Thread for News on CSE and SL Economy

Sri Lanka plans 2019 budget with 3.5-pct deficit

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers had approved plans by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera for a budget with a deficit of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2019, the state information office said.

The finance ministry hoped to boost revenue over 17 percent of GDP and keep current spending below 15 percent of GDP.

Capital expenditure will be kept at 5.5 percent of GDP.

The objective is to keep debt to GDP ratio at 70 percent, the proposal had said.

The parliament has passed an interim budget or vote-on-account for four months, until April.

The full-year budget will incorporate the numbers. (Colombo/Jan04/2019)

Sri Lanka to get digital transit card for bus, rail transport

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s central bank is working to help introduce a digital transit card to be used in buses and trains and supporting infrastructure for ticketing and fare collection, its governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said.

The initiative was part of future plans and policies to promote digital payment mechanisms to establish a “less-cash society”, he said while introducing central bank monetary and financial sector policies for 2019 and beyond.

“The Central Bank will focus on promoting digital payment mechanisms to establish a less-cash society with a view to reducing cash management costs while enhancing safety and convenience.”

Coomaraswamy said the central bank will facilitate the implementation of a ‘National Transit Card’ and infrastructure framework for ticketing and fare collection in bus and rail transport.

“We will also continue to adopt measures to promote the usage of digital payment mechanisms by way of encouraging financial institutions to enable digital payment methods and creating awareness among general public on digital payment options and their benefits,” he said.
(Colombo/January 03/2019)

ලක්ෂ විසිපහේ ඉලක්කය මඟ හැරේ. 2018 දී පැමිණි විදෙස් සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාව විසිතුන් ලක්ෂය ඉක්මවයි

January, 4, 2019



http://biz.adaderana.lk/%E0%B6%BD%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B7%82-%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%9A-%E0%B6%89%E0%B6%BD%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%9A%E0%B6%BA-%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%9F-%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%90/

Colombo Bourse reports the ‘Lowest Daily Turnover’ in 10 years
January, 4, 2019


Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) reported the lowest Daily Turnover in the latest history today which was merely a Rs. 68.77 million with little over 3.14 million shares changing hands among traders as at the end of the trading day on 4th January 2018.

This is recorded to be the lowest daily turnover ever reported in the last 10 years history from April 2009 Levels. CSE reported the lowest in recently when the turnover was recorded to be Rs. 64.3 million on 28th April 2009 when it was just 20 days before Sri Lanka’s then government under President Mahinda Rajapaksa ended the 30 year war against terrorism.

This is the second time Colombo Stock Exchange reported the lowest Daily Turnover in the latest history of ‘Good Governance’ era lead by President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe coalition, which was earlier instance reported a Rs. 101.94 million Daily Turnover with little over 7 million shares changing hands among traders as at the end of the trading day on 16th April 2018.That time it was recorded to be the lowest daily turnover ever reported in a 4 year history from April 2014 Levels. CSE reported the lowest in 2014 when the turnover was recorded to be Rs. 90.93 million on 17th March 2014.

Today All Share Price Index (ASPI) rose 0.15%, whilst S&P SL20 Index rose 0.46%.



http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/colombo-bourse-reports-the-lowest-daily-turnover-in-10-years/

Budget 2019: Finance Ministry to boost revenue by 17% of GDP
6 January, 2019




Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has said that Budget 2019 is aimed at increasing government revenue by more than 17% of GDP
* Extra focus on public spending
* CB confident of debt obligation

Economists, Chamber heads and Financial analysts in their expectations of the forthcoming budget, said the Budget should focus on Fiscal consolidation maintaiingn the recurrent and capital expenditure which are key factors to curtail the budget deficit.

Professor of Economics, University of Colombo, Sirimal Abeyratne said the country has issues regarding tax revenue since the government has been taking measures to increase tax revenue, which are not yet completely in place. Therefore, there would be certain loopholes in revenue collection.

The tax collection process was disrupted following the political turmoil in October last year and now tax-payers may be asking why should they pay taxes when politicians act irresponsibly. There were issues on the part of tax expenditure triggered by the political drama in October, as it supported making certain irregular proposals for handouts which may have resulted in an increase in government expenditure.

“Put together, tax collection and expenditure problem, there will be a budget deficit which will be reflected in the March and year-end budgets,” Prof. Abeyratne said, adding that the economic performance in the country has been far short of expectations considering the economic growth rate and growth in exports. He said fiscal management is in disarray and added that serious attempts should be made to achieve fiscal consolidation.

