‘Our ship is on the way,’ says Wegapitiya while elaborating on latest plans

A ship capable of transporting liquid petroleum gas (LPG) has been ordered by Laugfs Gas at an investment of USD 6.9 million and the company would take delivery of this ship very soon, Laugfs Group Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya told AdaderanaBiz.lk

This ship ordered from Europe is capable of carrying around 7,000 metric tons of gas at a time and it would be utilized in the company’s LPG gas business, he added.

“Sri Lanka has been planned to be made a maritime hub under the Mahinda Chintana manifesto. This is how Laugfs Gas is assisting these policies. We bring LP gas from foreign countries on our own. In the future we may be able to provide such services to other countries in the region as well,” he proudly added further.

Recently, Mr. Wegapitiya had informed the Colombo Stock Exchange that Laugfs Gas PLC has incorporated a fully owned subsidiary under the name Laugfs Maritime Services Private Limited as a Board of Investment (BOI) approved project.

Laugfs Maritime Services Private Limited would own, operate, hire and charter various types and sizes of ships including Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) shipping vessels and other types of vessels that can carry various energy products.

He had also stated that a memorandum of understanding has been signed to purchase the LGP shipping vessel ‘Gas Puffer’ at an initial investment of around USD 6.9 million, rename it as ‘Gas Challenger’ and register it under the Sri Lankan flag.

Laugfs Gas is the second largest business entity in Sri Lanka’s LP gas market while the largest is Litro Gas which had earlier been Shell Gas Ltd and later acquired by the government.
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HNB acquires PC House premises at Kollupitiya

The Hatton National Bank has acquired the registered premises of financially troubled PC House PLC situated at Kollupitiya in Colombo 3.

Hatton National Bank PLC acquired and took over the entire premises at No. 451, Galle Road, Colombo 3 under a parate execution.
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Sri Lanka bourse gains for 4th straight session; seen gaining further

(Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks rose for the fourth straight session on Friday to touch its highest in more than three years. The gains were led by banking and diversified shares on bullish sentiment due to lower interest rates, higher foreign fund buying and positive economic outlook.

Stockbrokers said they expected the index to gain further as the market is expecting another rate cut during the central bank's monetary policy rate meeting next week. The announcement is scheduled for 0200 GMT on Tuesday.

The main stock index ended up 0.39 percent, or 28.02 points, at 7,234.92, its highest closing level since June 9, 2011.

"The market is continuing its bull run on the back of lower interest rates and positive outlook," said a stockbroker asking not to be named. "The market is expecting a rate cut because the treasury bill rates are now below the policy rates."

Yields on treasury bills fell 3-4 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday and are below the central bank's standing deposit facility rate or the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks.

The cut in energy prices on Tuesday has also enthused the market.

Sri Lanka is aiming for a higher economic growth of 8.2 percent and a lower fiscal deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product next year, a government document showed on Thursday.

The index has gained 22.36 percent so far this year.

The bourse has been in an overbought region since July. The Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, rose to 83.883 on Friday compared with Thursday's 81.562, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Shares in Bukit Darah Plc, which led the overall gain in the index, rose 2.69 percent to 725 rupees, while the biggest listed lender by market capitalisation, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, rose 1.27 percent to 158.90 rupees.

The day's turnover was 2.52 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($19.35 million), more than this year's daily average of over 1.27 billion rupees.

Foreign investors were net buyers of 196.3 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, extending their year-to-date net purchases of 11.1 billion rupees.

($1 = 130.2500 Sri Lankan rupee) 

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

Sri Lanka stocks close up 0.4-pct

Sep 19, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's indices closed in the positive territory with the price gains witnessed in diversified stocks amid strong foreign participation, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 28.02 points higher at 7,234.92, up 0.39 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 29.38 points higher at 4,018.98, up 0.74 percent.

Turnover was 2.52 billion rupees, down from 2.90 billion rupees a day earlier with 130 stocks closed positive against 79 negative.

John Keells Holdings closed 1.10 rupees lower at 256.70 rupees with three off-market transactions of 114.89 million rupees changing hands at 258.00 rupees per share contributing 5 percent of the turnover.

The aggregate value of all off-the-floor deals represented 15 percent of the turnover.

Chevron Lubricants Lanka closed 1.00 rupee lower at 344.00 rupees with market transactions of 270.70 million rupees contributing 10 percent of the daily turnover.

Richard Pieris and Company closed 20 cents higher at 9.30 rupees and Access Engineering closed 50 cents higher at 29.00 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day.

Foreign investors bought 828.48 million rupees worth shares while selling 632.16 million rupees worth shares.

Bukit Darah closed 19.00 rupees higher at 725.00 rupees and Hemas Holdings closed 3.20 rupees higher at 59.00 rupees, contributing most to the index gain.

Carson Cumberbatch closed 6.70 rupees higher at 447.70 rupees and CT Holdings closed 6.50 rupees higher at 160.00 rupees.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed 2.00 rupees higher at 158.90 rupees.

Sri Lanka stocks at over-3-year high; more gains seen

(Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks closed at their highest in more than three years on Thursday led by large-caps on improved sentiment due to lower interest rates, higher foreign buying and a positive economic outlook.

Stockbrokers said they expected the index to gain further.

The main stock index ended up 0.39 percent, or 27.70 points, at 7,206.90, its highest close since June 10, 2011.

