Sri Lankan rupee hits record low; foreign outflows weigh

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee fell to a record low on Thursday amid dollar demand by state banks and continued outflows of foreign funds mainly from government bonds as political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.

** The rupee hit an all-time low of 182.35 the dollar in early trade, surpassing its previous record of 181.85 marked in the prior session. It has weakened about 5 percent since Sri Lanka’s political crisis began on Oct. 26, and lost 18.7 percent so far this year. 

** The rupee ended at 182.10/60 per dollar, compared with 181.80/182.00 in the previous session.

** President Maithripala Sirisena appointed the cabinet of ministers from his rival party last week after he was forced to reinstate Ranil Wickremeinghe as prime minister, 51 days after he was sacked.

** The political crisis was expected to ease, though uneasy relations between the two men could cause fiscal problems, analysts have said. Parliament approved 1.77 trillion rupees ($9.39 billion) to meet four months of expenditures and avert a government shutdown from Jan. 1. 

** The Colombo stock index ended 0.02 percent weaker at 6,018.19 on Thursday. Turnover was 338.1 million rupees, less than half of this year’s daily average of 840 million rupees.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 6.4 million rupees of stocks on Thursday. They have been net sellers of 13.3 billion rupees since the political crisis began. The bond market saw outflows of about 56.7 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 19, central bank data showed. 

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 35 basis points since the political crisis began. 

** Credit agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating in early December, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook.

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Sri Lanka vehicle registration down in Nov 2018

LBO - Vehicle registration momentum across most categories came down in the month of November relative to October 2018, a new report said.

Data compiled by JB Securities equities research shows total car registrations recorded 3,354 units in Nov down from 5,826 units in Oct but up from 2,400 units 12 months ago.

The measures taken by the fiscal authorities (increase of duty on small cars to a minimum of Rs 1.25 mn on 1 August) and margin requirements on car imports (100% margin from 19 Sep and 200% from 29 Sep) have finally taken effect,  the research firm said.

Brand new car registrations recorded 365 units in November down from 683 units in October and marginally up from 475 units 12 months ago.

Suzuki/Maruti accounted for 187 units of which Wagon R sold by the agents were 131 units. Financing share was 42.2% down from the normal monthly figure of 50-55% indicative of lesser credit financing these vehicles.

The full report is below

Vehicle registration momentum across most categories came down in the month of Nov relative to October. The measures taken by the fiscal authorities (increase of duty on small cars to a minimum of Rs 1.25 mn on 1 August) and margin requirements on car imports (100% margin from 19 Sep and 200% from 29 Sep) have finally taken effect.

• Total car registrations recorded 3,354 units in Nov down from 5,826 units in Oct but up from 2,400 units 12 months ago.
• Brand new car registrations recorded 365 units in Nov down from 683 units in Oct and marginally up from 475 units 12 months ago. Suzuki/Maruti accounted for 187 units of which Wagon R sold by the agents were 131 units. Financing share was 42.2% down from the normal monthly figure of 50-55% indicative of lesser credit financing these vehicles.
• Pre-owned car registrations recorded 2,989 units in Nov significantly down from 5,143 units in Oct but up from 1,925 units 12 months ago. The monthly registration figure is the lowest number for the year, contraction in Wagon R volumes to 665 units from an all time high of 2,846 units in July was the main contributor to the monthly decline. Toyota accounted for 1,544 units followed by Suzuki with 1,041 units. Financing share was 42.6% below the normal monthly average of 50-60% indicative of falling credit funding purchases in this segment.
• Premium branded motor cars recorded 158 units in Nov down from 207 units in Oct. Brand new accounted for a mere 28 units with Mercedes accounting for 11 units (C class 8 units) and BMW 9 units (5-series 4). Preowned accounted for 130 units of which Mercedes accounted for 31 units (C class 27 units), BMW accounted for 54 units (3-series 36 units) and Audi 45 units (A1 45 units, A3 10 units, A4 5 units).

