Re: Thread for News on CSE and SL Economy

[NIRMALSG]

Hope this will bring some boost to the market.

Sri Lanka cuts income tax for alcohol, tobacco, gaming, banks, manufacturing

ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department said it will cut income taxes on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, manufacturing and financial industries from April 1, 2020.

Income from liquior, tobacco, and gambling, which were previously taxed at 40 percent, will now be charged at 28 percent.

Trading, banking, finance and insurance will be charged at 24 percent, compared to the earlier 28 percent.

Manufacturing will be taxed at a new rate of 18 percent, down from the earlier standard rate of 28 percent.

Meanwhile, exports, tourism, education, health, construction and agro-processing industries will be taxed at 14 percent.

Withholding tax on interest income will be exempt for income of up to 250,000 rupees a month with effect from January 1, 2020, while all interest income will be exempt from withholding tax from April 2020.

Withholding taxes on dividends, charges, natural resource payments, rent, royalties, premiums and retirement payments for residents will be removed, and become a part of the assessable income for taxes from April 1, 2020.

Withholding taxes on partnerships have been removed, and partnership tax will be 6 percent for income over 1 million rupees annually. (Colombo/Jan23/2020)

[lanka]

Normalizing alcohol & gambling ?

[nuwanmja]

Hope this will bring some boost to the market.    

Sri Lanka cuts income tax for alcohol, tobacco, gaming, banks, manufacturing

ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department said it will cut income taxes on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, manufacturing and financial industries from April 1, 2020.

Income from liquior, tobacco, and gambling, which were previously taxed at 40 percent, will now be charged at 28 percent.

Trading, banking, finance and insurance will be charged at 24 percent, compared to the earlier 28 percent.

Manufacturing will be taxed at a new rate of 18 percent, down from the earlier standard rate of 28 percent.

Meanwhile, exports, tourism, education, health, construction and agro-processing industries will be taxed at 14 percent.

Withholding tax on interest income will be exempt for income of up to 250,000 rupees a month with effect from January 1, 2020, while all interest income will be exempt from withholding tax from April 2020.

Withholding taxes on dividends, charges, natural resource payments, rent, royalties, premiums and retirement payments for residents will be removed, and become a part of the assessable income for taxes from April 1, 2020.

Withholding taxes on partnerships have been removed, and partnership tax will be 6 percent for income over 1 million rupees annually. (Colombo/Jan23/2020)

better movement

[nihal123Top contributor]

HNB ෆයිනෑන්ස් කොටස් වෙළෙඳපොළට

මෙරට ප්‍රමුඛ පෙළේ මූල්‍ය සමාගමක් වන HNB ෆයිනෑන්ස් ලිමිටඩ්, කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළෙඳපොළේ ලැයිස්තුගත කිරීම සඳහා අනුමැතිය ලැබී තිබේ.

මේ අනුව ඡන්ද බලය හිමි සාමාන්‍ය කොටස් මිලියන 10ක් මූලික කොටස් නිකුතුවක් හරහා ලැයිස්තුගත කිරීමට පියවර ගෙන තිබෙන අතර එහිදී එක් කොටසක් නිකුත් කෙරෙන මිල රු. 5.70 ක් ලෙසින් තීරණය කර ඇත.

මීට අමතරව සමාගමේ ඡන්ද බලය නොමැති සාමාන්‍ය කොටස් හඳුන්වා දීමේ ක්‍රමවේදය හරහා ලැයිස්තුගත කෙරෙනු ඇත.

2020 පෙබරවාරි 17 දින මෙම නිකුතුව සඳහා දායකත්වයන් කැඳවීම විවෘත කිරීමට නියමිතය.

ඇක්විටි පාට්නර්ස් (පුද්) සමාගම මෙම නිකුතුවේ කළමනාකරු ලෙසින් කටයුතු කරනු ලබන අතර, SSP කෝපරේට් සර්විසස් (පුද්) සමාගම නිකුතුවේ රෙජිස්ට්‍රාර්වරයා ලෙසින් කටයුතු කරනු ලබයි.

[NIRMALSG]

EPF should identify good opportunities at current market situation

EPF ready to buy

Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, H A Karunaratne today (30) stated that Employees' Provident Fund has been active even during the last quarter and added that, even though EPF wanted to purchase certain stocks but that required parcels were not available in the market.

He revealed this in response to a question put forward by a journalist during the monetary policy review press conference held at the Central bank this morning (30).

“Even during the last quarter, we have been in the market. But unfortunately, even though EPF wanted to purchase certain stocks that required parcels were not available in the market. But it doesn’t mean that we have not been in the market. We have our principles, norms, and strategies so depending on that we are in the market,” Karunaratne stated.

"Again with regard to the loss-making stocks, depending on the decisions of the investment committee," timely actions will be taken, he added.

Journalist - Now the EPF portfolio published yesterday shows that you have not brought anything except for the Seylan Bank rights issue. So now you are saying that EPF has been active. So either you are wrong or the portfolio you published yesterday is wrong?

Deputy Governor- Seylan Bank rights issue is also an equity market transaction.