"There is a lot of buying demand. Sellers are hiding until they get a premium price," said Jaliya Wijeratne, CEO at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd. "We expect the index to gain further due to lower interest rates and positive outlook."

Institutional investors were very active on Thursday, while retail participation was also high due to an optimistic outlook, analysts said.

The cut in energy prices on Tuesday also enthused the market.

Sri Lanka is aiming for a higher economic growth of 8.2 percent and a lower fiscal deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product next year, a government document showed on Thursday.

Yields on treasury bills fell 3-4 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday.

The index has gained 21.89 percent so far this year.

The bourse has been in an overbought region since July. The Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, rose to 81.562 on Thursday compared with Wednesday's 80.087, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Shares in Ceylon Tobacco Company, which led the overall gain in the index, rose 0.85 percent to 1,180 rupees, while large-cap Nestle Lanka Plc rose 1.03 percent to 2,100.10 rupees.

The day's turnover was 2.9 billion rupees ($22.26 million), more than this year's daily average of over 1.25 billion rupees.

Foreign investors were net buyers of 29 million rupees worth of shares on Thursday, extending the year-to-date net foreign buyers of 10.91 billion rupees. 

(1 US dollar = 130.2600 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Sri Lanka stocks close 0.4-pct

Sep 18, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's stocks closed 0.39 percent higher with tobacco and beverage stocks gaining amid strong foreign participation, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 27.70 points higher at 7,206.90, up 0.39 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 12.79 points higher at 3,989.60, up 0.32 percent.

Turnover was 2.90 billion rupees, up from 2.18 billion rupees a day earlier with 129 stocks closed positive against 68 negative.

Access Engineering closed 60 cents higher at 28.50 rupees with ten off-market transactions of 356.23 million rupees changing hands at 28.00 rupees per share contributing 12 percent of the turnover.

John Keells Holdings closed 20 cents lower at 257.80 rupees with three off-market transactions of 283.72 million rupees changing hands at 257.80 rupees per share contributing 10 percent of the turnover.

The aggregate value of all off-the-floor deals represented 42 percent of the daily turnover.

First Capital Holdings closed 4.10 rupees higher at 42.80 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day.

Foreign investors bought 995.22 million rupees worth shares while selling 966.21 million rupees worth shares.

Ceylon Tobacco Company closed 10.00 rupees higher at 1,180.00 rupees and Nestle Lanka closed 21.50 rupees higher at 2,100.10 rupees, contributing most to the index gain.

Hayleys closed 13.60 rupees higher at 353.40 rupees.

BOC’s Rs. 8 b debenture issue oversubscribed

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
The Bank of Ceylon’s (BOC) first debenture issue for the year worth Rs. 8 billion was oversubscribed on its official opening day on Tuesday following an oversubscription.

“The issue took place just as expected. With BOC having a strong position in the market, we were confident the debenture would be oversubscribed on the opening day itself,” BOC Senior Deputy General Manager International, Treasury and Investment P. A. Lionel told the Daily FT.

He said the first trench of Rs. 4 billion was reached within an hour of opening and was oversubscribed by 2 p.m. the same day. The exact number of applications for the issue which comprised five and eight year tenure, and the basis of allotment will be notified in due course. Fund raised from the issue will be used to strengthen BOC’s Tier 2 capital base and reduce asset and liability maturity mismatches.

BOC offered involved 40 million unsecured, subordinated, redeemable debentures at Rs. 100 each with an option to issue an equal amount in the event the initial figure of Rs. 4 billion was oversubscribed.

The debenture is the sixth to be issued by BOC, and its first for the year.

Rated ‘AA’ by Fitch, the public issue was attractively structured giving investors the opportunity to select from five types of debentures: Type A with a five year tenure and 8% payable annually, Type B with a five year tenure and 7.75% (Annual Equivalent Rate, AER 7.98%) payable quarterly, Type C with a tenure of five years and six months gross T-bill rate +0.50% payable bi-annually, Type D with a tenure of eight years and 8.25% payable annually and Type E with a tenure of eight years and six months gross T-bill rate +0.50% payable bi-annually. The managers and registrars for the issue was BOC’s Investment Banking Division.

According to a report released by NDB Securities, the fund raised will help strengthen BOC’s liquidity position while taking advantage of the comparatively low interest rates in the market and manage the gap exposure in the bank’s asset and liability portfolios.

While the debenture offered a lower premium to prevalent Treasury Bond yields in comparison to debentures with similar tenures issued in the recent past, BOC’s credit rating is the highest among the comparable listed debentures justifying the lower premium, NDB Securities said.

BOC, in its last debenture that was issued on October 2013, raised Rs. 8 billion with it being oversubscribed also on the official opening day. It drew applications worth Rs. 11.69 billion. It was valued at Rs. 4 billion, with an option to increase the size up to Rs. 8 billion in the event of oversubscription.

The debenture was priced at Rs. 100 each. The unsecured, subordinated, redeemable debentures were divided into nine choices and had tenures in the range of five to 10 years, with both fixed and floating coupon rates.

The interest rates offered ranged from 13% payable annually to 12.6% semi annually, on five-year fixed rate debentures, as well as one with five-year floating rate payable semi annually, and eight-year fixed at 13.25% payable annually, an eight-year floating rate payable semi annually, nine-year fixed rate of 13.25% payable annually and 10-year fixed rate of 13.75 payable annually.
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