Category:
Racing On
The All Share index moved 15 points closer to the psychological 1000 point mark, closing at 969 on Wednesday. Despite the current gloom surrounding the peace process the market has so far moved up 115 points this June, buoyed by the confidence generated at the Tokyo aid meet.rn rnBuying is largely from local institutional and […]
Lease Backed
Cash rich National Savings Bank (NSB) bought up Rs.200 million worth of securitised paper last week, locking its returns for up to five years.rn Ceylease and Peoples Merchant Bank (PMB) issued the lease-backed securities in a bid to finance increased demand for leases and to diversify fund sources.rn rnPeoples Merchant bank also structured and placed […]
Credit Drip
The World Bank Wednesday approved the first tranche of US$ 125 mn in support credit, to shore up the countrys poverty reduction strategy.rnrn The Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) will build on the framework in the lquote Regaining Sri Lanka vision for accelerated development.rn rnThe support credit comes on the back of government success in […]
Stately Homes
State housing finance giant, HDFC, is floating a construction company to cash in on the middle-upper income-housing boom.A fully owned subsidiary, HDFC Construction (Pvt) Ltd, will start off once HDFC gets its banking licence and a listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange.rn rnThe Housing Development & Finance Corp. needs a specialised banking licence to call […]
Creating Wealth
National Wealth Corporation, the governments new wealth management agency, is offering its expertise to government institutions, private firms and high networth individuals.The corporation, established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mahapola Trust Fund (MTF), will also seek private equity later on, to strengthen its operations. rn rnldblquote What we intend to do is to […]
Silent Watch
Watching for a leopard is patient labour; Studying the elusive and protected wildcat is something else altogether. But prohibitive research costs has conservationists turning to guided tourism as a gold mine and a possible solution.Sri Lankas national parks like the one at Yala, are home to a distinct sub-species of leopard, Panthera pardus kotiya.rn rnldblquote […]
Side Dish
The government wants an interim cure for the collapsed peace talks so it can stick to development plans and aid utilisation schedules. Proposals being touted include commissioners to administer aid use and development work in the North and East.rn rnUpto two commissioners could be in place along with a number of district development committees that […]
Back To Seventies
The Central Bank left key benchmark interest rates unchanged as the impact of the worst floods in decades was expected to have little effect on the economy.The bank in its monthly review of Monetary Policy said that inflation remained low as industrial output expanded. rn rnThe bank in a statement said that initial assessment of […]
Tug-O-War
Shippers and exporters are pushing hard for legislation to resolve a long standing billing dispute with ship agents and owners.Shippers say the charge is being used by shipping lines to make profits, while making the countrys exports uncompetitive.rn rnThe Shippers Council has abandoned talks with ship agents to resolve a long running dispute to get […]
HSBC Believes
A top HSBC executive says the banks operations in emerging markets like Sri Lanka play an important role in adding value to their global network.While some foreign banks have shut down their operations in the island HSBC is counting on the country becoming an Asian economic powerhouse.rn rnldblquote Sri Lanka could explode one day and […]
Aid scare
Economists are warning that key fiscal targets could be missed as donors pledge a record amount of aid.Most of the US$ 4.5bn pledged at the Tokyo Donor Conference is debt on concessionary terms that eventually have to be repaid.rn rnAnalysts say this would automatically raise the countrys debt stock and the Debt to GDP Ratio.rn […]
Perks For PERC
The Public Enterprise Reforms Commission is to be restructured this year expanding its scope to include monitoring State investments. The restructuring is expected to speedup the restructuring and privatisation of state enterprises while improving transparency in the process.rn rnPERC Chairman Chrisantha Perera told LBR that over the years, the commission has been regarded only as […]