Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka rupee gains: Stocks marginally down
Mar 19, 2019 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee ended firmer at 178.25/40 to the US dollar Monday compared to Friday’s close of 178.40/55 while shares were little changed, brokers said. ‘Inflows from a sale of US 2.4 billion dollar sovereign bond are expected to boost the rupee,’ brokers said. The rupee has climbed 2.4 percent […]
EU-Sri Lanka investor dialogue discusses liberalization of shipping sector
Mar 18, 2019 (LBO) – The 8th EU-Sri Lanka investor dialogue was held at the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade and many outstanding matters were resolved through dialogue and the joint efforts of the two sides. “I am very pleased that we have made considerable progress in resolving outstanding issues and building up our […]
Sri Lanka vehicle registrations slowed in Feb. 2019 on slowing demand
Mar 18, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka recorded total car registrations at 2,347 units in the month of February 2019 significantly down from 3,147 units the previous month and significantly down from 5,024 units 12 months ago, new data shows. Brand new motor cars recorded 434 units in February marginally up from 429 units the […]
SLASSCOM People Summit 2019 to feature Bill Duane, Google’s ‘superintendent of wellbeing’
Mar 18, 2019 (LBO) – SLASSCOM’s 2019 People Summit sees a change in its traditional technologically themed content, to sound a more humanistic beat. Titled “Transcending Technology – The Human Factor”, the event is scheduled to take place on the 22nd of March at the Shangri-la and, will feature Google’s long standing ‘superintendent of wellbeing’ Bill […]
‘s banks aggressively raising capital without adequate disclosure?
March 17, 2019 (LBO) – Banking institutions over the last few months seem to be making an aggressive push to raise capital through rights and debenture issues. Almost all banks in Sri Lanka are in the midst of some capital raising exercise. LBO has reported extensively on the subject of rights issues in the following […]
HVA avoids trading suspension, takes Rs140mn provision to resolve accounting issues
March 15, 2019 (LBO) – Colombo Stock Exchange CSE listed HVA Foods (HVA) has avoided an impending trading suspension by resolving accounting issues flagged by the CSE. Shares were set to be suspended from trading next week. Shares spiked almost 40% on the news on a light Rs4mn in trading volume. The CSE released the […]
”’ Rating
Mar 14, 2019 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has assigned a final rating of ‘B’ to the following bonds issued by Sri Lanka on 7 March 2019: USD1 billion 6.85% bond due 2024, USD1.4 billion 7.85% bond due 2029. This replaces the expected rating of ‘B (EXP)’ that Fitch assigned on 6 March 2019. KEY RATING DRIVERS […]
‘s new tourism advisory committee gets down to work
Mar 14, 2019 (LBO) – With an eye on achieving the targeted 3 million tourist arrivals this year, a newly constituted Tourism Advisory Committee has been appointed by Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga. The 14 member committee comprises of private sector tourism stakeholders and is headed by business magnate Harry […]
Sri Lanka reserves at USD 6.9Bn at end 2018: Trade deficit declined
Mar 14, 2019 (LBO) – The trade deficit declined significantly in December 2018 (year-on-year) with a notable deceleration in import expenditure, data shows. Exports grew by 1.4 percent while imports fell by 15.3 percent in December 2018 (year-on-year), the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said. Total exports of goods grew by 4.7 per cent in 2018 […]
Mandatory provisions regarding separation of Chairman/CEO roles, awaiting public consultation: SEC
Mar 14, 2019 (LBO) – The corporate governance provisions for the separation of the chairman and chief executive officer roles in listed companies, were to be introduced only after stakeholder consultation, Ranel Wijesinha chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. A decision was taken at the end of the third quarter of 2018, to subject […]
MTD Walkers (KAPI) trading still halted, collapse likely to cause pain for bankers
March 13, 2019 (LBO) – Shares in Colombo Stock Exchange listed MTD Walkers (KAPI) have been halted from trading since February 14th. Investors are still awaiting information on when the stock will start trading again, if ever. The debt filled construction company has been mired in controversy for several months, as they have reported massive […]
UK’s Flexicare launches USD 10Mn health care manufacturing facility in SL
Mar 13, 2019 (LBO) – Flexicare Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of Flexicare Group, UK launched the construction of a state-of-the art modern manufacturing facility in Bandaragama with an investment of over US 10 million dollars, recently. The project is approved by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.Flexicare Group UK Managing Director, Hash […]