Category: Money

A state bank crept into the foreign exchange markets on Tuesday morning to shore the rupee up, to prevent it from touching the psychological 100.00 rupee barrier against the US dollar.The rupee fell to 99.25 against the US dollar in early Tuesday trade, after closing at 98.95 against the greenback on Monday.rn rnThe Central Bank […]

Treasury bond yields for two-year papers remained flat, despite Mondays auction being oversubscribed, the Central Bank said.The bank offered Rs. 1 bn, but accepted only bids for Rs.476 mn. The bank received offers for Rs.2.766 bn. The coupon rate was 7.95 percent.rn rn -LBO Newsdesk: LBOEmail@rnrn

The Central Bank has allowed the Employee Provident Fund to list its Rs. 240 bn government treasury portfolio on the CSEs new debt trading system, the DEX.The giant pension fund with over Rs.330 bn in its kitty, is currently negotiating a fee structure with the Colombo Stock Exchange. rn rnLive transactions are expected to start […]

The Central Bank left its key short-term rates unchanged on Wednesday, signalling that the countrys economic fundamentals are sound, despite political uncertainty.The overnight repurchase rate (repo rate) was kept at 7.0 percent and the reverse repurchase rate (reverse repo) at 8.50 percent, the bank said in a statement following its monthly Monetary Policy Meeting late […]

Sri Lankas financial markets are likely to remain rudderless as election campaigning starts putting the budding economic recovery on ice.The stockmarket plunged 124 points wiping off Rs. 30 bn of its value on Monday, as President Chandrika Kumaratunga opted for a snap poll to ease the current political deadlock.rn rnThe Central Bank has forecast the […]

Central Bank went online with scripless security settlement system earlier last week as rate uncertainty kept primary dealers away from the secondary market.The new system is integrated with the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system for settling primary dealer accounts.rn rnCentral Bank will provide a special seat for the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on the […]

Treasury bill yields continued to tick upwards with three-month paper gaining by seven basis points at Tuesdays auction, the Central Bank said Tuesday.The bank said it accepted and offered bids for Rs. 7.288 bn, despite receiving bids worth Rs. 12.507 bn.rn rnThree-month gilts rose to 7.52 percent, while six months paper was flat at 7.61 […]

Central Bank, Governor A. S. Jayawardena said foreign exchange market should take a longer-term view of the rupee and avoid aberrant behavior.The governor said recent political uncertainty has not changed the economic fundamentals yet and the foreign exchange market should be a lot more resilient than it has been. rn rnLarge capital and aid flows […]

The Central Bank has agreed to let the Colombo Stock Exchange link up with its depository system to allow gilt-edge securities to be settled realtime.The historic move comes following a Monetary Board meeting late Friday to allow two additional members endash the Employees Provident Fund and the CSE endash to be given a special access […]

The Central Bank will start issuing its maiden batch government treasuries in scripless form this week, allowing the market to settle their transactions electronically.The first issue of Rs. 6.890 bn worth of treasuries came out of Wednesday auction, but will be issued to the market on Friday, with secondary market transactions slated for next Tuesday.rn […]

Asian Finance Ltd has raised Rs. 100 mn by securitising its future cash receivables to fund its working capital.Structured and placed by National Wealth Corp (NatWealth), the issue raises funds by converting Asian Finances lease receivables into liquid and negotiable instruments.rn rnWith its strengths and expertise in the Real Estate Development sphere, the firm has […]

Secondary market trading in government securities has tapered off to a fraction of last years levels with political uncertainty putting bond dealers on the defensive.Trading in long bonds has ceased while securities in the five-year range are seeing thin trading according to primary dealers.rn rnPolitical uncertainty and the expectation of a spike in rates have […]