 million dollars and go up to a […]