President, National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, Sujeiva Samaraweera said there should be greater attention paid on promoting value-added exports selecting three sectors which will help the country to concentrate on them.

He said driving innovation will be a key element to stay in the game and without a new product range the country will be behind others in the global market. Innovation will help bridge the import-export gap that has been widening over the years. Nothing could be sustained without care for the environment.

The Cabinet decided last week to present the Budget for 2019 in early March. The Appropriation Bill which is currently being prepared aims at increasing government revenue by over 17 per cent of GDP, reducing recurrent expenditure to 15 per cent of GDP, maintaining investments at 5.5 percent, slashing the budget deficit to 3.5 per cent of GDP and maintaining government debt at 70 per cent of GDP. The Appropriation Bill which was to be presented on November 5 was delayed due to the Constitutional crisis.

A Government official said the March Budget will focus more on public spending. Sri Lanka is in a position to repay the massive debt obligation during this year, according to the road map presented by the Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.

President, National Chamber of Exporters, Ramal Jasinghe said, “We are also confident that with a correct mechanism and correct strategies, the debt obligation could be met.”
The year’s debt obligation stands at US $ 5 billion and this should be serviced without creating a burden on the people, he said.

“The export sector could support the country’s development with a continuous drive to enhance export value and volumes. As we have achieved the targets set for last year despite political unrest in the last quarter, reaching this year’s target will not be an issue. We are expecting a 17 percent increase in exports this year and are confident of achieving it,” Jasinghe said.

However, the industrial sector recorded a dip. “We could take measures to increase the performance due to the resilience nature and move on. Along with the Balance of Payment and debt servicing we are optimistic that the increase in export performance in this process is vital as the country’s debt is high.

The cost-of-living has gone up as inflation in November shows an increase.
However, it is stabilising and will reach a mid single digit inflation regime.
The basket of goods consumed by the middle class may be different from the goods that the Central Bank is considering.
The inflation figure of 2-3 percent indicated by the Central Bank in reality may be different from what is in operation, he said.
There is a drop in motor vehicle registration due to the increase in the duty applicable. The move was to correct the BOP discrepancies.

“We are concerned that the upcoming budget will be a populist budget with more hand-outs. However, we need to be careful to protect long-term robust economic growth. We underline this need as a Chamber as we have to be cautious to make a balance between the people’s expectations and the country’s forward march.
“We expect the budget to be export-friendly in nature and effect tariff and taxes to enable its growth. Consideration should be given for an accelerated export drive.
“One of the concerns is the demurrage and certain steps should be taken to address this issue as exports and imports are becoming more expensive due to this.

“It is necessary to ensure ease of trade to drive exports,” he said. 

http://sundayobserver.lk/2019/01/06/business/budget-2019-finance-ministry-boost-revenue-17-gdp

Sri Lanka for removal of trade barriers

January, 8, 2019


LAHORE: Sri Lanka has sought removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and other issues to improve trade with Pakistan.

Addressing the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Noordeen Mohamed Shaheid said that though the two countries signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), certain issues including NTBs need to be resolved to improve trade between the two countries.

The envoy said Pakistan and Sri Lanka had signed the FTA in June 2005 under which the private sectors of both the countries were provided with greater opportunities to take trade and economic relations to next level. From 2005 onwards, there was significant increase in bilateral trade, he said. “But it is also a fact that the two countries could not succeed in fully exploiting the trade potential,” he added.

The Sri Lankan high commissioner said there was a vast scope for the expansion of bilateral between Pakistan and Sri Lank.

He urged that both countries should introduce new products for trade and make business-to-business contacts stronger. “Sri Lanka offers huge opportunities in various sectors of economy,” he added. He said though terrorism remained a big challenge for Sri Lanka, but today it a peaceful country. “We have defeated terrorism due to immense support of Pakistan,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Almas Hyder said Sri Lanka was at the take-off stage and Pakistani business community should avail this great opportunity. “Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are members of Saarc and enjoy friendly relations based on historical linkages.

Cooperation between two countries especially in defence sector has played major role in further strengthening the mutual ties,” he added.

Earlier, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri also visited the LCCI and said the government was making all-out efforts to overcome the inherited economic crisis. “The business community has a key role in economy and economic challenges will be tackled with their cooperation,” he said.

http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/sri-lanka-for-removal-of-trade-barriers/

Sri Lanka finance minister to Washington to get IMF facility back
Jan 09, 2019

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera will leave for Washington on Friday, January 11 for talks on getting the IMF External Fund Facility (EFF) back on track. 

