Colombo Stock Exchange Changes Milanka Index from January 2011

22nd December 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka's Milanka Price Index (MPI) is to be changed from January 03 for the first half of 2011 by adding a conglomerate, hotel and finance company, the Colombo Stock Exchange said.

The new firms included in the index for the period from January 03 to June 30, 2011 are Galadari Hotels (Lanka), Hemas Holdings group, and LB Finance while ACL Cables, Colombo Dockyard and Lanka IOC have been dropped.

The Milanka index, one of the two main indices on the Colombo Stock Exchange, tracks the 25 most liquid stocks weighted on market capitalisation during the previous year.

The other index is the All Share Price Index which indicates the price fluctuations of all the listed companies and covers all the traded companies during a market day.

The composition of the companies in the Milanka Price Index with effect from January 03 is as follows:

Banks, Finance & Insurance
Commercial Bank of Ceylon
DFCC Bank
Hatton National Bank
Janashakthi Insurance
LB Finance
Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka
National Development Bank
Nations Trust Bank
Pan Asia Banking Corporation
Sampath Bank
Seylan Bank

Health Care
Nawaloka Hospitals
Beverages, Food & Tobacco
Distilleries Co. of Sri Lanka

Investment Trusts
Environmental Resources Investment

Diversified
Hemas Holdings
John Keells Holdings
Richard Pieris

Land & Property
Overseas Realty (Ceylon)

Manufacturing
Chevron Lubricants Lanka
Chemical and Pharmaceuticals
Chemical Industries (Colombo)

Telecommunication
Dialog Axiata

Trading
Brown & Co

Hotels & Travels
Asian Hotels and Properties
Galadari Hotels (Lanka)
John Keells Hotels

Related Info:
Revision of the Composition of the Milanka Price Index (MPI) - 3rd January 201 To 30th June 2011

Colombo Stock Exchange Continues Its Upward Swing. Turnover for the Day Rs 3.29bn

01st December 2010, www.news360.lk

The Colombo Stock Exchange today continued its upward swing which was gained yesterday.

At todays trading the ASPI gained 1.94% to finish at 6559 points while the Milanka went up by 1.75% to close at 7110 points.

Investors were more prone towards selective buying.

Foreign investors were engaged in aggressive buying thus resulting in a net inflow of Rs. 560.8 million.

Price gainers outnumbered the price losers 175 to 30.

The turnover for the day stood at Rs. 3.29 billion.

Related Info:
Colombo Stock Exchange Returns 124pct upto Oct in 2010

Colombo Stock Exchange Returns 124pct upto Oct in 2010

25th November 2010, www.news360.lk

Colombo Stock Exchange has returned the best yield for stock investors out of all global stock exchanges up to October this year.

The CSE has brought in a yield of 124% for its investors during the period.

It was followed by stock markets such as Indonesia, Colombia, Philippines and Santiago which has provided returns of 53.5, 48.8, 46.8 and 46.1 percent, respectively.

Citing statistics of World Federation of Exchanges todayszaman.com said the Athens Stock Exchange has depreciated the most out of all stock exchanges between the period of January to October 2010, falling 42.4%.

Despite the high returns during the 1st 10 months of this year, the Colombo Stock Exchange, on the other hand, was down 4.6 percent in October and saw the largest drop.

The Tehran, Osaka, Tokyo and Luxembourg stock exchanges all fell in October — 3.5, 2.6, 2.2 and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Colombo All Share Index up by 102.31 Points on Investor Interest

29th October 2010, www.stock-market-today.net

At the end of Friday's trading Colombo ASI closed at 6878.05, up 102.31 points while MPI which represent most liquid twenty five stocks of the Colombo Stock Exchange was up by 129.07 points to end the day at 7241.77. Today's total equity turnover was amounted to 2.65 billion rupees.

There were 133 gainers and only 49 losers for the day. Index heavy Carsons and John Keells Holdings (JKH) were the top two contributors for today's 100 point gains. Carsons was up by 72.60 to close at Rs 1074.50 while JKH closed 7.60 higher at Rs 299.80.

LOLC a leasing company entered in to fast construction industry by acquiring stake in Sierra Construction (pvt) Ltd was up by 17.70 to close at Rs 1299.70. Ship Builder Colombo Dockyard Plc was up by 11 rupees to close at Rs 285.20.

