Category: Bills & Bonds

July 28, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to raise another 150 million dollars in development bonds next month to bridge the rising budget deficit, though there are market expectations that the government may issue more.The dollar bond issue will be offered to the market next week, with subscription closing on August 18, Central Bank’s […]

June 30, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Friday placed a 6 billion rupee government bond linked to an inflation index, which is expected to clear a part of the government’s overdrafts with state banks. (US$ 1 = Rs. 103) The debt, which carries tenures of three and four-years, is believed to have been […]

June 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority (UDA) plans to raise a billion rupees in bonds to finance an office development project, top officials said Wednesday.The UDA will appoint a banking partner within the next two months, Jayaweera said, with an issue date to be fixed, perhaps for later this year.“We are […]

June 20 (LBO) – A Sri Lanka government dollar bond issue targeting local investors was oversubscribed Tuesday, allowing the government to roll-over maturing bonds at much lower rates. A 50 million dollar loan from Bank of Ceylon is also maturing on June 22nd which was issued at premium of 185 basis points above LIBOR. -LBO […]

June 9, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has shelved plans to raise up to a billion dollars and fall back on smaller tranches, with shorter maturities, a senior treasury official said Friday. The government was hoping to float a 7 to 10-year, sovereign bond to pay off about 300 million dollars of bonds owed to […]

June 8, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new electronic platform which trades government bonds has generated 7.1 billion rupees worth of trades since its soft launch on May 24, officials said Thursday.Bloomberg, a financial market specialist who developed the software says, the trading system ensures transparency and brings in price discovery when government securities are […]

June 7, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Wednesday formally launched an electronic trading platform for government bonds, with the aim of broad basing the ownership of treasury securities, the Central Bank said.Developed by Bloomberg, a financial market specialist, Sri Lanka kicked off a soft launch on May 24 to become the second country behind Singapore […]

June 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to tap the international debt market this month to raise 350 million dollars to shore up official reserves, a top Central Bank official said Friday as financial markets reacted sharply to news of the bank governor’s sudden resignation. Dubbed ‘Sri Lanka Development Bond’, the issue will carry […]

June 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will offer the first tranche of a medium term bond issue, worth 200 million dollars to market players later this month, as the government looks for ways to pay for hefty imports of oil, wheat and sugar, officials said Friday. Central Bank’s public debt department told primary dealers […]

May 31, 2006 (LBO) – Stocks in Sri Lanka weakened as investors shied away from tourism related firms fearing a European wide ban on Tamil Tiger rebels and continuing violence would deter tourists from visiting the island, brokers said. Overall sentiment remained weak as investors were rattled over a two-hour artillery exchange between the rebels […]

May 30, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bond market lost ground on Tuesday and continued to rise stealthily at this week’s auction, as the military began probing the massacre of 12 construction workers by Tamil Tiger rebels. The Central Bank sold Rs. 350 billion treasury bonds in three, four and five year maturities, after rejecting […]

May 24, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Wednesday launched an electronic trading platform for government bonds, which will set the tone for a more vibrant debt market to be developed in the future, traders said. “From a primary dealer perspective, transaction costs come down.We are confident that people can trade even with smaller spreads, thereby […]