Journalist -Other than that have you engaged in other transactions?

Deputy Governor- According to my understating, we have been engaging in other transactions.

[NIRMALSG]

Interesting to read....

Dubai-based investment advisory firm Alpen Capital optimistic about Sri Lankan Banking and NBFI sector

Alpen Capital (ME) Limited, Dubai-headquartered investment banking advisory firm, announced the publication of its latest report titled ‘Sri Lankan Banking and NBFI Sector’. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Sri Lankan Banking and Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI) sectors, highlighting the strengths, opportunities and challenges for a diverse group of investors (investment funds, corporate institutions, etc.) looking for investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. It also profiles some of the key firms within these sectors.

“Alpen Capital forayed into Sri Lanka in 2015 and since then witnessed remarkable success, in both of its equity and debt advisory services, arranging more than USD 500M of bilateral loans, club loans and syndications for banks and finance companies as well as advising clients on regional cross border mergers and acquisitions. We continue to believe in the tremendous growth potential of the country and anticipate immense opportunities for investors.” Rohit Walia, Executive Chairman, Alpen Capital

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is closely monitoring the Banking and NBFI sector by adopting international regulatory standards, which has increased investors’ confidence in these sectors. Highly professional individuals who manage the banks and top-tier NBFIs have ably led the sector through challenging times and successfully fulfilled the expectations of investors. We expect the outlook of these sectors to improve and through this report intend to showcase them,” Dilip Samanthilaka, Senior Director, Alpen Capital.

Sri Lanka’s economic growth which has seen a slowdown in recent years due to external factors is expected to improve as a result of easing of monetary policy by the Central Bank as well as fiscal expansion. IMF has projected real GDP growth to strengthen to 3.5% in 2020.

External vulnerabilities in meeting large external debt service payments have been foremost among Sri Lanka’s economic challenges. Despite the downgrade in sovereign ratings, Sri Lanka has retained the ability to raise sovereign bonds and raised them twice in 2019, with both bond issuances being healthily oversubscribed. Sri Lanka has managed to maintain inflows of around US$ 1-2bn over the last few years.

The country retained stable fundamentals despite economic challenges in the recent past. Growth was driven by an increasingly important services sector, and achieved relatively high-levels of GDP per capita.

Banking Sector

Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs), which represent a major component of the banking system, had a total asset base of US$ 58bn and asset share of 87.6% as at September 2019.

In 2019, Year-on-Year (YoY) growth in credit to the private sector decelerated significantly to 4.4% from 16.2% in the previous year. However, lending rates at financial institutions remained at an elevated level over the period. To tackle this, the CBSL has reduced policy rates and imposed a cap on bank lending rates in September 2019. As a result of CBSL’s action as well as the government stimulus measures, the CBSL expects credit growth to gradually recover in 2020.



The CBSL has initiated drafting a new Banking Act to be enacted in 2021. The Act will look into areas of strengthening the governance of banks as well as regulations related to digitalization of the sector.

The sector has adopted internationally accepted BASEL III regulatory framework and SLFRS 9 - the Sri Lankan equivalent of IFRS 9, pertaining to the accounting of loan losses. These measures will enhance resilience against headwinds in the future.

The Banking sector has immense growth opportunities in different segments. Amongst them is the adoption of technology to provide digital financial services to their customers as well as attract a strong client base. A high yielding SME segment presents diversification opportunities which can be a lucrative market for the sector. Additionally, as the valuations of the Banking sector are currently low, it presents an attractive buying opportunity for investors, which would support banks in accumulating more capital.



Challenges

Rising Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) and impairment costs have eroded profits in 2019: Sluggish economic growth, lackluster weather conditions in the form of droughts and floods during 2016 and 2017, political crises in late 2018, Easter Sunday attacks and slowdown in the construction and SME sectors, resulted in the gradual increase in NPL ratios from 2018. However, NPLs still remain much lower than some regional peers including Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.


Capital raising to meet regulatory requirements has proven to be challenging: Banks currently need much stronger capital buffers over the minimum ratios stipulated by the BASEL III international standard and additional directives by the CBSL.


Lending rate caps likely to exert pressure on margins: The recently announced caps on lending rates to drive credit growth in the economy could drive down industry interest margins in the medium term.


Catering to evolving customer needs and cyber security risks pose a challenge amid the drive to adopt new technology: With increasing adoption of technology, banks need to keep up with the needs of their customers and hiring the right talent has become crucial.

[sereneTop contributor]

Thanks Nirmal.

[NIRMALSG]

Hopefully not much effect would be bring this virus in to whole economy.

Sri Lanka GDP to grow 3.7-pct in 2020, with limited hit from Coronavirus: IMF

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product growth is expected to increase to 3.7 percent in 2020, with a limited fallout from the Novel Coronanvirus expected, the International Monetary Fund said.

Sri Lanka’ economic growth was estimated to have slowed to 2.6 percent in 2019, in the aftermath of a currency collapse in 2018 and East Sunday attacks in April which hit tourism.

“The recovery is supported by a solid performance of the manufacturing sector and a rebound in tourism and related services in the second half of the year,” IMF Mission Chief Manuela Goretti said in a statement after ending a visit to the island on February 07.

