Sri Lanka shares slip from near 3-wk high on profit taking

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares ended slightly weaker on Tuesday, ending a four-session run of gains, to slip from a near three-week high as investors booked profits, brokers said.

The Colombo stock index ended 0.28 percent or 17.72 points down at 6,350.40, slipping from its highest close since Nov. 15 hit on Monday. The bourse gained 1.17 percent last week, recording its first weekly gain in four weeks.

Despite recent gains, investors are concerned that proposed increases in various taxes and fees would reduce disposable income and challenge consumption-led growth.

"The market is going to be volatile for some time," said Atchuthan Srirangan, a senior research analyst with First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

The government aims to boost its 2017 tax revenue by 27 percent to 1.82 trillion rupees year-on-year to meet a commitment given to the International Monetary Fund in return for a $1.5 billion loan in May.

Brokers said investors were concerned about the sustainability of rates after the central bank on Tuesday kept key rates unchanged.

Foreign investors bought a net 36.9 million rupees ($248,000) worth of shares on Tuesday. They have been net sellers of 1.79 billion rupees worth of shares this year.

Turnover was 492.97 million rupees, compared with this year's daily average of 698.4 million rupees.

Shares of Commercial Leasing and Finance Plc fell 8.33 percent while Dialog Axiata Plc fell 0.95 percent. 

($1 = 148.8000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal)

Colombo Stock Exchange Market Review – 06th Dec 2016

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Colombo Stock Exchange Trade Summary 06-Dec-2016

Colombo shares snapped the four straight sessions of gains to close lower on Tuesday amid lackluster investor activity. All Share index lost 17.72 index points or 0.28% while 20-scrip S&P SL index shed 15.80 index points (-0.44%).

Index was dragged down by high caps namely, Commercial Leasing & Finance (closed at LKR 3.30, -8.3%), Dialog Axiata (closed at LKR 10.50, -1.9%) and Hatton National Bank (closed at LKR 220.00, -1.4%).

Daily market turnover was LKR 493mn. Commercial Bank was the top contributor to the turnover with LKR 191mn followed by Nestle Lanka (LKR 66mn), Teejay Lanka (LKR 45mn) and Commercial Credit & Finance (LKR 35mn). Two crossings were seen in Teejay Lanka where 0.98mn shares changed hands at LKR 44.00.

Market breadth was negative where out of 192 scripts traded, 90 slipped, 41 advanced while 61 remained unchanged. High investor activity was witnessed in Commercial Credit & Finance, Access Engineering, Galadari Hotels & Teejay Lanka.

Meanwhile, Central Finance declared an interim dividend of LKR 1.50 per share.

Foreign investors were net buyers with a net foreign inflow of LKR 37mn. Foreign participation was 59%. Net foreign inflows were seen in Teejay Lanka (LKR 22mn), Commercial Bank (LKR 14mn), Ceylon Tobacco (LKR 10mn) while net foreign outflow was mainly seen in Seylan Bank non-voting (LKR 16mn).

Source: LSL

Sri Lanka’s Cargills Bank gets Theagarajah as Joint Deputy Chairman

(LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Cargills Bank has appointed sector veteran Rajendra Theagarajah as the Joint Deputy Chairman. He will be joined by Ranjit Page.

“We are cognizant of the exemplary service that Theagarajah has rendered to the banking industry and we are confident that Cargills Bank would immensely benefit from his business acumen and exceptional industry knowledge and enable Cargills Bank to be a lead player in the industry in the foreseeable future,” Louis Page, chairman of Cargills Bank said.

Theagarajah has 30 years of experience in the banking and financial services sector both locally and internationally. He served as Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Development Bank Plc (NDB) from August 2013 till 30 November 2016 and prior to that was CEO/Managing Director at Hatton National Bank PLC for nine years.

He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and is a past Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) Sri Lanka Governing Board.

Ceylinco Life’s income tops Rs 17 billion in nine month

Ceylinco Life has reported total income of Rs 17.165 billion for the nine months ending 30th September 2016, reflecting growth of 15.3 per cent over the corresponding period of last year.

Premium income for the nine months improved by 11 per cent to Rs 11 billion, while investment and other income grew by 23.6 per cent to Rs 6.16 billion in the review period, the company said.

The company’s investment portfolio grew by a noteworthy Rs 13.24 billion or 19.7 per cent over the nine months to pass the Rs 80 billion mark at the end of the third quarter of 2016, manifesting Ceylinco Life’s prudent investment strategies.

The company’s investment portfolio as at 30th September 2016 comprised of Government Securities (57 per cent); Licensed Private Banks (10 per cent); State Banks (2 per cent); Real Estate (7 per cent); Corporate Debt (23 per cent) and Others (1 per cent). These investments are made in conformity with the investment guidelines stipulated under the Regulation of the Insurance Industry Act No 43 of 2000 and are subject to regular monitoring by the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL).

A transfer of Rs 6.7 billion in respect of the review period saw the company’s Life Fund grow to Rs 74.72 billion as at 30th September 2016, while total assets increased by Rs 14 billion or 17.6 per cent to Rs 94.37 billion.

The shareholders fund grew by an equally impressive 16.87 per cent to Rs 10.5 billion in the nine months reviewed.

“We are pleased with our performance in the year to date because it represents the ability of the company to generate solid operational growth even in non-conducive market conditions,” Ceylinco Life Managing Director/CEO Mr R. Renganathan said. “It is no secret that disposable incomes continue to shrink, making life insurance beyond the means of many vulnerable segments. We continue to address this with affordable products and new delivery channels, while focusing on the fundamentals of the business.”

Ceylinco Life paid Rs 4.93 billion in net claims and benefits during the nine months reviewed, an increase of 12.5 per cent over the corresponding period of 2015.

The company’s comparative figures for 2015 include a period prior to the segregation of the business of Life Insurance as required by Section 53 of the Regulationof Insurance Industry (Amendment) Act No. 03 of 2011. Ceylinco Life commenced operations as a standalone life insurance business from 1st June 2015.

Adjudged Sri Lanka’s Best Life Insurer in 2016 for the third consecutive year by World Finance, Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies. The company is acknowledged as the benchmark for innovation in the local insurance industry for its work in product research and development, customer service, professional development and corporate social responsibility.

Visitors to Sri Lanka up 16-pct in Nov 2016, 2 million target in sight

(LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in November rose by 16 percent to 167,217 arrivals with Chinese and Western European markets continuing their growth momentum.

In the first 11 months arrivals rose to 1.82 million, up by 14.7 percent, making two million mark for the year achievable. December is likely to be a strong month, as Sri Lanka received 206,000 visitors during December last year.

This year’s figure is up sharply from an annual average of 300,000 to 400,000 tourists the island greeted during a war with Tamil Tiger separatists.

Arrivals from Western Europe grew by 16 percent YoY to 46,565 persons in November 2016 whilst visitors from the United Kingdom was up 23.2 percent to 13,337 in the month of November. German arrival grew 10.6 percent to 11.172 in the same period.

Chinese arrivals were up 10.5 percent to 18,590 in November 2016 compered to the previous year while India grew at a lesser pace of 2.8 percent.

Arrivals from East Asia rose 13 percent YoY to 31,586 with South Asia recording a rise of 12 percent YoY to 46,319 persons.