Sri Lankan shares steady; led by large-cap consumer stocks

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares ended little changed on Thursday as gains helped by foreign buying and led by financials were offset by some large-cap consumer staples, while the market awaited directions on the macro economy.

The benchmark Colombo stock index ended up 0.05 percent, or 2.97 points, at 6,417.46 in thin trade.

"Things were a bit slow. But investors were looking at more blue chip counters rather than retail stocks," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

Analysts said investors are waiting for a direction on the country's economic policies, which is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe next month.

The index touched a three-week high on Friday as investor sentiment got a boost after Sri Lanka raised $1.5 billion in its first sale of dual-tranche eurobonds last week.

The more-than $5.5 billion in offers for the issue showed that global investors were bullish about the prospects of the $82-billion economy.

Yields on local T-bills fell at an auction on Wednesday for the second time since April 15, following the strong response to the bond deal.

Turnover stood at 585.7 million rupees ($4.02 million), well below this year's daily average of around 735.9 million rupees.

Overseas investors, who were net sellers of shares worth 4.86 billion rupees so far this year, were net buyers worth 41.8 million rupees of equities on Thursday.

Among the index heavyweights, shares in beverage maker Distillers Company of Sri Lanka Plc rose 2.65 percent, while Cargills (Ceylon) Plc gained 4.16 percent and Hatton National Bank Plc climbed 1.88 percent.

Among the losers, Nestle Lanka Plc slipped 2.9 percent while Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc lost 1.41 percent. 

($1 = 145.7500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

BOC among world’s top 1000 banks, ranked no.1 in Sri Lanka

UK’s ‘The Banker’ Magazine has once again named The Bank of Ceylon as the No. 1 Bank in Sri Lanka among the world’s top 1000 banks in its July 2016 issue.

BOC has won many accolades in the recent past including the title as the ‘Strongest Bank’ in the country given by the ‘Asian Banker’ for the strength of its 2015 balance sheet, the Gold Award as the winner of the National Business Excellence Awards Ceremony and being named the No.1 Brand in the country for the eighth consecutive time. It was able to reach its second trillion by gaining Rs. one trillion deposits in 2016.

The first trillion in assets was achieved in 2012 BOC is set to reach its third trillion in the near future. Breaking its own record set by its 2014 profit before tax of Rs.20.3 billion, it earned the highest ever profit made by a single Sri Lankan business entity which is Rs. 25.3 billion PBT in 2015. This was a 25% growth over the previous year.

“Being able to hold the title as the leading Sri Lankan bank in the World’s Top 1000 banks list is truly a privilege and an honor. As always we have moved forward on a steadfast track as the exemplarily bank in the country’s financial industry. It is my duty to thank all our stakeholders including our Customers and the Government of Sri Lanka at this juncture for encouraging us throughout these years to reach such heights.” Chairman Ronald C. Perera said.

“We have been always driven by the motive of bringing the best out through every task we carry out as the leading bank in the country. It is my duty to thank my committed staff for all their hard work that was put in to get achievements such as this.” General Manager D.M. Gunasekera said.

“The Banker” Magazine UK, is one of the premier banking and finance magazines in the world and has been so since its inception in 1926. The Benchmark top 1000 bank list has been compiled by the “The Banker” since 1970. The Banker database holds comprehensive financial data, news feeds and executive contact data on the leading banks in every country and its ranking sets in the industry standard for measuring bank performance and strength.

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