“High frequency indicators continue to improve and growth is projected to rebound to 3.7 percent in 2020, on the back of the recovery in tourism, and assuming that the Novel Coronavirus will have only limited negative effect on tourism arrivals and other economic activities.”

Sri Lanka’s tourism arrivals have fallen about 5 percent in February with a sharp downturn in Chinese arrivals. Steeper falls in Chinese arrivals are expected in the coming months.

Sri Lanka has sharply cut taxes after a new administration was elected in November 2020, reversing a so-called ‘revenue based fiscal consolidation’ which not only raised value added tax, but also direct taxes, which reduces investible capital, future growth and jobs.

The tax, cuts however is expected to widen the deficit to 7.9 percent of GDP in 2020, the IMF has projected, with not just direct taxes being cut, but also value added tax.

There were also payment arrears from 2019, the IMF said.

“Given risks to debt sustainability and large refinancing needs over the medium term, renewed efforts to advance fiscal consolidation will be essential for macroeconomic stability,” Goretti said.

“Measures to improve efficiency in the public administration and strengthen revenue mobilization can help reduce the high public debt, while preserving space for critical social and investment needs.”

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Sri Lanka’s highly unstable soft-peg, a chronic source of monetary instability for 70 years, collapsed in 2018 in the wake of rate cuts and liquidity injections as the credit system recovered from an earlier crisis analysts have said.




The corrective measures led to a credit contraction, which in turn drove a import contraction and overall slowdown.

Amid the threat of a higher deficit, the central bank cut rates on January 30 adding monetary measures to a fiscal stimulus.

In the past, liquidity injections made to enforce rate cuts, with or without increases in budget deficits, have led to renewed monetary instability, currency collapses, reserve losses and slow growth.

“The CBSL should continue to follow a prudent and data-dependent monetary policy and stand ready to adjust rates to evolving macroeconomic conditions,” Goretti said.

“Net International Reserves fell short of the end-December target under the EFF-supported program in 2019 by about $100 million amid market pressures after the Presidential elections and announced tax cuts.”

Sri Lanka has missed both deficit and forex reserve targets for December in a three year IMF program which is drawing to a close.

Reserves had fallen a slightly in January 2020, data showed.

[NIRMALSG]

Sri Lanka bank profits to lift on SLDB tax relief

ECONOMYNEXT- Domestic commercial banks which held dollar denominated bonds issued by the government of Sri Lanka will see higher profits after a tax treatment suddenly changed by a tax-oriented International Monetary Fund program, reverted to old practice.

Banks, who were among the top holders of so-called Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDBs) had to provide for taxes after the previously tax-free bonds were made taxable as part of the ‘revenue based fiscal consolidation’ strategy in the last IMF program with the island.

Exempted

However, there had been reduced demand for new bond issues in recent months after the tax treatment was changed to make SLDBs tax liable.

Uncertainty remained over whether the tax free status only applied to sovereign bonds issued mainly outside Sri Lanka or the SLDBs which are mostly sold to resident customers who are allowed to have forex assets.

Confusion had arisen over the broader exemptions in the Sinhalese interpretation of the act, which usually takes precedence over English.

On February 12 this year Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department had issued a circular, interpreting that the tax-free status applied to SLDBs with effect from April 2018.

Sampath Bank Plc was the first among banks to report their fourth quarter earnings, recording a tax reversal of over 500 million rupees on SLDB holdings of 60 billion rupees at end-2019 following the new interpretation.

SLDBs had been exempted from tax prior to April 1, 2018, Inland Revenue Department Deputy Commissioner R. M. Jayasinghe told EconomyNext.

As the government wanted to broad-base taxation, SLDBs were removed from the exempt list under the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017, he said.

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Dealing with the gig economy

“Once we made SLDBs liable to tax, as time went on, we felt that it was difficult to find investors,” he said.

On three SLDB auctions in 2018 and 2019, bids were less than the announced value of bonds.

From 2016 to end 2017, there was only one auction which was not oversubscribed. During the earlier period, auctions were oversubscribed by larger margins.

Windfall for Banks

While listed banks will benefit from the tax reversal, state banks will also gain, First Capital Research Assistant Manager Atchuthan Srirangan told EconomyNext.

“Sri Lankan banks hold over 80 percent of the issued SLDBs,” he said.

At the moment, there are 3.1 billion US dollars in issued SLDBs.

Banks which have large foreign currency accounts, mainly for worker remittances, subscribe to SLDBs, Srirangan added.

Some banks also borrowed abroad, on their balance sheet at rates lower than the sovereign to invest in SLDBs.

However, with the new tax coming in, their margins reduced, leaving less on an incentive to buy SLDBs.

Bank of Ceylon, which is the largest bank in Sri Lanka, held 195 billion rupees in SLDBs at end-2018, and the bank’s annual report said said its profits fell during the year due to SLDBs coming under taxation.

Among listed private banks, Hatton National Bank Plc had invested the highest in SLDBs at end-2018 at 123 billion rupees, twice that of Sampath Bank, annual reports showed.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc grew their investment to 59 billion rupees in 2018 from 40 billion rupees in 2017.



