Uber officially launches in Sri Lanka

(LBO) – Uber, a global ride sharing company with an on-demand technology platform and app that connects commuters who need a ride and licensed drivers, announced the official launch of its uberX product in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday.

“Demand for Uber is rapidly growing as more and more residents and tourists in Colombo open up the Uber app and take their first ride,” Varun Mundkur, senior launcher, Uber said in a statement.

“Our experience globally gives us the confidence that ride sharing and technological innovation in transportation can make cities safer, easier to get around, less congested, and more livable.”

With over 1 million credit cards and 11 million debit cards in Sri Lanka and over 20 percent of the population on smart phones, Sri Lanka is poised for Uber, the statement said.

UberX features air-conditioned sedans and premium hatchbacks at economical prices and is currently available in over 200 of the 360+ cities that Uber operates in.

Data from other cities with uberX service, such as New York, shows that the efficiency driven by the Uber platform helps drivers earn more while keeping fares affordable for riders.

Sri Lanka has borrowings of USD1.5 bln in pipeline for next year

(LBO) – Sri Lanka may go to international markets to raise up to 1.5 billion dollars next year for budgetary financing, in line with the amount raised this year, a central bank official said.

Sri Lanka raised 1.5 billion dollars in a 10-year sovereign bond issue in October with a coupon of 6.85 percent for budgetary financing and to increase foreign reserves.

This was Sri Lanka’s ninth US Dollar benchmark as well as the largest offering in the international bond market since 2007.

After ending a war with Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009, the island has increasingly gone to international markets for its borrowing program.

This is also due to less opportunities for concessional borrowing tied to rising per capita incomes.

Sri Lanka Treasuries yields up at auction

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's Treasury bill yields edged up at Wednesday's auction with the 12-month yield rising 06 basis points to 6.92 percent, data from the state debt office showed.

The 3-month yield rose 04 basis point to 6.10 percent and the 6-month yield rose 05 basis points to 6.35 percent.

The debt office sold 7.9 billion rupees of 3-month bills, 7.8 billion rupees of 6-month bills and 8.9 billion rupees of 12-month bills totalling 24.8 billion rupees.

There is an estimated 25.5 billion rupees of bills maturing on Friday.

The data seemed to indicate that no significant amounts of fresh money was printed to repay maturing bills unlike in the recent past.

Over the last six months, the Central Bank printed money to repay bills, undermining a Treasuries auction process started in the mid-1990s by then Governor A S Jayewardene.

The new money fired credit and import demand to unsustainable heights and generally de-stabilized the credit system and busted the exchange rate.

Over the last two weeks the central bank had mopped up some of the excess liquidity from money markets through open market operations. Analysts say it is not clear whether Sri Lanka is getting back to prudent monetary policy or whether recent monetary tightening operations are a temporary aberrations from the loose path.

Bond yeilds also rose after the auction.

Sri Lankan shares end lower for 4th straight session

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares closed lower for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as investors turned cautious going into the holiday season and ahead of a likely decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week on raising interest rates, brokers said.

The main stock index ended down 0.11 percent at 6,841.55, its lowest close since March 31.

"Local participation is very low with the post-budget impact and with the closing in of holiday season. Investors are not in a buying mood ahead of the Fed rate decision," said Dimantha Mathew, research manager at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

Sri Lanka's stock market has fallen for 10 out of the last 11 trading sessions and investor sentiment has been subdued after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week warned of lower economic growth next year due to the global slowdown.

The International Monetary Fund said on Monday Sri Lanka's 2016 budget raises questions about its ambitious revenue and capital expenditure targets as the government is falling far short of steps needed to improve the tax system.

Sri Lanka doubled a nation-building tax and adjusted the corporate tax structure in its budget for 2016 on Nov. 20 to finance greater government spending in health and education, and accelerate the pace of economic expansion.

Foreign investors have sold a net 3.35 billion rupees ($23.40 million) worth of equities so far this year, but they bought a net 66.9 million rupees worth shares on Wednesday.

Turnover stood at 586.1 million rupees, well below this year's daily average of 1.1 billion rupees.

Shares of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Plc fell 1.12 percent, while Dialog Axiata Plc slipped 0.93 percent lower. Chevron Lubricants Lanka Plc lost 1.60 percent.

Shares in index heavyweight John Keells Holdings Plc closed down 0.28 percent. 

($1 = 143.1500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)

Gardiner props bourse

Ceylon Finance Today: The stock market fell for the third consecutive market day yesterday, but its fall would have been steeper, if not for CIC, a second tier stock, controlled by high net worth individual Sohili Captain and his son Rusi which added both volumes and value to the day's trading.

CIC contributed to 51.94% of yesterday's total turnover with Rs 510.35 million and 24.87% of yesterday's total share volume (SV) with 24.87%. The seller was believed to be an account connected to the Galle Face Group of Sanjeev Gardiner fame and the buyer, CIC ESOP, ie the company's employee shareholder trust which holds equities on behalf of the CIC staff.

Contributions to turnover were both by CIC (voting) and non voting (NV) with Rs 371.17 million and Rs 139.18 million on SVs of 3.38 million and 1.62 million respectively. CIC voting closed, up 9.20% to Rs 109.20 and CIC (NV), up 15.29% to Rs 88.20 a share. The benchmark ASPI declined by 0.14% to 6,849.09 points; the more sensitive S&P SL 20 Index by 0.24% to 3,624.39 points on a low 20.12 million SV and on a Rs 982.53 million turnover.

Losers outnumbered gainers by a ratio of 84:61. The bourse enjoyed a modest net foreign inflow of Rs 12.77 million, though in the calendar year to date it has suffered a net foreign outflow of Rs 3.1 billion.

Troubles besetting the bourse are investor being bogged down by fears that there will be a flight of foreign capital due to expectations that the Federal Reserve System will raise its near zero policy rates next week, the rise in indirect taxes in Budget 2016, manipulators who had a field day during the previous regime staying away from the bourse due to fear of prosecutions and the near absence of retailers who got their fingers burnt due to the aforesaid white-collar crooks.

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