Samaraweera is expected to signal the government's intention to continue with IMF reform program, a finance ministry statement said. 

He will be meeting Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director, Chanyong Rhee, Director, Asia Pacific Department, Manuel Goretti, Team Leader and other members of the IMF Sri Lanka Team. 

“A key objective will be to negotiate the trajectory of continued fiscal consolidation while accommodating policies to support growth and strengthen the social safety net,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka had just completed talks with the IMF on getting the next tranche of its loan in October 2018 when a political crisis triggered by President Maithripala Sirisena sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremssinghe interrupted the process. 

Samaraweer’s delegation to the IMF will include the Governor of the Central Bank, Secretary to the Treasury and other key officials of the Central Bank and the Treasury.  

https://economynext.com/Sri_Lanka_finance_minister_to_Washington_to_get_IMF_facility_back-3-13097-1.html

සංචිත ඉහළ නැංවීම සඳහා විනිමය හුවමාරු පහසුකම යටතේ ඉන්දීය සංචිත බැංකුවෙන් එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලර් මිලියන 400ක්

January, 10, 2019

Sri Lanka defends feel-the-pain carbon tax as eco-tax trigger riots in France
Jan 10, 2019 

Sri Lanka is to go ahead with a carbon tax, which is being charged on a peculiarly unjust basis targeting older, poorer vehicle owners while allowing richer arguably high use owners of new cars get off lightly.

France has been shaken by violent protests against an eco-tax by yellow-vest wearing motorists, who say they regretted voting for President Emmanuel Macron, and have called for his resignation.

Citizens of France came out against eco-taxes as they are viciously unjust, goes against principles of good governance have nothing to do with raising revenue, which should be the only purpose of taxation but are insitead designed to hurt.

Eco-taxes were promoted by European green parties and illiberal interventionists going against time honoured principles of taxation and of liberalism of causing least hurt and are designed to make payers 'feel the pain'.

In good governance taxes are expected to be levied as a bee takes honey from a flower, making payers hardly feel the burden. Originally from South Asia, the principle was adopted by Western liberals but has been violated by interventionists.

Critics who attempt to psycho-analyse promoters of European echo taxes have charged that they are acting in the same way as religious zealots of Middle Ages who wanted to make 'carbon' sinners pay 'penance' to the church of environmentalism with Mother Earth as the deity.

Promoters of 'sin' taxes whether alcohol or sugar, quell opposition by making the payer feel guilty. However French yellow vest protestors refused to submit meekly to interventionism.

Economic analysts say Sri Lanka's eco-taxes should be a case study for students of public finance on how not to do fiscal policy.

Sri Lanka's eco-taxes are peculiarly painful as they have to be paid just when people have to fork out money for revenue licenses as well as an eco test and sometimes also insurance, making them 'feel it'.

The taxes make no distinction between diesel and petrol, despite diesel containing higher volumes of carbon and other impurities, emits more polluting by products, some of which could be carcinogenic.

The carbon-tax opposed by yellow-vest protests in France at least makes a distinction petrol and diesel. 

In another peculiar basis, cars newer than 5 years are charged 50 cents per cubic centimetre of engine capacity while cars between 5 and 10 years are charged twice that. Cars over 10 years are charged three times.

But all cars - except classic cars - have to pass an emission test, making a mockery of the basis. Cars that do not pass the test have to tune the engine or repair it.

Older cars are generally owned by poorer and older people, who hardly use it, making Sri Lanka's carbon tax peculiarly iniquitous. Many retirees keep an older car for weekend shopping or to go the doctor.

Meanwhile hybrid cars are charged only 25 cents a cubic metre if they are less than 5 years old. 

Arguably new cars are bought by richer people. Arguably they would go around more. Again no distinction is made between petrol and diesel, making a mockery of the 'carbon tax' claim.

In another laughable basis, electric cars have been made exempt, though about half or more of Sri Lanka's electricity is made out of coal and furnace oil, both of which have high carbon contents.

The only distinction made is on engine capacity.

The state could collect the same volume of tax by charging about a few cents per litre of fuel, which will would be completely fair as high users will end up paying more and it will also be spread out over the period of salary or pension.

But critics say such a tax will not satisfy architects of eco-taxes who want payers to 'feel the pain'. 