National Development Bank Plc, DFCC Bank Plc and Pan Asia Banking Corporation Plc rounded up the top six SLDB holders at end-2018, holding between 10-20 billion rupees each.

Any bank that retains the tax reversals would be able to boost their Tier I capital, analysts said.

[NIRMALSG]

ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා සහ ආයෝජනය මණ්ඩලය අතර ඩොලර් මිලියන 250 ක ආයෝජන ගිවිසුමක්

රී ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලයේ (BOI) අනුග්‍රහය යටතේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වන විශාලතම විදේශ සෘජු ආයෝජකයා වන ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා සමූහය, ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලය සමඟ පරිපූරක ගිවිසුම් දෙකක් සඳහා එළඹි බව නිවේදනය කර සිටී. ඒ අනුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ යටිතල පහසුකම් වෙනුවෙන් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 254.1 ක මුදලක් ආයෝජනය කිරීම සඳහා පසුගිය පෙබරවාරි 14 දින ගිවිසුම්ගත වී තිබේ. මෙය ආසන්න වශයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රුපියල් බිලියන 46.1 ආයෝජනයකි.

ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා පීඑල්සී වෙතින් කෙරෙන ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 190.7 කින් සහ එහි අනුබද්ධ සමාගමක් වන ඩයලොග් බ්‍රෝඩ්බෑන්ඩ් නෙට්වර්ක්ස් (පුද්ගලික) සමාගමෙන් කෙරෙන ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 63.4 කින් මෙම ආයෝජනය සමන්විත වේ. මෙම ගිවිසුම් අනුව ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා සමූහය විසින් තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ යටිතල පහසුකම් සංවර්ධනය සඳහා පුළුල් පරාසයක් ආවරණය කරයි. ජංගම හා ස්ථාවර 4G-LTE ජාල පුළුල් කිරීම, IP සහ ෆයිබර් ජාලවල විකාශනය සහ සමූහයේ වයි-ෆයි සහ බ්‍රෝඩ්බෑන්ඩ් ජාල තවදුරටත් සංවර්ධනය කිරීම ඊට ඇතුළත් වේ. මීට අමතරව 5G සම්බන්ධතාවය යෙදවීම තුළින් ආර්ථිකයට සැලකිය යුතු ප්‍රතිලාභ ලබා දීමට මෙම ආයෝජනය සැලසුම් කර ඇති අතර එමඟින් 5G තාක්‍ෂණයේ පුරෝගාමියෙකු ලෙස ඩයලොග් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ස්ථානගත වනු ඇත. මෙය සබ්මැරීන් කේබල් හා ගොඩබෑමේ ස්ථාන සංවර්ධනය සමඟ සම්බන්ධ වන අතර එමඟින් වඩාත් විශ්වාසදායක හා ලාභදායී අන්තර්ජාල සම්බන්ධතාවයක් ලබා දෙනු ඇත.

ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා යනු ආසියාවේ දෙවන විශාලතම සන්නිවේදන සේවා සමාගම වන Axiata Group Berhad හි අනුබද්ධ සමාගමකි. එය මැලේසියාව, ඉන්දුනීසියාව, බංග්ලාදේශය, කාම්බෝජය, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, සිංගප්පූරුව සහ ඉන්දියාව ඇතුළු රටවල් 8 ක් පුරා ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. දිගුකාලීන ආයෝජකයෙකු ලෙස 1994 සිට එය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ කටයුුතු කරනු ලබයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විශාලතම සෘජු විදේශීය ආයෝජනය ලෙස ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා සමූහය 1994 සිට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 2.7 ක් ආයෝජනය කර තිබේ. මෙය ශ්‍රී ලංකා රුපියල් බිලියන 320 ක් පමණ වේ. එහි ආයෝජනය රටේ මුළු සෘජු විදේශ ආයෝජන වලින් 11% කි. ආයෝජන මණ්ඩල වාර්තාවලට අනුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ ඩොලර් බිලියන 1 ක් ඉක්මවා ආයෝජනය කරන ලද පළමු සමාගම ලෙසින් ඩයලොග් ආසියාටා හඳුනාගෙන ඇත.

[lanka]

Thanks, Nirmal

[NIRMALSG]

Sri Lanka banks trading at 10-yr low valuations: First Capital

ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lankan banks are trading at a ten year low valuation, with upward pressure on performance after a challenging 2019, a research firm said.

“Compared to frontier and emerging markets, Sri Lankan banks have the lowest price to earnings ratios,” First Capital Senior Research Analyst Hiruni Perera said.

“Banks are still undervalued in Sri Lanka. Banking stocks are at a ten year low,” she said, speaking at the First Capital Investment Strategy 2020 Second Research Conference held on Tuesday.

Sri Lankan banks had ended 2019 at a price to earnings multiple of 5.4 and a price to book value multiple of 0.7.

The price to earnings multiple of India-based Axis Bank Ltd was 17.3 at end-December, while Bank of the Philippine was 12.3 and Malayan Banking Berhad was 11.5.