Investor interest is getting hotter on Laugfs Gas IPO as opening date is getting closer day by day. Laugfs initial public issue will officially open on 4th November 2010 and I am sure it will have to close the same day due to over subscription.

Colombo Stock Exchange Becomes Best Performing Capital Market in the World Recording 111.14pct Growth

02nd September 2010, www.dailynews.lk, By Charumini De Silva

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) became the best performing capital market in the world recording a growth of 111.14 percent, while the All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the CSE crossed 7,000 milestone creating history yesterday, Colombo Stock Exchange Business Development Manager, Thushara Jayaratne said.

The CSE topped with 111.14 percent, followed by MSE Top 20 Index with 109.71 percent. DSE General Index was 56.48 percent becoming the third. The ASPI closed at 7,147.77 moving up by 150 points whilst the Milanka Price Index (MPI) recorded 7,829.05 up by 276.3 points.

The turnover for the day was Rs 6.01 billion. All indices of the capital market recorded their highest levels yesterday.

Speaking to the Daily News Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairperson, Indrani Sugathadasa said the result was a combined effort of all stakeholders of the stock market.

As the regulator SEC made good directives and guided the market to have a fair and transparent market.

“The credit should also go to President Mahinda Rajapaksa as he opened the door for foreign investers to invest in our country and the political stability of the country provided immense confidence to all investors”, she said.

Logan Rockefeller Global Lanka Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd., Managing Director, Channa de Silva said this signifies that all fund managers across the world are looking at the Bloomberg rankings. Sri Lanka gaining the top slot will interest and will influence them to invest in the CSE.

“No other country in the world currently enjoys the unparallel growth potential that the country offers after the 30-year war. All economic indicators demonstrate beyond any doubt of rapid impressive economic conditions in Sri Lanka, which will be a significant factor to attract investments”, he said.

The Price Earning Ratio (PER) has increased up to 28 times whilst the Price to Book Ratio (PBR) was over three times. However, at least another two to three large companies which are doing well in construction, leisure and power has absolute priority to up the liquidity and provide the ever increasing local retail market.

The Government development efforts in roads, power, sea, air ports and other hardcore infrastructure elements are critical to attract investors. Therefore, their commitment to the country will rapidly increase with the CSE becoming the best in the world, de Silva said.

Sri Lanka's CSE Market Cap Reaches Rs 2 Trillion

13th September 2010, www.news360.lk

The Colombo Stock Exchange saw its market capitalization reaching the Rs. 2 trillion Mark for the 1st time ever.

Both the ASPI and MPI also ended in positive territory by gaining over 100 points each.

The All Share Price Index fetched 107.81 points to end the day at 6131.22 points while the Milanka Price Index rose by 157.04 points to close at 6435.35 points.

Investor Interest was seen on counters such as Distilleries, LOLC, Aitken Spence, JKH, Malwatte, Kotagala and Balangoda.

Turnover for the day stood at Rs. 4.4 billion.

113 counters saw price gains while 98 counters saw price declines.

Sri Lanka CSE All Share Price Index Passes 6,000 Point Mark

09th September 2010, www.news360.lk

Colombo Stock Exchange closed the day on a positive note today with both indices making gains.

All Share Price Index gained 60.8 points to close the day at 6,023.41 points while the MPI ended the day at 6,278.31 points by gaining 125.00 points.

The turnover for the day was Rs. 4.1 billion.

JKH saw 2.3 million of its shares been traded with 1.5 million of them done on a single crossing which saw the share price tagged at Rs. 275.

JKH shares reached the highest price of Rs. 284.

Niranjan Niles a Stock broker at Taprobane Securities said there was quite a bit of interest in NDB shares as well.

According to him, 963,000 NDB shares have changed hands with 750,000 of them going through a negotiated deal.

Sri Lankan Stocks Rise to New Highs. Turnove over 3bn

11th June 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan stocks rose to new highs Friday, passing the 4,500 points mark as institutional investors bought blue chips while retailers took profit from over-priced shares and re-invested in cheaper ones, brokers said.

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed at 4,561.33, up 65.09 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid stocks rose 0.87 percent (44.79 points) to close at 5,182.16.

Turnover was 3.3 billion rupees, according to stock exchange provisional figures.

