Sri Lankan shares slip on political concerns

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday amid moderate volumes, slipping for the second straight session as political uncertainty ahead of impending parliamentary elections weighed on sentiment.

Elections to Sri Lanka's 225-member parliament are expected to be announced after April 23 and it is unclear whether the ruling coalition led by President Maithripala Sirisena would contest unitedly or go to the polls separately.

The main stock index edged down 0.09 percent, or 6.68 points, to 7,304.61.

"Though there is buying interest, there is no significant push in the market to go and buy all out, mainly because of political uncertainty," said Dimantha Mathew, manager, research at First Capital Equities (pvt) Ltd.

Nestle Lanka Plc slipped 0.02 percent while Dialog Axiata Plc fell 0.83 percent.

Turnover was 986.8 million rupees ($7.42 million), well below this year's daily average of 1.41 billion rupees.

Foreign investors bought a net 209.1 million rupees worth shares on Wednesday, extending the year-to-date net foreign investor inflow to 2 billion rupees.

The bourse saw net foreign inflow of 22.07 billion rupees in 2014.

($1 = 133.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)

Sri Lanka’s Access Engineering branches out to East Africa

Sri Lanka’s Access Engineering PLC has registered a branch office within the Free Zone of the Republic of Djibouti under the operating name of Access Engineering PLC East Africa Branch.

The company has been authorized to carry out general trading activities, except retain sales in markets within and outside Djibouti.

Access Engineering PLC East Africa Branch plans to provide engineering services and to carry out construction projects in the Republic of Djibouti.
www.adaderana.lk

Sri Lanka consumer authority sets maximum retail prices for items reduced through budget

Sri Lanka's Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has set maximum retail prices for several items commonly used by the consumers.

The CAA has issued a gazette notification to inform the prices of goods which were reduced through the government's interim budget.

Accordingly, following prices have been set effective from 20th February 2015.

• One packet of 400 grams of milk powder is Rs. 325. One kilo packet is Rs. 810.
• One kilo of unpacketted sugar is Rs. 87.
• A 400-gram pack of Sustagen is Rs. 1,500.
• One kilo of wheat flour is Rs. 87.
• One kilo of green gram is Rs. 265.
• One kilo of imported sprats is Rs. 385.
• 425-gram canned fish is Rs. 140. 155- gram canned fish is Rs. 70.
• One kilogram of coriander is Rs. 350 .
• One kilo of ulundu is Rs. 300 .
• One kilo of Maldives fish is Rs. 1,740 .
• One kilogram of turmeric powder is Rs. 800 .
• One kilogram of chili powder is Rs. 400 .
• 50 kilogram bag of cement is Rs. 840 .

Meanwhile, All Ceylon Bakery Owners Association has agreed to sell 450 grams of loaf of bread for Rs.54.

The Consumer Affairs Authority orders that no manufacturer, importer, packer, distributor or trader shall sell, expose or offer for sale, display for sale the items listed, above the maximum retail prices.

www.lankapage.com

Sri Lankan shares slip from over 1-wk high on political woes

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday after hitting a more than one-week high in the previous session as political uncertainty weighed on sentiment despite foreign inflows.

The main stock index edged down 0.21 percent, or 15.02 points, to 7,311.29, snapping a three-session winning streak.

Ceylon Tobacco Co Plc fell 1.56 percent with only 55 shares changing hands.

Turnover was 1.25 billion rupees ($9.41 million), below this year's daily average of 1.43 billion rupees.

Parliamentary election is expected to be announced after April 23 and there is still uncertainty whether the ruling coalition would contest together or separately.

Foreign investors were net buyers of 434.5 million rupees worth of shares on Tuesday, extending the year-to-date net foreign inflow to 1.79 billion rupees.

The bourse saw a net foreign inflow of 22.07 billion rupees in 2014. ($1 = 132.9000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Lankan exit hurts Packer's bottomline

JP Morgan: Australian casino company Crown Resorts Ltd net profits have seen a dip and the report says the decision not to invest in Sri Lanka has had a negative impact on their profits. Crown Resorts Ltd reported net profit of AUD 201.8 million (US$157.5 million) for its fiscal year first half, down 47.2 percent year-on-year.

The result was pulled back by write downs on international projects, including in Sri Lanka, and a slide in earnings from Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (MCE). As a result, Crown's share of MCE's reported net profit fell by 42.2 percent year-on-year to AUD 85.3 million. Crown, controlled by Australian billionaire James Packer, also said that it had written down its investment in casino operator Cannery Casino Resorts LLC in the United States. The write downs - identified as 'significant items' -, amounting to AUD 61.3 million, included also costs associated with a proposed project in Sri Lanka, which has now been discontinued, the casino operator added.

An official from Board of Investment said that they have never asked Packer to exit. "What the government maintains is that no new casino licenses would be issued." A similar project undertaken by John Keells Holdings to build a resort hotel in Colombo 2 with a Casino too faced the same problem. However they will continue with the project sans the casino."

"We were the only country in the world where casino revenue wasn't taxed.

"It became an issue for us also because all religious leaders opposed it," Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told The Australian .

But Wickremesinghe said the door remained open to Australian investors who would find a newly open and transparent investment climate. "This whole business of crony capitalism, where only a few people got the permits, will be abolished," he said. "We are putting a new investment regime in place.

"We want to encourage direct foreign investment in the real economy, in manufacturing, agriculture and the services sectors", the PM said.
www.dailynews.lk

Shareholders want action against Touchwood directors

Hiran H. Senewiratne (hsenewiratne @gmail.com)

All depositors and shareholders of Touchwood urged the government to investigate and file legal action against former directors, current directors and top officials attached to the company.

