Category: Economy and Markets
‘s high risk dams to be made safer
Mar 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is getting a 65.3 million US dollar credit from the World Bank to improve the safety at high risk dams and boost water resources planning capacity in the island, the multilateral lender has said. The project will cover 80 dams of which 32 are considered high risk. The […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit doubles in January
Mar 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit doubled to 610.8 million US dollars in January as a surge in oil and capital goods imports outpaced gains from an agricultural commodity boom, government data showed. Sri Lanka has recorded a balance of payments surplus in the first two months of the as the central […]
Sri Lanka stocks end flat with SLT still drawing buying interest
March 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat with trading dominated by Sri Lanka Telecom and two blocks of John Keells Holdings which boosted turnover, brokers said. The All Share Price Index ended down 1.25 points at 2,548.31 while the Milanka, which tracks the more liquid stocks, closed down 13.13 points at 3,177.57. […]
Sri Lanka needs changes to build knowledge economy: World Bank
March 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs to improve access to broadband communications and the internet and reduce costs to become a ‘knowledge economy’, the World Bank has said. . If not, the country risks creating a ‘digital divide’, a new divide between haves and have-nots, economist Ismail Radwan said in a new study […]
Sri Lanka stocks close steady
March 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up Wednesday with investors chasing Sri Lanka Telecom shares on speculation of a sale by major shareholder NTT and big trades in John Keells Holding and Nations Trust Bank bolstering turnover.The All Share Price Index ended up 3.78 points or 0.15 percent at 2,549.56 while the […]
Sri Lanka Treasury rates steady; volumes low
Mar 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasury bill rates moved up by 1 to 3 basis points across maturities at an auction Wednesday, the government debt office said, after rolling over only 6.2 billion rupees out of 10 billion rupees worth maturing bills.The 3-month average yield was up 3 basis points to 18.39 percent […]
Sri Lanka stocks close higher; windfall for Ceylon Theatres, Cargills stockholders
Mar 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed higher with the value of two illiquid Ceylon Theatres group firms rising steeply after a record share split which left stockholders richer by 6.6 billion rupees on Tuesday. In bond markets the Central Bank rejected all bids at the auction held to sell 22 month and […]
Sri Lanka stocks slump; money rates spike despite cash injections
March 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks slumped Monday with trades in index heavy Sri Lanka Telecom dominating turnover as speculation swirled about an imminent sale by major shareholder NTT Communications of Japan. Brokers said speculators were yet to get back in full swing following a weekend extended by two religious holidays. The All […]
Sri Lanka dollar risk rates shoot up as banks chase US currency
Mar 24, 2008 (LBO) – Premiums above benchmark rates for dollar loans in Sri Lanka’s interbank markets have rocketed as a global credit crunch made the US currency dearer and local demand was boosted by an active swap market, bankers said.. “Banks were borrowing in the interbank market at around 15 basis points above the […]
‘s Daim Zainuddin
Mar 22, 2008 (LBO) – Many East Asian Tiger economies like Malaysia are now famed for fiscal prudence, running surpluses on their current and overall budgets, and low inflation. But they were not always so disciplined. Countries like Sri Lanka are still not able to balance current spending with government revenues and the public sector […]
Sri Lanka government credit down; concern over petro borrowing: central bank
Mar 19, 2008 (LBO) – Central Bank credit to Sri Lanka’s government was down, money supply growth was falling but state enterprise borrowings was a concern, the island’s monetary authority said in its March policy statement. Growth in private sector credit had fallen to 18.3 percent while credit to the government from the banking sector […]
Sri Lankan firms told tough conditions at home should not decide foreign expansion
Mar 19, 2008 (LBO) – A top Indian consultant says fledgling firms should deal with government regulations and difficult business conditions at home instead of going abroad to avoid them. “You cannot go global based on a weak domestic position, that’s probably the worst way to do it,” says Adil Zainulbhai, who heads the Indian […]