Leapfrog group buys Sri Lanka Soflogic Life Insurance stake from FMO

ECONOMYNEXT - A 19-percent stake in Sri Lanka's Softlogic Life Insurance has been sold by the Netherlands-based FMO to the Leapfrog Investments group, which has a focus on Asia and Africa.

"This investment reveals our positive view of Sri Lanka's long-term trajectory, and its financial services industry," Leapfrog Chie Executive Andrew Kuper said in a statement.

Softlogic Chairman Ashok Pathirage said exiting partner FMO helped strenghten the firm.

He hoped the investment in his insurance unit woudl be the first of many investments in Sri Lanka.

The stake changed hands in two blocks, one of 35.6 million shares at 30.80 rupees each and the other of 35.6 million shares at 30.70 rupees each, down 19-20 percent from the previous, opening trade.

The total value of the 71.2 million shares traded was 2.18 billion rupees. The transaction amounted to a 19 percent stake in Softlogic Life Insurance, formerly Asian Alliance Insurance.

Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank to raise Rs7.5bn through debenture issue

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon said it plans to raise 7.5 billion rupees through a new debenture issue with an option to double the amount in the event of an oversubscription.

A statement said the bank will issue 75 million listed, unsecured, rated, redeemable subordinated Basel III compliant debentures at 100 rupees each with a non-viability conversion feature,making them hybrid instruments convertible into equity.
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The debentures, which will have a minimum tenure of five years and maximum tenure of 10 year, are subject to shareholder and regulatory aproval.

Sri Lanka's Lighthouse Hotel in Rs450mn upgrade

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Lighthouse Hotel said it will invest 450 million rupees to refurbish and upgrade rooms, public and service areas and plant and equipment next year.

A stock exchange filing said 63 out of 85 rooms of the Jetwing Lighthouse on the south coast will be upgraded from May to July 2019.

The remaining 22 rooms will be operational during the period, usually considered the ‘off-season’ when tourist arrivals fall.

The hotel will be fully operational by August 2019.

Sri Lankan rupee hits record low on foreign outflows

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee fell to a record low on Wednesday due to continued outflows of foreign funds mainly from government bonds as political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.

** The rupee hit an all-time low of 181.85 to the dollar in early trade, surpassing its previous record of 181.67 marked in the previous session. It has weakened about 4.8 percent since Sri Lanka’s political crisis began on Oct. 26, and lost 18.4 percent so far this year. 

** The rupee ended at 181.80/182.00 per dollar, compared with 181.50/70 in the previous session.

** President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a 30-member cabinet 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 0.09 percent weaker at 6,019.62 on Wednesday. Turnover was 670.9 million rupees, below this year’s daily average of 840 million rupees.

** Foreigners were net buyers of 344.7 million rupees ($1.9 million) of stocks on Wednesday. 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 25 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.

($1 = 181.4000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; editing by John Stonestreet)

Sri Lankan rupee hits record low as foreign outflows continue

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee fell to a record low on Monday due to continued outflows of foreign funds from bonds and stocks as political uncertainty dented investor sentiment.

** The rupee hit an all-time low of 181.67 to the dollar in early trade, surpassing its previous record of 181.25 marked in the previous session. It has weakened about 4.7 percent since the political crisis began. The currency dropped 1.8 percent in November, and has lost 18.2 percent this year. 

** Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a 30-member cabinet on Thursday, retaining control over the police while they investigate an alleged plot to kill him that triggered a row with the premier and led to a lengthy political crisis.

** The political crisis was expected to ease after Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom he had ousted in October. The country plunged into a 51-day crisis following the ouster. However, a delay in appointing cabinet ministers dented sentiment, dealers said.

** Political paralysis remained the main concern for investors since Sirisena abruptly sacked Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Dec. 15 as a government shutdown loomed.

** Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a 1.77 trillion rupee ($9.39 billion) vote on account on Friday to meet the expenditures of first four months to avert a government shutdown from Jan. 1.

** Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Dec. 16, making a remarkable comeback weeks after being ousted by Sirisena under controversial circumstances. 

** The Sri Lankan rupee strengthened early last week, while bond yields dropped as the political crisis appeared to ebb, but investors took a cautious stance to observe whether Sirisena and Wickremesinghe could work well together.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 5.6 million rupees ($30,888.03) worth of stocks on Monday. They have been net sellers of 13.7 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 56.7 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 19, central bank data showed. 

** The rupee ended at 181.50/70 per dollar, compared with 181.30/50 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating early December, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.


** This year, there have been 23.1 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 148.9 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank showed.