"Retailer and institutional activity pushed the indices to an all-time high," said Nikita Tissera, research manager at SC Securities.

"We also did see an encouraging net foreign inflow."

Foreign buying was 908 million rupees and selling 769 million rupees.

The market historical PER (price-to-earnings ratio) rose to 22.5 times with Friday's rise in the indices.

Index heavy Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka shares were heavily traded. It closed at 127.75 rupees, up 5.00 with almost 2.8 million shares traded.

John Keells Holdings, another index heavy conglomerate closed at 199.75 rupees, up 1.50 with over 1.27 million shares changing hands.

Aitken Spence closed at 1,560.25, down 9.75, Hayleys closed at 308.00 rupees, up 3.50 and Hemas Holdings closed at 174.75 rupees, up 14.25.

Dankotuwa Porcelain closed at 13.50 rupees, down 3.50 with three million shares traded, while 13.6 million shares of First Capital Holdings changed hands, Friday. It closed at 20.75 rupees, up 75 cents. Nawaloka Hospitals closed flat at 6.25 with 4.16 million shares traded.

Nation Lanka Finance, which in a stock exchange filing reported a serious loss of capital closed at 13.50 rupees, down 50 cents.

Piramal Glass Ceylon closed at 2.50 rupees, down 10 cents with over 10 million shares traded, brokers said.

Banking sector shares, apart from Hatton National Bank, continued to gain, brokers said.

Commercial Bank closed at 280.50 rupees, up 1.25, HNB closed at 290.50 rupees, down 5.00, Nations Trust Bank closed at 47.25 rupees, up 25 cents, Sampath Bank closed at 348.00 rupees, down 50 cents and Seylan Bank closed at 69.50 rupees, up 3.25 with over a million shares traded, brokers said.

DFCC Bank closed at 262.00 rupees, up 3.00, and National Development Bank closed at flat at 247.00 rupees.

Dialog Telekom, a celco closed at 9.00 rupees, up 25 cents with over 3.1 million shares traded, and fixed line operator Sri Lanka Telecom closed at 38.00 rupees, up 25 cents.

Sri Lankan Import Tax Cut Sends Motor Shares Up

02nd June 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan motor company share prices shot up again Wednesday after news of tax cuts of up to 50 percent on motor vehicle imports, brokers said.

Diesel and Motor Engineering (DIMO), agents for German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes Benz, Cherokee of the US and heavy vehicles and car manufacturer TATA Motors in afternoon was trading at 648.00 rupees, up 97.25.

On Tuesday it closed at 550.75 rupees, up 105.00.

United Motor Lanka, agents for Mitsubishi Motors Corporation of Japan was trading at 145.00 rupees, up 9.25, and Sathosa Motors, agents for Isuzu cars and heavy vehicles was trading at 167.75 rupees, up 15.25.

Colonial Motors was trading at 116.50 rupees, up 9.00.

On Tuesday, UMLL closed at 135.75 rupees, up 30.25, while Sathosa Motors closed at 152.50 rupees, up 15.50 and Colonial Motors closed at 116.50 rupees, up 9.00.

The motor companies will only realize the tax cut benefits in the medium to long term, Thakshila Hulangamuwa, vice president at stock brokering firm Asha Phillip Securities said.

Another area of concern is if the government would increase or introduce new taxes on motor vehicles in future, he said.

Related Information:
Sri Lanka Vehicle Tax Slash Lauded by Motor Industry. SUVs to Come Down by Rs4mn. Car Prices too Come Down

Sri Lanka Stocks Pass 4200 Points. Looks Well on the Way to Reach 4,300 in the Midterm

03rd May 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan stocks passed 4,200 points Monday as price gains on selected high values shares pushed the market up, while Janashakthi Insurance and Commercial Bank trades helped turnover pass 3.0 billion rupees, brokers said.

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed at 4,219.22, up 30.34 points while the Milanka index of more liquid shares rose 0.84 percent (39.80 points) to close at 4,752.23.

Turnover was 3.3 billion rupees, according to stock exchange provisional figures.

"The gains made early in the day settled to a realistic level towards end of trading," Thakshila Hulangamuwa, vice president at stock brokering house Asha Phillip Securities said.

Brokers said this was the first instance the ASPI had passed the 4,200 point barrier and it looked well on the way to reaching 4,300 points in the midterm.