The Touchwood files are lying at the Attorney General's Department without legal action they said.

One of the shareholders of Touchwood Investment told the Daily News Business that the Commercial High Court ordered the liquidation of Touchwood and files against the directors are still at the Attorney General's Department unattended. "So far no action has been taken against directors of Touchwood, a shareholder said.

However, an Attorney General's Department source told the Daily News Business that they are now in the process of preparing all documents against the responsible persons who put Touchwood into this plight. All shareholders and depositors of the company have complained to the Securities and Exchange Commission that this company has not conformed to the regulations.

Therefore, directors and top officials of the company should be brought before the court, they said. The depositors and shareholders have complained to the SEC, the Central Bank and the Criminal Investigations Department to take remedial action against directors and top officials of the company.

Touchwood Investments founder Chairman, Roscoe Maloney and Swarna Maloney his wife are the main shareholders of the company. Former Touchwood Chairman Vijaya Kiulegedera told the media that irregularities of more than Rs 1.5 billion have occurred during Maloney's period. Touchwood has been a listed company in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) it is auditors are also responsible for the collapse of the company, shareholders said.

Some shareholders queried why the company's external audit firm and the accountants involved in auditing have not informed the SEC about the questionable insider dealings, one of the shareholders said.
www.dailynews.lk

Continental Insurance reaches new heights with 30% growth to Rs. 1.87 b

Continental Insurance Ltd. said yesterday it has recorded highest growth in gross written premium of 30% and 25% in net profit since beginning its operations five years ago.
Continental Insurance has established itself as a key player in the industry by expanding to 35 branches island-wide and increasing its market share to 3.5% in the General Insurance sector.

CILL offers a diverse product portfolio to its customers encompassing property, motor, marine and general accident insurance. CILL’s diverse portfolio is matched by its fast track claim settlement done within 24 hours from the time the claim is lodged.

CILL’s (A-) Fitch rating reflects the financial stability of the organisation. It further enhances the confidence of the policy holders to entrust business with absolute assurance.

CILL’s Managing Director Chaminda De Silva commended the high performance of CILL in 2014. Further he added that this was achieved by the organisation independently without any merger with financial organisations or entities. The captive business accounts for only 6.5% of the total GWP which indicates an increase in non-related customer business volumes.

Being a fully owned subsidiary of MelstaCorp and Distilleries Group of Sri Lanka (DCSL PLC), CILL takes pride in the fact that its parent company is among the very few that have been assigned with the well reputed AAA Fitch Rating.

Adding onto their stellar portfolio of achievements, DCSL PLC has also been distinctively featured on Forbes Asia’s exclusive – ‘200 best under a billion’ list.

As one of the topmost conglomerates in Sri Lanka, having Continental Insurance Lanka Ltd under its umbrella, has undoubtedly served as a pillar of strength and stability in the professionalism of their service standards.

CILL’s Board of Directors comprises D.H.S. Jayawardena (Chairman), Chaminda De Silva (Managing Director), Asoka Abeyewardena, Harsha Wickramasinghe, Amitha Gooneratne and Ajit Jayaratne.
www.ft.lk

PLC’s momentum continues in Q3 with Rs. 1.1 b profit

Upholding the growth momentum seen in the first half of the financial year 2014/15,People’s Leasing Group has successfully declared a post-tax profit of Rs. 1.1 billion for the third quarter, reflecting an impressive growth of 31.5% from a year earlier.
Cumulative post-tax profit of the Group reached Rs. 2.98 billion at the end of nine months revealing 29.2% YoY growth. People’s Leasing & Finance PLC (PLC) also reported 21.4% YoY growth achieved a post-tax profit of Rs. 2.67 billion during the nine months ended 31December 2014.

CEO D.P. Kumarage commenting on the company’s performance said: “With the excellent performance that we achieved during first nine months even with the challenges posed outside our boundaries, we are looking forward to successfully complete the rest of the financial year.”

A strong asset base of Rs. 114 billion as at 31December 2014 enabled PLC to retain the title of largest non-bank financial institution in the country. PLC, the flagship subsidiary of People’s Bank, is the highest rated finance company in Sri Lanka whilst being the market leader of the leasing sector for consecutive 12 years.

In view of sharing this outstanding financial performance with its shareholders, PLC declared an interim dividend of Rs. 0.75 per share for the financial year 2014/15 in December 2014.

PLC shares seemed to be an attractive investment option for investors where the market price reached a new all-time high of Rs. 28. Due to the outstanding performance of the PLC stock,the company was included in the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index in December 2014.

PLC shone at a number of prestigious award ceremonies in the third quarter given its commitment towards all its endeavours. Its Annual Report received the Silver Award for Overall Excellence in Financial Reporting at the 50th Annual Report Awards organised by CA Sri Lanka. It was also recognised at the Spotlight Awards 2014 organised by the League of American Communications Professionals and received two awards whilst ranking among Top 100 communication materials of the competition.

In addition, the Annual Report 2012/13 was adjudged as the Second Runner-up in the Financial Services Sector category at the Best Presented Annual Report Awards 2013 organised by the South Asian Federation of Accountants.

Based on the financial performance of the company in 2013/14, PLC was ranked at the 14th position in the Top Twenty Five companies in Sri Lanka by Business Today magazine. 

Considering the commitment extended towards corporate social responsibility, PLC was chosen as one of the Ten Best Corporate Citizens in the Country at the Best Corporate Citizen Awards organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The Gold Award received for the Corporate Social Responsibility reporting at CA Sri Lanka Annual Report Awards underscored the company’s ethical business practices, while it also bagged a Silver Award at the SLITAD People’s Development Awards 2014 organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Training and Development.
www.ft.lk