Meanwhile the taxes were passed by legislators in parliament who get tax free cars, while ordinary citizens are forced to pay rates of over 200 percent. The tax collecting state workers also get tax slashed cars. 

https://economynext.com/Sri_Lanka_defends_feel_the_pain_carbon_tax_as_eco_tax_trigger_riots_in_France-3-13114-1.html

[size=40]ඉතුරුම් ගිණුම් වල පොලිය මත අයකළ බදු සීමාව ඉහළට[/size]

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(රංජන් කස්තුරි)

ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්ගේ ඉතුරුම් ගිණුම්හි පොලිය මත අයකළ රඳවා ගැනීමේ බදු සීමාව ඉහළ නංවා තිබේ.

ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්ගේ ඉතිරිකිරීම් ගිණුම් වලට ලැබෙන මාසික පොලී ආදායම රුපියල් 125000 දක්වා වන තෙක් රඳවා ගැනීමේ බද්දෙන් නිදහස් කර තිබූ අතර එය පොලී ආදායම රුපියල් 250,000 දක්වා දෙගුණයක් බවට පත්කර තිබෙන බවද මුදල් අමාත්‍යාංශය සඳහන් කරයි.

ඒ අනුව ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්ගේ ඉතුරුම් ගිණුම්වලට සියයට 5 ක් වන රඳවා ගැනීමේ බද්ද අයකරනු ලබන්නේ මාසික පොලී ආදායම රුපියල් 250,000 වඩා වැඩි වුවහොත් වැඩිවන ප්‍රමාණයට පමණක් වන බවද එම අමාත්‍යාංශය කියයි.

ඇතැම් රාජ්‍ය ආයතන වල හා පෞද්ගලික ආයතන වල සේවකයින් විශ්‍රාම යෝජනා ක්‍රම යටතේ විශ්‍රාම ගන්නා අතර එහිදී ඔවුන්ට ලැබෙන මුදල් ඉතිරිකිරීමේ ගිණුමක තැන්පත් කිරීමට වැඩි අවස්ථාවක් සලසාදීමේ අරමුණින් එම පියවර ගත් බවද මුදල් අමාත්‍යාංශය කියයි.

රඳවා ගැනීමේ නව බදු සීමාවන් අප්‍රේල් මස 01 වැනිදා සිට ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරේ.

Chinese loans not main source of debt trap, says think tank
2019-01-14

*Funds borrowed through ISBs at higher rates outweigh loans from China*ISB debt growth caused by shift from concessional debt to commercial debt *Price of debt  more crucial than quantity of debt- Verité Research

Sri Lanka getting caught in a debt trap and finding itself in a precarious position has less to do with its borrowings from China but more to do with its participation in international bond market activities, according to Colombo-based economic think tank Verité Research.


While Sri Lanka is being made the poster child of falling into the Chinese debt trap, where it is largely perceived that the nation’s sovereignty and geo-political space is compromised, the latest insights by Verité Research narrate a different story. 
Of Sri Lanka’s total external debt, Verité Research identifies that less than 15 percent is from China. Although the share of debt to that country cannot be considered low, it is certainly is not the main source of the debt trap, according to Verité Research Executive Director and Head of Research Nishan de Mel.


Acknowledging that Sri Lanka’s debt exposure to China has increased from 2 percent and has grown fast, de Mel pointed out that it is not the monopolizing source of debt. 
According to him, the dominating source of the debt trap is the debt to international financial and bond markets, where the rate of borrowing is almost three times higher.
Analysis by Verité Research showed that almost 50 percent of Sri Lanka’s debt liabilities are to international financial and bond markets, which have grown from almost zero percent since 2007—the year the country started issuing international sovereign bonds (ISBs). 


This source of debt picked up at a fast pace as Sri Lanka lost access to bilateral concessional debt in 2005 and 2006. De Mel said that the shift from concessional debt to commercial debt is what has essentially forced this growth. 
In addition to Sri Lanka borrowing at over 6 percent, the other aspect of ISBs is that it is short term and has to be refinanced every seven years on average. 
When compared with the debt from China post-2012, such loans were extended at a concessionary rate of 2 percent and are to be refinanced approximately in 19 years. 


“Looking at it from a Sri Lankan perspective, it is important to recognize that there are significant to simple financial advantages in borrowing from China at 2 percent and having 19 years to sort that out than borrowing from international financial markets at over 6 percent and having only 7 years to recycle that,” explained de Mel.
“That has a significant implication to Sri Lanka as the cost of the commercial debt is quite high compared to the cost of multilateral and bilateral debt.” 
He elaborated that with the ISBs having a weighted average of 6.29 percent, the rate is high and it is getting too expensive to borrow from such sources. Although it’s a decade since the end of the war, Sri Lanka’s risk premium too has not declined as much as it should, de Mel noted.