Carsons Cumberbatch closed at 585.50 rupees, up 16.75, and The Bukit Darah closed at 4,812.50 rupees, up 438.75. Both firms have overseas palm oil interests.

Finlays Colombo closed at 240.00 rupees, up 13.25.

Large deals on Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Janashakthi Insurance pushed turnover past a 3.0 billion rupees, brokers said.

Commercial Bank closed at 239.75 rupees, up 25 cents with 5.0 million shares traded, Hatton National Bank closed at 242.50 rupees, up 8.00, Sampath Bank closed at 290.00 rupees, down 25 cents and Seylan Bank closed at 52.75 rupees, up 1.75.

Nearly 24 million shares of Janshakthi Insurance changed hands Monday. It closed flat at 14.25, brokers said.

Conglomerates Aitken Spence closed at 1,450.00 rupees, down 25 cents, Hayleys closed at 285.00 rupees, up 4.00, Hemas Holdings closed at 133.00 rupees, up 50 cents and John Keells Holdings closed at 191.00 rupees, up 5.75.

Sri Lanka Telecom closed at 36.50 rupees, down 50 cents, and Dialog Telekom closed flat at 7.25.

Colombo Stock Exchange Ecstatic on Government's Stability

23rd April 2010, www.sundaytimes.lk

The Colombo bourse ended trading on Friday on ecstatic investor sentiment, with analysts saying that the new government’s stability has given them a positive outlook in this post-war economy in the country.

“The market saw a significant shift in investor sentiment during this week as investors, mostly retailers denoted buying interest in most of the blue chip stocks,” an analyst said.

He said that the market recorded lavish gains on all four trading days of the shortened trading week as premier banking counters, diversified counters, manufacturing counters and Hotel counters registered significant price appreciations.

The All Share Price Index rose 44.09 points to close at 4,121.64 points (+1.08%), whilst the Milanka Price Index also increased 19.05 points to close at 4,695.83 points (+0.41%).

Share Volume was at 60,243,597 with the total turnover at Rs 1,780.8 million.

Domestic purchases amounted to Rs 1,686.5 million while domestic sales amounted to Rs 1,329.6 million.

Foreign purchases amounted to Rs.94.3 million whilst foreign sales amounted to Rs.451.1 million.

Sri Lanka's All Share Price Index at Record High. Hits 4,000 Points

19th April 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan stocks shot through the 4,000-point mark on the benchmark index Monday, hitting a new high as investors returned after holidays, enthused by anticipated higher corporate earnings and political stability after an election, brokers said.

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The All Share Price Index closed at 4,015.36, up 1.22 percent (48.49 points) while the more liquid Milanka index rose 1.29 percent (58.36 points) to close at 4,576.10.

Turnover was 1.76 billion rupees, according to stock exchange provisional figures.

The ASPI is up 18 percent so far this year.

"The high sentiment on the hotels and tourism sector continued," said Nikita Tissera, research manager at stock brokering firm SC Securities.

"All the highest trading stocks today were either hotel stocks or had high exposure to hotel stocks in their investment portfolios."

John Keells Hotels, the leisure unit of the John Keells Holdings group, was the most actively traded stock, with 13.5 million shares changing hands, generating a turnover of 288.8 million rupees.

The stock closed at 22 rupees, up 1.75.

Hotel stocks have become an investor favourite in anticipation of higher earnings propelled by a post-war tourism boom.

Nawaloka Hospitals was also heavily traded, with 24.4 million shares done, generating 102.9 million rupees in turnover. The share closed at 4.50, up 60 cents.

Brokers said the rise of Nawaloka Hospitals can be attributed to the expected good performance in Galadari Hotels in which it holds a big stake.

The reporting season for March earnings is just around the corner and most companies are expected to post better earnings as the economy improves with the end of the 30-year ethnic war last May.

A government victory in parliamentary polls earlier this month has also buoyed investor confidence as it is seen as ensuring political stability.

Sri Lankan Stocks Record New High. Turnover Rs 2.77bn

07th April 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan stocks hit a record high and passed 3,900 points Wednesday as institutional and high net-worth investors bought index-heavy, high-value shares, brokers said. Colombo's All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed at 3,909.61, up 39.26 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares gained 1.26 percent (56.12 points) to close at 4,497.24.