Notable premium cars in Nov were a Porsche Cayenne-S, 3 Jaguar XF/XE and a Mercedes Benz C Coupe. In Oct there were 3 BMW i8s, 1 Jaguar XE, 1 Porsche 718 Boxter and 1 Ferrari 488 Spider.

• SUV and crossover registrations accounted for 1,301 units in Nov down from 1,517 units in Oct but up from 576 units 12 months ago. Brand new vehicles accounted for 397 units – MG 136 units, Peugeot 89 units (3008 68 units), etc. and Pre-owned vehicles accounted for 767 units – Toyota 344 units (CH-R 338 units), Honda 258 units (Vezel 195 units), etc. This segment is continuing to show buoyancy due to a strong performance from Crossovers (see attachment titled ‘Selection of crossovers”) – vehicles with engines less than 1.5L comprise 94.5% of total volumes.
• Electrical car registrations recorded 6 units in Nov down from 5 units in Oct and 5 units 12 months ago. Nissan Leaf accounted for 3 units.
• Hybrid vehicle registrations recorded 1,585 units in Nov significantly down from 2,917 units in Oct and 2,039 units 12 months ago. Motor cars accounted for 1,369 units followed by SUVs accounting for 215 units. Suzuki hybrid cars recorded 948 units in the month down from 2,038 units the previous month and high 3,559 units in July.
• Van registrations recorded 451 units in Nov down from 713 units in Oct and 643 units 12 months ago. Mini vans (< 1,000cc) accounted for 338 units, the balance 113 units were accounted for by mid-size vans. Suzuki Every which is a minivan accounted for 208 units. Financing share was 57.6% down from the normal monthly figure of 65-70%.
• 3-wheelers recorded a low 1,314 registrations in Nov down from 1,932 units the previous month and 2,270 units 12 months ago. Bajaj continues to be the segment leader with a 90.9% share. Financing share was 71.5% in line with previous months.
• 2-wheelers registrations recorded 22,373 units in Nov down from 30,889 units in Oct and 28,334 12 months ago. Scooters accounted for 14,476 units with the balance 7,897 units being motor cycles. Honda continues its dominance in the scooter category with a 60.9% share and an overall segment share of 42% followed distantly by Bajaj, TVS and Yamaha with 14.6%, 15.6% and 16.5% segment share, respectively. Financing share was 73.6% in line with prior months.
• Pickup truck registrations recorded 207 units in Nov up from 146 units the previous months and 175 units previously. Tata recorded 120 units (Xenon 111 units) almost double its normal number claiming a 58% segment share. Financing share was 30.9% below prior month levels of 60% indicative of an institutional purchase of Xenon trucks.
• Mini truck registrations recorded 222 units in Nov down from 359 units in Oct and 334 units 12 months ago. Tata is the category leader with a 86.8% share. Financing share of 85.6% is in line with prior months.
• Light truck registrations recorded 233 units in Nov down from 336 units in Oct and 374 units 12 months ago. Mahindra is the category leader with a 79.1% share. Financing share was 85.8% in line with prior months.
• Medium truck (between 2 MT and 5 MT) registrations recorded 240 units in Nov down from 314 units in Oct and 355 units 12 months ago. Unlike in other truck categories in this category preowned units make up 47.5% of the total. Isuzu is the category leader with a 49.2% share. Tipper registrations recorded 29 units in line with previous months. Financing share was 89.6% in line with prior months.
• Heavy truck registrations recorded 152 units in Nov down from 167 units in Oct and 209 units 12 months ago. Tata is the category leader with a 45% share followed by Lanka Ashok Leyland with a 36.4%. Tipper registrations recorded 25 units significantly down from prior months. Financing share was 87.5% in line with prior months.
• Bus registrations recorded 130 units in Nov down from 201 units in Oct and 381 units 12 months ago. Lanka Ashok Leyland is the segment leader with a 45% share. Financing share was 76.9% lower than the normal monthly rate of 90% indicative of an institutional purchase.