“Our thought process is that even though people talk about the quantity of debt, it is not necessarily the fundamental problem. It is the price of debt; placing our monetary position at risk is the price we are paying,” he said. 

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Chinese-loans-not-main-source-of-debt-trap-says-think-tank-161047.html

භාණ්ඩාගාරය භාර ගන්න සූදානම් – ධම්මික මුල්වරට හෙළි කරයි

January, 14, 2019

CSE expresses optimism amidst headwinds

16 January 2019
CSE bosses say political and stability, and fast-tracking economic growth key to draw foreign investors
Urges return of captive funds such as EPF, NSB, SLIC; opines it was a miracle market survived without them for 4 years
Colombo remains one of the most attractive based on price multiples among regional peers
Rs. 99.3 b raised via CSE in 2018 was highest since 2016; domestic investor purchases up Rs. 15 b

Despite the challenging times ahead, the county’s capital market is optimistic that the progressive line-up measures will continue anticipating sizeable investments to take-off ground this year.
Outlining the key elements of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) wish-list for 2019, its Chairman Ray Abeywardena said reinstating political stability, currency and fast-tracking economic growth were some of the priorities they believed that the Government together with all stakeholders would attend to, to retain and attract new foreign investors.

“Ensuring political stability, exchange rate and getting the economy back on the track are essential in order to attract foreign investors as these are key factors they look into when they explore markets,” he told the Daily FT.

Abeywardena also called on the Government to bring back captive funds which had been kept away for the past four years. “It is a miracle that our market survived without those captive funds, which includesEPF, ETF, NSB and SLIC.

Four years is a long enough to create a framework for these institutions. It is time that the Government made it a reality,” he stressed.

Noting that trade unions had been actively engaged in this matter and hadn’t opposed, he said the market was now eagerly waiting for the Government to take steps through either the Central Bank or the Finance Ministry.

In terms of performance, he said although in 2018 the market had closed on a negative note, CSE still remained one of the most attractive based on price multiples among regional peers, adding that contribution to total market turnover by local institutional investors had increased by 6% compared to a year earlier.

“Both indices ended on negative note with All Share Index -4.9% and S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index -14.6%. However, a negative trend was evident among regional peers,” Abeywardena noted.

According to him almost all Asian markets have ended on a negative note, including India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Korea, Philippines, Shanghai,Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The ASI is in fourth place in terms of regional market indices performance.

“Although the ASI has ended 2018 on a negative note, considering the regional context, other regional indices have shown a much greater decline. In terms of performance, frontier and emerging markets at large have underperformed compared to US high-yield in 2018,” he added.

CSE Chief also highlighted that in terms of capital raising, the market had fared better than in the two previous years, noting that Rs.99.3 billion had been raised through IPOs, debt issues, rights issues and private and placements. In 2017 CSE raised Rs.73.5 billion and in 2016 it was Rs.85.6 billion. Domestic investor purchases had increased by Rs.15.1 billion to Rs. 122.5 billion compared to Rs.107.4 billion in 2017.

He stated that the net foreign outflow of both primary and secondary market wasRs.15. 6 billion last year.Total foreign investor contribution in 2018 declined marginally from 46.9% to 44.5%.

“Foreign participation remained more or less the same as in 2017, but what is significant is that foreign purchases increased from Rs.112.2 billion to Rs.268.2 billion. Foreign investors have continued to engage in our market amid a challenging year for Sri Lanka on the macro front and tightening global financing conditions,” Abeywardena said.

Asked about the game plan to turnaround the foreign outflow in the backdrop of the US being likely to announce more rate hikes, CSE Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike said market should not be unduly concerned as these funds would return as the CSE was still at attractive multiples.

“All stock markets experience foreign inflows and outflows and these are hot money flows which are dependent on a number of external factors. A strengthening US economy, interest rates and US Dollar havethe potential to affect investment flows into markets in general. However, we anticipate that attractive valuations in the Sri Lankan stock market, especially compared to regional and frontier peers, will place us as a noteworthy market in our segment,” he added.

Asserting that frontier market focused fundsconstitute a large portion of our foreign investments, he said it had the mandate to look at investment opportunities outside the US and go by the investment case of the particular market.