Turnover was 2.77 billion rupees, according to stock exchange provisional figures.

Price increases in index heavy stocks pushed the market up, brokers said.

The ASPI passed 3,900 points for the first time, brokers said.

John Keells Holdings closed at 190.00 rupees, up 4.00 with almost 5.3 million shares traded. Aitken Spence closed at 425.00 rupees, up 5.00, Hayleys closed at 239.75 rupees, up 3.00 and Hemas Holdings closed at 118.75 rupees, down 1.25.

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka closed at 123.25 rupees, up 1.25 with 3.27 million shares changing hands, brokers said.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed at 225.00 rupees, down 2.00, Hatton National Bank close at 212.25 rupees, up 7.25, Sampath Bank closed at 234.75 rupees, up 5.00 and Seylan Bank closed at 50.00 rupees, up 50 cents.

Institutional investors also bought selected mid-cap stocks, brokers said.

Asia Capital, an investment bank controlled by Vijayeswaran Vijayaratnam, closed at 15.25 rupees, up 1.50 with 1.37 million shares traded, brokers said.

Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings closed at 425.00 rupees, up 5.00, John Keells Hotels closed at 19.50 rupees, up 75 cents, Renuka City Hotel closed at 240.00 rupees, up 15.00 and Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, formerly known as Trans Asia Hotel closed at 183.50, up 5.25.

Ceylon Tobacco Company, a unit of British American Tobacco closed at 254.25 rupees, up 4.00, and Nestle Lanka, a unit of Swiss based food company Nestle, closed at 509.00 rupees, up 9.00.

Environmental Resources Investments ordinary voting shares closed at 110.00 rupees, down 2.75. Its 0000 warrants closed at 77.50 rupees, down 2.50, and 0001 warrants closed at 77.00 rupees, down 2.00.

Sri Lankan Stocks Closes High with Turnover at Rs 5.71bn

25th March 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan stocks closed higher Thursday pulled up by gains in index heavy John Keells Holdings (JKH), while a large deal on Hatton National Bank (HNB) pushed turnover to over five billion rupees, brokers said.

The All Share Price Index closed at 3,730.43, up 7.71 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares gained 0.38 percent (16.45 points) to close at 4,337.05.

Turnover was 5.71 billion rupees, according to stock exchange provisional figures.

Brokers said foreigners sold 5.2 billion rupees of shares, and bought 465 million, resulting in a net outflow of 4.7 billion rupees.

"The day's turnover was dominated by JKH and HNB," Waruna Singappuli, head of research at NDB Stockbrokers said.

"The market speculation is that local institutional investors, primarily state funds, had increased their stakes in HNB, while a foreign fund sold."

Brokers said 25.8 million HNB shares changed hands at 180.00 rupees, in a negotiated off-the-floor deal. It closed at 180.25 rupees, down 25 cents.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed flat at 195.00 rupees, with 1.22 million shares traded. Seylan Bank closed flat at 46.00 rupees.

JKH, a conglomerate with business interest on transport, retail, finance, leisure and food processing sectors closed at 178.00 rupees, up 7.00.

Aitken Spence closed at 1,378.25 rupees, down 7.75, Hayleys closed flat at 225.00 rupees and Hemas Holdings closed at 117.75 rupees, down 25.

In other trading on the stock market, Environmental Resources Investments ordinary voting shares closed at 241.50 rupees, down 13.00. Its 0000 warrants closed at 150.75 rupees, down 3.00, and 0001 warrants closed at 152.50 rupees, down 1.25.

Brokers said at the end of trade Thursday there were 54 gainers and 74 losers.

Sri Lankan Shares Gain Marginally Led by Local Buying

25th February 2010, www.sundaytimes.lk

Sri Lankan shares closed marginally firmer on Thursday as a result of local buying mostly on post-war economic optimism and profit taking, but foreign investors resorted to selling rather than buying , ahead of April polls,analysts said.

"There were retail and institutional buying as investors had no option, under the present economic and political situation, a stock broker said. Foreigners were net sellers in most of the trading sessions so far this year he added.

The All Share Price Index closed at 3,782.25, up by 6.74 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares gained 15.29 points to close at 4,347.27. Turnover was Rs. 856 million , and the share volume was 24.4 million according to stock exchange provisional figures.

