Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka shares end higher
July 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices ended higher Monday with gains in heavyweight Sri Lanka Telecom and John Keells Holdings pushing up the indices.Brokers said a slight recovery anticipated this week would offer profit taking opportunities for investors who bought during the downturn. The All Share Price Index ended up 0.80 percent […]
Sri Lanka shares rise, CDIC stake changes hands
July 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices ended higher Friday with a big deal between two banks pushing up turnover to over a billion rupees and indices rising on gains in Dialog Telekom and John Keels Holdings.There was some trading in plantations stocks although volumes were thin, he said. Updated The All Share […]
Sri Lanka-India trade deal to open investment, services from August
July 11, 2008 (LBO) – The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to be signed between India and Sri Lanka in August will allow professionals to work in either country but with safeguards to meet local concerns, economists said.The CEPA deal will make it easier for Sri Lankan companies to invest in India in areas like […]
Sri Lanka urged to relax exchange controls
July 11, 2008 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan businessman whose companies have invested overseas says the government should relax exchange controls to make it easier for local firms to invest abroad, especially India with which trade deals are being struck.“We need a system where the central bank gives us freedom to invest in India […]
Sri Lanka state cash flows hit by revenue shortfalls
July 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance ministry had to rely on bank overdrafts and additional domestic borrowing to bridge cash gaps in the first five months of 2008 as revenues were below target, a government report said. The finance ministry said the cash deficit forecast for its operations by the end of May […]
Sri Lanka token strike gets off to quiet start
July 10, 2008 (LBO) – A one day token strike called by Sri Lanka’s opposition parties got off to a peaceful start with slightly reduced traffic in the capital Colombo and most public services operating as usual, officials and residents said.Sri Lanka’s state-run railways system’s chief Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said train services were operating normally but […]
Sri Lanka strike forces minister, state workers, to boost productivity
July 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s post minister, one of a coterie of 108 ministers in the island, said he had personally got the postal service moving during a one-day token strike, while the head of an over-staffed state enterprise wished for strikes every day. There has been no general strike in the island […]
Sri Lanka western province economic dominance slips
July 10, 2008 (LBO) – The dominance of Sri Lanka’s Western province which housed the capital Colombo, in the country’s economic activity has fallen below 50 percent in 2007, the island’s central bank said.Using gross domestic product (GDP) data compiled by the government’s statistics office, Sri Lanka’s central bank said the share of Western province […]
Sri Lanka private bus operators ignore strike call
July 9, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s privately-run bus operators said they would keep their buses on the road on July 10, ignoring the token strike call of a Marxist-Nationalist former ally of the ruling coalition. The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which popularized policies of wholesale government recruitment, indiscriminate subsidies and increased state intervention […]
Sri Lanka share slide ends on telecom gains
July 09, 2008 (LBO) – A slight recovery in the price of heavyweight Sri Lanka Telecom ended a lengthy slide in the Colombo stock market indices Wednesday but turnover was thin. Brokers said the negative sentiment was likely to continue with record inflation and high interest rates hurting consumers and companies alike. The All Share […]
Sri Lanka rejects bids for 12-month treasuries
July 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has rejected bids for 12-month treasuries at an auction Wednesday and sold 3.6 billion rupees out of 8 billion rupees of maturing bills, the government’s debt office said. Last Wednesday 6-month bills edged up 08 basis points, and 12-month bills 7 basis points. Yields of 3-month bills were […]
Sri Lankan share prices sink as security concerns loom
July 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares sank Tuesday with the indices dragged down by losses in heavyweight stocks as security fears added to investor concerns about deteriorating economic conditions, brokers said.The All Share Price Index lost 1.19 percent (28.67 points) to end at 2,372.50 while the more liquid Milanka was down 1.40 percent […]