“Especially in this context, it leaves Sri Lanka well placed when attracting frontier funds, should the macro outlook offer signs of stability. We therefore will continue to engage frontier market focused investors in 2019 as well,” Bandaranaike said.

Given the slow growth in the economy, asked about CSE’s plans to make the capital market more attractive particularly to local investors, Bandaranaike stressed that they had provided an opportunity for the entire spectrum of the corporate sector to raise equity and debt capital.

“The Main Board for the larger companies both in the State sector and the private sector, the Diri Savi Board for the medium-sized companies, the SME Board for the SMEs with different listing criteria, and multi-currency board for foreign companies wishing to list and trade dollar-denominated securities. We believe that we have a wide base of investors, both local and foreign, that companies can tap into and we have put the necessary regulatory and governance framework in place. We stand ready to support and guide any company. It is upto the State sector and private sector companies to avail themselves of these opportunities,” he emphasised.

With 2019 being an election year, he said they expected the market to feature volatile behaviour, which was natural. “Sometimes elections result in some amount of speculation on the part of investors. There may be some volatility but volatility also proves opportunity for investors. We actually may see more volumes this year,” Bandaranaike asserted.

http://www.ft.lk/top-story/CSE-expre...inds/26-670922

SPSE and CSE enter a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration

January, 16, 2019


The South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a collaborative relationship between the two exchanges seeking mutual development opportunities in the Fijian and the Sri Lankan capital markets.

A MoU enables the two exchanges to work together and learn from each other’s experiences. Given that most stock exchanges are unique in their countries, such cross-border collaboration and exchange of information and knowledge can enhance market development. These benefits can be particularly important for activities that often fall exclusively to securities exchanges in any given country, such as investor awareness initiatives, advancing trading and settlement and integrating market data with website development.

The potential forms of cooperation between SPSE and CSE can help the two institutions to become the preferred securities exchanges in their respective regions. Because CSE is a larger, more developed exchange, it presents an ideal partnership opportunity for the SPSE to gain greater insight about technological advancements. The particular MoU includes provisions to encourage exchanging information about market development efforts, regional cooperation and expansion initiatives and the use of information technology systems to enhance ease of doing business in both jurisdictions. The MoU also can facilitate staff secondments to further explore ways to share knowledge and means to develop the respective exchanges further.

On the signing of the MoU with CSE, the SPSE CEO, Ms Krishika Narayan said that “this signing of the MoU is a milestone achievement for SPSE as this is going to establish a framework for collaboration between SPSE and CSE and express the common goals of the two institutions inaugurating a pathway towards the success of both institutions. SPSE is a progressive organisation and our intention is to optimise our operational capacity which we believe can be significantly enhanced through fostering professional relationships with institutions with similar intent.”

Commenting on the development, Mr. Rajeeva Bandaranaike, the CEO of CSE said “the MoU with SPSE further strengthens our collaborative effort with peer exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region and opens up new possibilities for CSE. We look forward to an engaging and mutually beneficial relationship with SPSE. We anticipate that the MoU will pave the way for CSE to build fruitful relationships with key stakeholders in the Fijian capital market.”

The SPSE was established in 1979 and is the only licensed securities exchange under the Companies Act of Fiji and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of Fiji. SPSE is a business in transformation and operates in an evolving era where development of growth opportunities in order to enhance its competitiveness remains pivotal for further progress and as such it’s concentration revolves around scaling up the activities of the SPSE by means of increasing the number of listed securities, increasing the scope of products currently traded on its platform and improving its visibility at the international level in a move towards regional expansion.

CSE is the nucleus of Sri Lanka's capital market as the licensed operator of the stock market. CSE is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1985. CSE acts as a conduit of both equity and debt capital and provides the necessary market infrastructure to buyers and sellers in order to transact. CSE also performs regulatory oversight to ensure the fairness and integrity of the Sri Lankan capital market. The post-trade services provided by CSE currently comprise of settlement and safekeeping and are provided through a fully owned subsidiary, Central Depository Systems (Private) Limited (CDS).

Through this collaboration effort both the Exchanges envisage further growth in their respective capital markets and look forward to fostering a propitious business relationship going forward.

​​​​​​​http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/south-pacific-stock-exchange-spse-and-colombo-stock-exchange-cse-enter-a-memorandum-of-understanding-to-enhance-collaboration/

China Port City awaits Sri Lanka incentives, laws, to sell land
Jan 16, 2019

Sri Lanka's CHEC Port City (Pvt) Ltd, which has reclaimed 369 hectares of sea to build a brand new city expanding the island's capital Colombo is awaiting tax incentives to begin marketing, officials said.