NDB has made the highest contribution to the turnover with Rs. 113 million. It closed flat at Rs.220.00 , a stock broker said . Walker&Greg closed at Rs. 247.50 , up by Rs.14.75 contributing the second highest amount of Rs.73.4 million to the turnover . 462, 100 NDB shares crossed off the board at Rs.220.00 he said.

Sri Lanka's Benchmark ASPI Passed 3500 Point Mark for the First Time

05th January 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka's benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) passed the 3,500 point mark for the first time Tuesday, on strong retail buying with blue chip stocks continuing to make gains, brokers said.

The ASPI ended at 3,519.94, up 38.30 points while the more liquid Milanka closed at 4,025.66, up 1.61 percent (63.91 points), according to provisional stock market data.

Turnover was 1.54 billion rupees.

"Investors were picking blue chips ahead of presidential elections and the sentiment is at an all-time high," Nikita Tissera, research manager at stock brokering house SC Securities said.

"We may see some of the retail interest turning to mid-cap stocks in the near future."

Conglomerate John Keells Holdings closed at 180.00 rupees, up 1.00, and alcohol manufacturer Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka closed at 114.00 rupees, up 4.75 with over 1.5 million shares changing hands.

Selected hotel sector stocks were heavily traded, brokers said.

John Keells Hotels closed at 26.00 rupees, up 1.75 with nearly 2.0 million shares changing hands, and Hotel Services closed flat at 19.00 rupees, with 3.0 million shares traded.

Aitken Spence Hotels closed at 294.75 rupees, up 6.25, Galadari Hotels closed at 16.50 rupees, up 1.00, Hotel Developers closed at 121.50 rupees, up 3.50 and Hunas Falls Hotels closed at 52.25 rupees, up 4.00.

"The high occupancy rates in the leisure industry prompted a run on hotel stocks today," Tissera said.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed at 193.00 rupees, up 2.25, Hatton National Bank closed at 179.75 rupees, up 7.25, Sampath Bank closed at 220.25 rupees, up 1.00 and Seylan Bank closed at 38.75 rupees, down 25 cents.

National Development Bank closed at 211.50 rupees, up 2.00 and DFCC Bank closed at 172.50 rupees, up 2.00.

Sri Lanka's largest celco Dialog Telekom closed flat at 7.00 rupees, and fixed line operator Sri Lanka Telecom closed at 44.00 rupees, down 1.00.

Brokers said there was heavy speculative trading on forestry company Touchwood Investment. It closed at 95.00 rupees, up 9.25 with over 1.55 million shares changing hands, and Lanka Cement closed at 24.25 rupees, up 1.25.

Sri Lanka Stocks up 2.84-pct, Foreign Funds Beginning to Enter the Asia’s Best Performing Bourse

04th January 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan stock closed the first day of trading for the year up 2.84 percent Monday with retail investors chasing diversified, manufacturing and banking sector stocks, brokers said.

The Colombo all share price index (ASPI) ended at 3,481.64, up 96.09 points while the more liquid Milanka closed at 3,961.75, up 2.92 percent (112.37 points), according to provisional stock market data.

Turnover was 1.15 billion rupees.

Brokers said foreign funds were beginning to enter the market which had a bull run last year and ended 2009 as Asia’s best performing bourse, and the world’s second-best performing after Russia.

"The bourse is attracting new funds,” said Thakshila Hulangamuwa, vice president at stock brokering firm Asha Phillip Securities.

The flow of new money could help sustain the latest gains, he said.

John keels Holdings (JKH) was heavily traded, brokers said.

JKH closed at 179.00 rupees, up 7.50 with 1.32 million shares changing hands, brokers said.

Ceylon Tobacco Company closed at 200.00 rupees, up 15.00, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka closed at 109.00 rupees, up 3.75 and Colombo Dockyard closed at 283.50 rupees, up 38.75.

Sampath Bank closed at 219.25 rupees, up 15.00 rupees, Seylan Bank closed at 39.00 rupees, up 2.00 and Commercial Bank of Ceylon 190.75 rupees, up 1.25.

National Development Bank ended at 209.25 rupees, up 3.25, and DFCC Bank at 170.50 rupees, up 3.50.