The Colombo Stock Exchange had ended the year with a price to earnings multiple of 11.6.

FC Research Assistant Manager Atchuthan Srirangan said with the government removing the Nation Building Tax and the Debt Repayment Levy, net profits at banks will rise 9 percent.

The government has also announced bank income tax will fall to 24 percent from 28 percent.

With a bullish view on banking stock Srirangan said banks with high capital and a digitization edge will outperform the sector, as digital banking growth has outpaced traditional transactions at brick and mortar branches.

Profits at banks which fell 4 percent in 2019 with constrained capital and rising bad loans, will grow at a compounded 19 percent up to 2021, he said.

Return on equity is expected to rise to 12 percent in 2021, First Capital has estimated, from 10 percent in 2019.

Credit growth is expected to pick up in the latter half of 2020 and early 2021, while bad loans will moderate with higher economic growth and the breathing room borrowers receive from loan moratoriums, he said.

Meanwhile, the capital constraints on banks will ease, as many have raised equity during the year, while larger banks such as Sampath, HNB, Seylan and NDB will face lower capital requirements due to the D-SIB rule change, which will give them room to expand, Perera said.

Annual private credit growth, which had fallen to 4.5 percent in 2019, would rise to 14 percent in 2020 and 2021 amid a low interest environment, Srirangan said. (Colombo/Feb18/2020)

[nihal123Top contributor]

2019 දී සුරැකුම්පත් වෙළෙඳපොළෙන් ඩොලර් මිලියන 334 ක ශුද්ධ ගෙවීමක්
February, 19, 2020

2019 වසරේ දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ දී රුපියල්වලින් නාමනය කරන ලද රාජ්‍ය සුරැකුම්පත් වෙළෙඳපොළෙහි වූ විදේශීය ආයෝජන එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් මිලියන 100ක ශුද්ධ ගෙවීමක් වාර්තා කිරීම හේතුවෙන්, සමුච්ඡිත පදනම මත, 2019 වසර තුළ දී රාජ්‍ය සුරැක්ම්පත් වෙළෙඳපොළ වෙතින් එක්සත් ජනපද ලෙර් මිලියන 334ක ශුද්ධ ගෙවීමක් වාර්තා විය.

2019 වසරේ දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ දී ප්‍රාථමික හා ද්විතීයික වෙළෙඳපොළ ගනුදෙනු ඇතුළව කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළෙඳපොළ තුළින් එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් මිලියන 5ක ශුද්ධ ගෙවීමක් වාර්තා විය. සමුච්ඡිත පදනම මත, 2019 වසරේ දී කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළෙඳපොළ වෙතින් එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් මිලියන 35ක ශුද්ධ ගෙවීමක් වාර්තා විය.

තවද, 2019 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ දී රජය වෙත වූ දිගුකාලීන ණය, ශුද්ධ ලැබීම් එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් මිලියන 8 ක් ලෙසින් වාර්තා වී තිබේ.

මේ අතර 2019 වසරේ දෙසැම්බර් මස අවසානය වන විට දළ නිල සංචිත එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් බිලියන 7.6 ක් වූ අතර, එය ආනයනික මාස 4.6කට සමාන විය. තවද, දළ නිල සංචිත හා බැංකු අංශයේ විදේශීය වත්කම්වලින් සමන්විත මුළු විදේශීය වත්කම් ප්‍රමාණය, 2019 දෙසැම්බර් මස අවසානය වන විට එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් බිලියන 10.4 ක්වූ අතර, එය ආනයනික මාස 6.3කට සමාන විය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද 2019 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ විදේශීය අංශයේ ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය පිළිබඳ වාර්තාවෙහි මේ බව සඳහන් වේ.

[mymoney]

FCR upgrades ASPI target for December to 7,500 amidst added boost to economy

https://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fcr-upgrades-aspi-target-for-december-to-7500-amidst-added-boost-to-economy/

[nihal123Top contributor]

තේ වැවිලි ක්ෂේත්‍රය විකිණීම මත ලැබූ ඉපැයුම් හේතුවෙන් සන්ෂයින් 2019/20 මූල්‍ය වර්ෂයේ තුන්වන කාර්තුවේ ලාභදායීත්වය ඉහළට
February, 24, 2020

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විවිධාංගීකරණය වූ සමාගම් අතර ප‍්‍රමුඛතම සමාගමක් වන සන්ෂයින් හෝල්ඩින්ග්ස් පී.එල්.සී . සමුහය තේ වැවිලි ක්ෂේත‍්‍රය විකිණීම මත අත්කර ගනු ලැබූ ඉපැයුම් මත සිය 2019/20 මූල්‍ය වර්ෂයේ පළමු මාස 9තුළ ලාභදායීත්වයෙහි කැපී පෙනෙන වර්ධනයක් අත්කර ගැනීමට සමත් ව ඇත. මෙම මූල්‍ය වර්ෂයේ පළමු මාස 9 පසුගිය වසරේ තුන්වන කාර්තුව සමග සැසඳීමේදී සමූහයේ බදුපසු ලාභය 32.3%කින් වර්ධනය වී සමූහයේ පිරිවැටුම රුපියල් බිලියන 15.8ක් ලෙස වාර්තා වේ.