The reclaimed area will have 178 hectares of buildable space and 91 hectares of public areas including a park.

"We look forward to government policy support to attract more investors to the port city," CHEC Port City Managing Director Jiang Houliang said, after the company said the first stage of reclamation had been finished on January 16.

The firm now has to develop the land, build water and sewer lines and power connections. Utilities are expected to be managed by a separate public private partnership.

Sri Lanka has not yet announced the tax structure for investors after a so-called Strategic Development Law, which gave ad hoc tax breaks amid charges of corruption, was suspended partly as measure to boost revenues amid an expansion of debt.

CHEC will sell 113 hectares of land over two decades for development, while the government will get the balance. The areas have already been allocated by drawing lots.

The land is expected to draw 15 billion US dollars of investments.
The land is expected to be given on 99-year leases, but more clarity is required on title industry analysts say.
Sri Lanka's economic affairs ministry is expected to develop a separate legal framework for the area, which is expected to house a financial centre.
The legal framework is expected to create similar environment like the Dubai International Financial Centre and a draft was due to have been vetted by international legal experts. But it is not yet passed by parliament.

Thulci Aluwihare, head of strategy and business development at CHEC Port City said the firm hopes to start selling land in the second quarter of 2019.

He said the firm was targeting investors in East Asia, India and the Middle East.
There were expectations earlier that marketing would begin in October, shortly before President Maithripala Sirisena triggered a political crisis.
A budget to be presented in November was also delayed to March.

Meanwhile doubts have been raised about the ability of Sri Lanka to house a financial centre, with the central bank operating a soft or non-credible pegged exchange rate regime which is prone to balance of payments crises and IMF bailouts when credibility of the peg is lost.

Hong Kong, a top financial centre, has a currency board (hard peg) targeting a fixed exchange rate and Singapore has a modified currency board with a floating policy rate.
Dubai has a currency-board-like system which follows US policy rates, and does not attempt independent monetary policy.
In 2018 Sri Lanka slapped trade and exchange controls to maintain its soft peg and has lost about 1.2 billion US dollars over four months ending December 2019.

https://economynext.com/China_Port_City_awaits_Sri_Lanka_incentives,_laws,_to_sell_land-3-13152-4.html

UK assures existing GSP+ tariffs will continue post-Brexit
19 January 2019​​​​​​​
Britain to set up trade preference team to implement new system in three tiers to provide same rates as EU
Says UK will remain a key economic partner in the world 
Calls on local entrepreneurs to proactively engage with policymakers to take local economy forward 

British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris on Thursday assured local exporters the UK would extend the same preferential tariff rates to countries which were currently beneficiaries of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of the European Union to ensure there would be minimal impact to their exports post-Brexit.

Delivering the keynote address at the 24th Annual General Meeting of the National Chamber of Exporters, he highlighted some of the key issues related to international trade and Britain’s ambitions post-Brexit outlook as well as responsibilities of local exporters and business leaders in charting Sri Lanka’s future growth.

“There are a lot of queries related to Brexit. Day one after the exit from the European Union (EU) we will set up a trade preference team to introduce preferential market access to developing countries under the EU GSP scheme to minimise business disruption,” he assured the export fraternity of Sri Lanka. He said this intended system of the UK would be implemented in three tiers and rates would be set at the same rates as the EU, while also noting that they would remain open, encouraging and friendly towards investors and businesses from around the world including Sri Lanka even after leaving the EU. 

He affirmed that the UK, after Brexit, would have in place a system of tariffs which would extend the same preferential tariff rates to countries which were currently beneficiaries of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) including Sri Lanka.

The High Commissioner said the UK was confident of continuing its growth post-Brexit, which has also been acknowledged by the EU. “The UK is an outward-looking, engaging and key partner in economic development in the world,” he added.

Referring to the world’s fast-changing economic landscape and challenges related to international trade, the High Commissioner pointed out that countries needed to be more cautious in the face of these profound new developments. 

“There are significant changes taking place in the world economy. China’s growth in the past few years has been remarkable and according to research studies, it shows that it will take over the world’s biggest economy, which is the US, by 2030. Experts also predict that by 2050 China and India put together will be equal to all the G7 economies. Power always follows money, so you must not underestimate the profound impact of all these activities,” he warned.

The High Commissioner also called on local entrepreneurs, exporters and business leaders to actively voice their concerns to direct the country’s growth trajectory in the right direction through collective engagement.

