Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka stocks close lower, telecom deals drive turnover
March 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed lower Wednesday dragged down by heavy trading in telecom shares whose prices fell in afternoon trade.The All Share Index lost 0.59 percent (15.11 points) to close at 2,536.18 points while the Milanka Index shed 0.72 percent (23.16 points) to close at 3,195.84. Over 6.1 million shares […]
Sri Lanka stocks close higher
March 18, 2008 (LBO) – Colombo stocks closed higher with Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) gaining 1.25 rupees, on expectations of an imminent sale, driving the benchmark index higher, dealers said. Meanwhile, the spot dollar traded at 107.60 rupees Tuesday. The All Share Index closed up 0.32 percent (8.11 points) at 2,551.29 points Tuesday. The liquid […]
Sri Lanka central bank is creating inflation: economist
Mar 17, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s central bank is accountable for inflation and claims of ‘cost push’ factors for rising prices cannot be accepted when well managed countries are reporting single digit price increases, an economist has said.“Inflation is a purely monetary phenomenon,” lead economist of LirneAsia Harsha de Silva, who is a strong […]
Sri Lankan study sees politics, non-tariff barriers constraining South Asian trade
March 17, 2008 (LBO) – Politics and non-tariff barriers are likely to constrain trade among South Asian nations even if import tariffs are removed, a new study on the benefits of a regional trade pact had said. The study on the benefits of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) says estimates show that the […]
Sri Lanka stocks close lower despite Telecom rush
March 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka shares closed lower, despite strong interest in Sri Lanka Telecom which saw turnover boosted to 1.2 billion rupees and 18 million shares traded, dealers said.The benchmark All Share Index closed 0.76 percent lower (19.47 points) at 2,546.56 points while the Milanka Index of liquid stocks slid 0.74 percent […]
Sri Lanka could gain more in next phase of trade liberalization: study
March 15, 2008 (LBO) – A new study on a south Asian regional trade deal has said Sri Lanka will gain more in the next phase of liberalisation but the island’s private sector representatives have expressed scepticism about the outcome. The study on the benefits of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) found that […]
Sri Lanka central bank to drain foreign cash with own securities
Mar 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank said it would issue its own securities to drain excess cash generated from foreign exchange interventions after running out of Treasury Bills which are usually sold to drain liquidity.The Central Bank said its Treasury Bill stock has fallen to half a billion rupees by March 12, […]
Sri Lanka sells bills over auction offer; rates steady
Mar 12, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka sold 10.8 billion rupees of Treasury bills at an auction Wednesday without moving rates up, the government’s debt office data showed, but it was later offering more bills at average rates, dealers said.However, analysts say in the past excess liquidity had been inflationary in Sri Lanka due to […]
Sri Lanka sells 3-year bonds at 17.05-pct
Mar 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised 400 million rupees from 3-year bonds at a average price of 17.05 percent, the government’s debt office said. The government offered one billion rupees of 2011A series bonds maturing on February 15, 2011 which carry a coupon rate of 14.5 percent at Tuesday’s auction. The debt […]
Sri Lanka offers Rs5bn bonds to foreigners
March 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is selling three maturities of rupee bonds to foreign buyers valued at five billion rupees under a new process with bids closing on March 17, the government’s debt office said. Updated The Central Bank which runs the debt office said two billion rupees of bonds maturing on 2010, […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves move to US$3.2bn
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves had increased to 3.4 billion dollars by March 06 with the monetary authority collecting 366 million dollars since the beginning of the year, the central bank said. The Central Bank had been heavily intervening in the inter-bank foreign exchange market in a bid to keep the […]
Sri Lanka stocks end flat with SLT trades boosting turnover
March 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended flat Monday but volumes were boosted to over 700 million rupees on heavy trading in Sri Lanka Telecom after a court ruling cleared a sale of an equity stake to a foreign buyer. The All Share Price Index ended 0.1 percent lower at 2,567.45 while the […]