සමූහයේ ඉදිරිපෙළ ව්‍යාපාරික ක්ෂේත‍්‍රයන් කිහිපයක වර්ධනය පසුගිය වසරේ සලකා බැලෙන කාලසීමාව හා සැසඳීමේදී 4.4%ක පහළ බැසීමක් පෙන්නුම් කරන අතර විශේෂයෙන්ම හැටන් වැවිලි සමාගම විකිණීමත් සමග ඇති වූ තත්වය මේ සඳහා හේතුවක් වූ අතර පාරිභෝගික භාණ්ඩ සහ බලශක්ති ක්ෂේත‍්‍රයේ පසුබෑම ද පිරිවැටුමේ සංකෝඡුනයට හේතු විය. සන්ෂයින් සමූහයේ වර්ධනය සඳහා ප‍්‍රබලම දායකත්වය සමූහයේ සුවසේවා ක්ෂේත‍්‍රය මගින් ලබා දුන් අතර මෙය සමස්ත පිරිවැටුමෙන් 50% කි. මේ අතර පාරිභෝගික සහ කෘෂි ව්‍යාපාර ක්ෂේත‍්‍රයන් පිලිවෙලින් 26%ක් සහ 19%ක් සමූහයේ පිරිවැටුම සඳහා දායකත්වය දැක්වීය.

සන්ෂයින් සමූහයේ පළමු මාස 9 තුළ බදුපසු ලාභය රුපියල් බිලියන 1.7කින් වර්ධනය වූ අතර හැටන් වැවිලි සමාගම විකිණීමෙන් උපයා ගන්නා ලද රුපියල් මිලියන 343ක මුදල ද මෙයට අයත් වේ. 2019රැු20 තුන්වන කාර්තුව අවසන් වන විට බදු පසු ලාභය සහ සුළු පොලී අදායම පසුගිය වසරේ මෙම කාලසීමාවට සාපේක්ෂව 46.1්‍රකින් වර්ධනය වී රුපියල් බිලියන 1ක් බවට පත්වීමද කැපී පෙනෙයි.

සන්ෂයින් සුවසේවා අංශය ^Healthcare& සිය පිරිවැටුම 20.5කින් වාර්ෂික පදනම යටතේ වර්ධනය කරගනිමින් එම අගය රුපියල් බිලියන 8.2ක් දක්වා වර්ධනය කර ඇත. මේ සඳහා ඖෂධ සහ වෛද්‍ය උපාංග උප අංශයන් ඉහළ දායකත්වයක් දක්වන ලදි. සන්ෂයින් හි පාරිභෝගික සන්නාමයන් වන සහ වටවල තේ නිෂ්පාදනයන් රුපියල් බිලියන 4.2ක පිරිවැටුමක් වාර්තා කළ අතර පෙර වසරේ මෙම කාලසීමාව හා සසඳන විට මෙම අගය 2.9ක පසුබෑමක් පෙන්නුම් කරයි. මේ සඳහා 2020 මූල්‍ය වර්ෂයේ පළමු කාර්තුවේ සිදු වූ වෙළෙඳපොළ පසුබෑම හේතු විය.

සමූහයේ කෘෂි ව්‍යාපාර අංශය වටවල වැවිලි සමාගම සහ හැටන් වැවිලි සමාගම යන සමාගම් වල ප‍්‍රමුඛත්වයෙන් පවත්වාගෙන යන අතර මෙම ක්ෂේත‍්‍රයේ පිරිවැටුමේ පසුගිය වසරේ මෙම කාලසීමාව සමග සැසඳීමේදී 40.2%ක පසුබෑමක් පෙන්නුම් කරමින් රුපියල් බිලියන 3.1ක් බවට පත්වීමට හැටන් වැවිලි සමාගම විකිනීම ද බලපාන ලදි. එහෙත් සන්ෂයින් සමූහයේ පාම් තෙල් නිෂ්පාදන ක්ෂේත‍්‍රය සහ පශු සම්පත් අංශය පසුගිය වසරේ ෂලකා බලන කාලයට සාපේක්ෂව 11.4%කින් වර්ධනය වීම කෙරෙහි පාම් තෙල් නිෂ්පාදන සහ ඔයිල් පාම් අස්වැන්න වර්ධනය වී බෙහෙවින් ඉවහල් විය. 2020 මූල්‍ය වර්ෂයේ පළමු මාස 9තුළ ඔයිල් පාම් නිෂ්පාදනය කිලෝ මිලියන 9.9ක් වූ අතර එය පෙර කාලසීමාවට වඩා 11%ක වර්ධනයක් පෙන්නුම් කරයි.