“While the Government will set out the regulations and fiscal management at macro level, as entrepreneurs and business leaders you all have an active and a responsible role to play to navigate Sri Lanka to be one of the prosperous economies. Focus on innovation and higher customer services, collectively call on the Government to simplify process of doing business, liberalise labour laws and have outward-looking polices. The voice of business leaders matters,” he insisted.

http://www.ft.lk/front-page/UK-assures-existing-GSP--tariffs-will-continue-post-Brexit/44-671149

CBSL Governor on why IMF did not approve loans to Sri Lanka
Jan 19, 2019



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Sri Lanka's EPF loses most from Laugfs, Dockyard, Carsons; gains from banks
Jan 21, 2019 
Sri Lanka's Employees Provident Fund, managed by the central bank has lost 9.2 billion rupees on its stock portfolio up to June 2018 despite investments in banks gaining it about 9 billion rupees led by Sampath Bank, a report from the agency said.

The stocks have been bought at different times, but among the most controversial were those made at the height of a stock market bubble which ended around 2011.

The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) Department on January 16 said the 2 trillion rupee fund made up of private sector employee retirement savings has lost 8.4 billion rupees in the value of stocks held for investment, since it first purchased each stock, up to June 2018.
This was a fall of 10.9 percent to 68.88 billion rupees.

Stocks held for trading lost 24.9 percent of their value, or 742.7 million rupees, with the biggest hit coming from Aitken Spence and its hotel subsidiary.
The EF had lost about 2.0 billion rupees on Colombo Dockyard shares which It had bought for 2,791 million rupees and was in its books at 765 million rupees, losing about three fourths of the value.

Market value of Laugfs Gas Plc voting and non-voting stocks fell 56.9 percent or 1.9 billion rupees. Voting stock the EFP bought for 2.68 billion rupees was worth 1.15 billion rupees, by June 2018.
A 1.7 billion rupee fall in value came through Carsons Cumberbatch Plc, which is currently attempting to delist most of its companies from the stock exchange, with the initial investment value down 64.5 percent compared to the market value in June 2018.

The EPF had bought Carsons Cumberbatch, which owned several Malaysian oil palm firm, for 2.59 billion rupees, but it was now worth 919 million rupees.
Another 1.7 billion hit came from Carsons oil palm unit Bukit Darah Plc. Bukit stock had been bought for 2.3 billion rupees and was now worth 577 million rupees.
Over a billion rupees each were also slashed from market values of Browns & Co Plc, the troubled The Finance Company Plc and the John Keells hotel subsidiary Asian Hotels & Properties Plc.
In total 43 stocks lost value for EPF shareholders after being bought, out of 66 stocks held in the investment portfolio.
Five of the six bank stocks, adding 9 billion rupees to market value of the investment equity portfolio.
Sampath Bank, Hatton National Bank and Commercial Bank, three of the country's systemically important banks, contributed 88.8 percent to the gain.
Sampath stock bought for 4.8 billion rupees were worth 8.4 billion rupees.

DFCC was the sole bank to lose market value after being purchased by the EPF, devaluing by 842.1 million rupees or 24.8 percent.
The central bank has been criticized for buying bank shares through the EPF, as the central bank then becomes both a controlling shareholder and the regulator, but had bought the most gains.
The EPF had invested 10.8 billion rupees in companies not listed publicly, most of which had generated had not paid dividends up to end-2017, the central bank said in a disclosure under the right to information law in 2018.

Sri Lanka's stock market is now at lower price to earnings multiples, unlike the 2011 bubble, leading to some making a cases for it to enter the market.
Current governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy had said that corporate Sri Lanka was going at 'fire sale' prices.

Coomaraswamy had said he was setting up a more transparent framework for stock market investments.
He had said stock investments make up around 2.5 percent of EPF assets,  and the central bank plans to increase this to around 5 percent. 

The EPF dealers had earlier made controversial 'pump and dump' deals with some market participants in the run up to 2011, earning it the sobriquet 'buyer of last resort.'
Some critics suspect that the relationships made at the time made the so-called 'bondscam' possible.

https://economynext.com/Sri_Lanka_s_EPF_loses_most_from_Laugfs,_Dockyard,_Carsons;_gains_from_banks-3-13184-3.html

Thanks

ඉතිහාසයේ මුල්වරට සංචාරක ඉපයීම් රු. බිලියන 700 ඉක්මවයි

January, 21, 2019