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 22 basis points since the political crisis began, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022, which have risen around one percentage point to 8.0 percent through Dec. 14, fell 0.42 percent to 7.6 percent on Monday.

** The Colombo stock index ended 0.32 percent firmer at 6,025.12 on Monday. Turnover was 326.2 million rupees, well below this year’s daily average of 841 million rupees.

($1 = 181.3000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal, Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Softlogic Life Insurance, Lanka IOC in S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index

ECONOMYNEXT – The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has included Softlogic Life Insurance and Lanka Indian Oil Corporation in the S&P Sri Lanka 20 index, which tracks the top 20 largest and most liquid stocks, in its latest revision.

Other companies included in the semiannual rebalancing of the index are Ceylon Tobacco Co., Nations Trust Bank and Union Bank of Colombo, , the CSE said in a statement.

They replace Ceylinco Insurance, Hemas Holdings, LOLC Holdings, Melstacorp and Vallibel One at the 2018 year-end index rebalance.

The exclusions and inclusions were announced by S&P Dow Jones Indices, effective from 24 December 2018 (after the market close of 21 December 2018).

The S&P SL 20 index includes the 20 largest companies by total market capitalization listed on the CSE that meet minimum size, liquidity and financial viability thresholds.

The constituents are weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization, subject to a single stock cap of 15%, which is employed to reduce single stock concentration.

The CSE said the S&P SL 20 index has been designed in accordance with international practices and standards.

Effective from 24 December 2018 the stocks in the S&P Sri Lanka 20 in alphabetical order are as follows.

No. COMPANY TICKER
1 Access Engineering PLC AEL.N0000
2 Aitken Spence PLC SPEN.N0000
3 Ceylon Tobacco Co. PLC CTC.N0000
4 Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC LLUB.N0000
5 Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC COMB.N0000 COMB.X0000
6 DFCC Bank PLC DFCC.N0000
7 Dialog Axiata PLC DIAL.N0000
8 Hatton National Bank PLC HNB.N0000HNB.X0000
9 John Keells Holdings PLC JKH.N0000
10 Lanka IOC PLC LIOC.N0000
11 National Development Bank PLC NDB.N0000
12 Nations Trust Bank PLC NTB.N0000
13 People's Leasing & Finance PLC PLC.N0000
14 Richard Pieris & Company PLC RICH.N0000
15 Sampath Bank PLC SAMP.N0000
16 Softlogic Holdings PLC SHL.N0000
17 Softlogic Life Insurance PLC AAIC.N0000
18 Teejay Lanka PLC TJL.N0000
19 Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) TKYO.N0000TKYO.X0000
20 Union Bank of Colombo PLC UBC.N0000

Sri Lankan rupee hits record low on foreign outflows

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee touched a record low in early trade on Thursday and ended weaker amid pressure on the currency due to foreign outflows from bonds and stocks as uncertainty from a political crisis dented sentiment.

**Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a 30-member cabinet on Thursday, retaining control over the police while they investigate an alleged plot to kill him that triggered a row with the premier and led to a lengthy political crisis.

** The political crisis was expected to ease after President Maithripala Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom he had ousted in October. The country plunged into a 51-day crisis following the ouster. However, a delay in appointing cabinet ministers dented sentiment, dealers said.

** Political paralysis remained the main concern for investors since Sirisena abruptly sacked Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday as a government shutdown loomed.

** Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Sunday, making a remarkable comeback weeks after being ousted by President Sirisena under controversial circumstances. 

** The Sri Lankan rupee strengthened in early trade on Monday, while bond yields dropped as a seven-week political crisis appeared to ebb, but investors took a cautious stance to observe whether Sirisena and Wickremesinghe could work well together.

** Foreigners were net sellers of a net 1.8 billion rupees ($9.96 million) worth of stocks on Thursday. They have been net sellers of 13.5 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 56 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 14, central bank data showed. 

** The rupee ended at 181.10/20 per dollar, compared with 180.50/70 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating early December, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** This year, there have been 22.9 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 148.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank showed.

** The rupee had touched a record low of 181.00 to the dollar in the early trade on Thursday. It has weakened about 4.1 percent since the political crisis began. The currency dropped 1.8 percent in November, and has lost 17.8 percent this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 45 basis points since the political crisis began, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022, which have risen around a percentage point to 8.0 percent through Friday, fell 0.30 percent to 7.7 percent on Thursday.

** The Colombo stock index ended 0.57 percent weaker at 6,016.36 on Thursday. Turnover was 3.3 billion rupees, four times this year’s daily average of 844.7 million rupees.

($1 = 180.7500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Sunil Nair)