සන්ෂයින් සමූහයේ පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති ක්ෂේත‍්‍රය රුපියල් මිලියන 255ක ආදායමක් 2020 මූල්‍ය වර්ෂයේ පළමු අර්ධයේදී හිමිකර ගන්නා ලදි. මෙය පෙර වසරට සාපේක්ෂව 18.1ක පසුබැසීමක් වූ අතර මේ සඳහා ජල පෝෂක ප‍්‍රදේශ සඳහා ප‍්‍රමාණවත් පරිදි වැසි නොලැබීම මේ සඳහා බලපාන ලදි.

[BackstageTop contributor]

FCR upgrades ASPI target for December to 7,500 amidst added boost to economy

https://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fcr-upgrades-aspi-target-for-december-to-7500-amidst-added-boost-to-economy/

Thanks mm, They are maintaining a neutral position on External when the global supply chains are getting roiled by the Virus. Strange, not a mention.

[The Invisible]

Sri Lanka’s SEC seeks proposals to boost stock market

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission has sought proposals from stock brokers for proposals to boost the markets as the benchmark index plunged to an eight year low amid a Coronavirus scare.

Viraj Dayaratne, Chairman, SEC, Chinthaka Mendis, Director General, SEC Commissioners Manil Jayesinghe, H A Karunaratne, Priyantha Ratnayake, Naresh Abeysekera and chief executive officer of the Colombo Stock Exchange Rajeeva Bandaranaike were in the meeting.

SEC had asked brokers to “forward their suggestions to the SEC promptly”, a statement said.

Brokers had also said that stocks were at attractive valuations and the downturn was part of a global phenomenon.

Sri Lanka’s stocks plunged over 4 percent on Tuesday with the bourse setting a 30 minute trading halt. Stocks recovered 1.6 percent the following day. (Colombo/Mar12/2020)

[The Invisible]

Colombo Stock Exchange will be closed for trading tomorrow (18) as well - SEC - Daily Mirror

[The Invisible]

Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange to have multiple 5-pct circuit breakers

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange will have multiple trading halts in the future when an index hits each 5 percent level, the bourse said an index plunged over 5 percent on several days over Coronavirus fears.

Following a trading halt when the Standard and Poor’s SL20 Index fell 5 percent, on March 20, the index continued after trading resumed, reaching towards 11 percent at one time.

The CSE says not trading will be halted when an index reaches 5 percent. The SL20 Index is more sensitive and tends to fall faster.

The full statement is reproduced below:

Understanding Market Halts

Halting trading of the market due to an extreme decline in a particular index during the day, as a result of the share prices falling rapidly, is a measure that is implemented by stock markets around the world. Trading Halts triggered by circuit breakers, were a common occurrence during the recent weeks and continue to be so in stock markets globally, as the investment community responds to global economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, market volatility surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has reached levels comparable with the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, with one-day losses not seen since 1987.

A similar trend was visible on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as well, with a 30-minute Market Halt being imposed on 10th, 12th, 13th and 20th March 2020 due to the S&P SL 20 index declining over 5% from the previous day’s closing levels.

A Market Halt is applicable to trading on all securities and is imposed as a measure to provide a “cooling off” period during a steep decline in the share prices. Market Halts offer an opportunity for the investors to closely consider the available information and review their investment strategies in the wake of a rapidly declining market.

The exact methodologies governing Market Halts vary in stock markets around the world and such measures are taken by stock exchanges globally with the objective of addressing unanticipated volatility. Hence, imposing a Market Halt is a key tool utilized by Exchanges to maintain a fair and orderly market.

How Does a Market Halt Work at CSE?

An initial Market Halt is imposed on all securities traded on the CSE temporarily for a period of 30 minutes in the event of the S&P SL 20 index recording a decline of above 5% compared to the previous day’s closing level. Further Market Halts may be imposed within the same trading day in the event the S&P SL 20 index records a further decline of above 5% upon re-opening the market following the initial Market Halt. Essentially, the market will be halted for a period of 30 minutes at every 5% decline in the S&P SL 20 index within a trading day.

For an instance, a Market Halt will be imposed upon the S&P SL 20 Index declining by over 5% during a particular day of trading, only to commence trading 30 minutes later. Should the market continue to fall to over 10% during the same day of trading, another Market Halt will be imposed. Similarly, Market Halts may be imposed at every 5% decline thereafter.

A Market Halt does not mean a shut down for the day

As indicated above, a Market Halt is imposed as a 30-minute temporary suspension of trading of securities within a market environment, with the objective of recommencing market operations after a brief recess. As a Market Halt is imposed, the CSE continues all other operational aspects to ensure that regular trading can commence upon completing the 30-minute halt period.

A Market Halt does not result in an end of trading for the day, unless the halt is imposed at 2 pm or later, where the 30-minute halt would remain in effect till the end of the scheduled regular trading, which usually takes place at 2.30 pm at CSE.

Market Halts are not a panic or ad-hoc measure by stock exchanges.

Market Halts are a well-coordinated, pre-defined measure by the CSE to mitigate the sudden effects of an extreme price decline and is conducted in the best interest of the investment community and capital market stakeholders. The Market Halt mechanism mentioned above is in-line with measures taken by leading stock exchanges around the world and has been introduced by closely considering the context of the Sri Lankan stock market.

[The Invisible]

CSE has declared period from 25th - 27th as market holidays due to ongoing curfew.

[The Invisible]

World Bank, IMF asks creditors to give Coronavirus relief to Sri Lanka, 75 others

ECONOMYNEXT – Washington-based World Bank has together with the International Monetary Fund, asked creditor countries to suspend debt repayments of poor countries that were classed as eligible to receive loans from its concessionary window as a Coronavirus outbreak hit the world.

About the quarter of the world population lived in countries that qualified for International Development Assistance (IDA) credit, the Bretton Woods twins said.

“With immediate effect—and consistent with national laws of the creditor countries—the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund call on all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from IDA countries that request forbearance,” the two agencies said in a joint statement.

“This will help with IDA countries’ immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak and allow time for an assessment of the crisis impact and financing needs for each country.”

There are 76 IDA countries.

Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Bolivia graduated from IDA at the end of the 2017 financial year, but will receive transitional support on an exceptional basis through the IDA18 period (Financial years 2018-20) according to the World Bank.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan are also IDA countries. Maldives which has the best monetary authority in the region and therefore the freest trade and the highest per capita income is also eligible by being a tiny country.

[The Invisible]

Sri Lanka stock market closed on Monday over curfew, banks to run

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s stock market would be closed on Monday over a holiday, the Colombo Stock Exchange said, while bond markets and banks are open.

“In view of the extension of the curfew by the Government, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has decided that the CSE will remain closed for Trading on Monday, 30thMarch 2020,” the Colombo Stock exchange said.

Sri Lanka’s banks would be open on Monday though customers are not expected to come.
Sri Lanka’s bond and forex markets also operated Friday.

The rupee has fallen to around 191 to the US dollar in the wake of large liquidity injections, down from around 182 to the US dollar before injections began, triggering a new phase of monetary instability, despite weak private credit. (Colombo/Mar29/2020)

[The Invisible]

Sri Lanka should refund Rs500bn in EPF money holders after Covid-19 crisis: Cabraal



ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka should return about 20 percent of Employees Provident Fund balance to holders after the Coronavirus pandemic ends as the island no longer had fiscal space to boost the economy after recent tax cuts, a top official said.

Sri Lanka had already given a ‘stimulus’ in the form of a tax cut in January and a debt moratorium after the new administration came to power.

The island did have the fiscal space to give the tax refunds and grants announced by advanced nations, Senior Advisor to the Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Nivard Cabraal said. He was also a former central bank governor.

He suggests that 20 percent of each members EPF balances be returned, which will be 500 billion out of a total of 2500 billion in assets.

“This simple and uncomplicated return of capital could be a useful and viable alternative that could achieve the same outcome of serving as an economic stimulus, without any fiscal burden being placed on the Government,” Cabraal said.

“In addition, this newly created “equity” in the hands of around 2,500,000 individuals would expand further and perhaps even double, as many recipients are likely to leverage such funds with borrowings from lending institutions, which would provide a further boost to the economy.”

“By “unlocking” this vast pool of funds at the present time, and through the release of such finances which would be circulating amongst millions of people, many other “knock-on” benefits would also accrue to the people and the economy.”

Cabraal says the benefit would be as follows:

Among such benefits would be:

(1) enhanced economic growth being recorded in the economy due to the higher investment and consumption as a result of the funds infusion.

(2) many persons being able to settle their high interest debt which is presently crippling them.

(3) new business ventures being created as a result of persons with entrepreneurial ideas and abilities being able to embark on new business ventures.

(4) more opportunities opening out for the financial sector to lend, since persons who are embarking on new economic activity are likely to leverage their new equity with debt.

(5) business confidence being enhanced and optimism rekindled due to the higher level of economic activity as a result of investment of the newly released “locked” savings, in the wider economy.

(6) an upturn being recorded in the small-scale construction activity in all parts of the country, which is now at a standstill.

(7) enhanced employment opportunities arising in the Small and Medium Enterprises sector of the country, leading to lower social tensions.

( Government tax revenues improving due to the rise of the level of economic activity throughout the economy.

The funds of the EPF are now held mostly in Sri Lanka government bonds. It is not clear what the effect will be if attempts were made to liquidate bonds.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s soft-peg with the rupee had come under severe pressure after a large liquidity injections were made by the Central Bank were made and premiums in the swap markets have disappeared. (Colombo/Mar29/2020)

[The Invisible]

CSE will remain closed for trading from 01st April 2020 until the curfew is lifted - CSE - adaderana.lk

[The Invisible]

CSE will remain closed for Trading from 01st April 2020 until curfew is lifted

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has decided to remain closed for Trading from 01st April 2020 until the curfew is lifted.

The extraordinary measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic includes an extension of a country-wide curfew.

The Government has also given specific directions with regard to social distancing and the public has been asked to stay indoors, except for any engagements relating to the maintenance of certain essential services which have been specified."

"In view of the aforesaid and pursuant to a guidance received from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka in this regard, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will remain closed for Trading from 01st April 2020 until the curfew is lifted," CSE's Chief Regulatory Officer Renuke Wijayawardhane said.