Sampath Bank in a stock exchange filing dismissed a media report over the weekend that it planned to go for a 4.0 billion rupee 'rights issue'.

It said it is not planning a rights issue at present.

Sri Lanka Stocks, Asia’s Best Performers, On High

30th December 2009, www.bloomberg.com, By Anusha Ondaatjie

Sri Lanka’s stocks, Asia’s best- performing in 2009, may extend gains as the end of a 26-year civil war and low interest rates help boost economic growth, the island’s biggest fund manager said.

The Colombo All-Share Index, which rose 0.9 percent to a record of 3,385.55 today, may climb to 3,500 in two months, said Bimanee Meepagala, an analyst at Eagle NDB Fund Management Co., the nation’s biggest non-state fund. The gauge has jumped 125 percent this year, the world’s second-best gainer after Russia.

“The market was re-rated on post-war optimism,” said Meepagala, who manages the equivalent of $236 million. “Strong economic growth and corporate earnings will help the market continue its upward momentum.”

Sri Lanka’s $41 billion economy is expected to grow as much as 6 percent next year from an estimated 3.5 percent expansion in 2009, the central bank said in October. President Mahinda Rajapaksa quashed an uprising by Tamil separatists in May and the island has drawn the interest from investors including Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s Mark Mobius and Jim Rogers, author of books including “Adventure Capitalist.”

The central bank has cut lending rates five times this year to a five-year low as inflation plunged from a record high in June 2008. Rajapaksa has called a presidential election for Jan. 26, two years before his mandate expires, as he seeks to capitalize on the end of the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May.

Economic Growth

Gross domestic product expanded 4.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 2009, after gaining 2.1 percent in the three months to June 30, the statistics department said Dec. 18. Sri Lanka’s exports in October declined 4.9 percent, the least this year, as orders increased for the South Asian island’s tea and rubber. Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka have increased since June.

“There are still some big macroeconomic challenges but what we’ve seen at the end of the civil war was a fundamental shift in the circumstances,” said Peter Taylor, a fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore, which overseas about $25 billion in Asian assets. “We still find some good value in the banking sector.”

Aberdeen holds shares of Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc , the country’s biggest non-state lender, and John Keells Holdings Plc, which has the largest weighting on the benchmark index.

Selling by Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire Galleon Group LLC founder accused of insider trading, won’t cause an “overhang” on the Colombo Stock Exchange “as there are plenty of buyers in the market,” Eagle NDB’s Meepagala said.

Mobius, Rogers

Mobius, chairman of Templeton Asset, said last month he’s seeking private equity or strategic investments in Sri Lanka after the end of the war. Rogers also said in August the nation’s stocks may offer better returns as the government is expected to spend more on infrastructure and agriculture.

The International Monetary Fund, which granted Sri Lanka a $2.6 billion loan in July, expects the island’s economic growth and credit demand to pick up.

John Keells Holdings, also Sri Lanka’s biggest diversified company, and Aitken Spence Plc, the island’s largest operator of resorts, are also likely to post gains in earnings next year, Meepagala said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anusha Ondaatjie in Colombo at anushao@bloomberg.net

Sri Lanka Stocks up 122-pct. Market Re-rating by Retail Stock Buyers are High Net Worth Investors

28th December 2009, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan retail stock buyers are focusing on mid capitalised firms while high net worth investors are chasing blue chips up in a fresh re-rating of the market, which is up 122-pct so far this year, analysts said.

"The traders will be slowly shifting towards midcap stocks expecting prices to follow the blue-chips," Thakshila Hulangamuwa, vice president at stock brokering firm, Asha Phillip Securities said.

"There can be a slowdown in the retail buying frenzy on the blue-chip stocks. However the high net worth and institutional investors will still go after high valued stocks."

JKH which traded at a trailing market price to earnings ratio (PER) of 12.1 on May 19, 2009 is now trading at a 22.43, SC Stockbrokers said.

Sri Lanka's largest listed bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon traded at a multiple of 5.71 on May 18, 2009, and is now trading at 10.8 times.

Trailing market price to earnings is the current price of a stock divided by last year's four quarters earnings per share.

The market PE multiple has moved up to 16.1 percent by December 24 up from 13.6 in September. The multiple was 7.0 times in May when the leadership of the Tamil Tiger separatists was wiped out.

On Monday the Colombo all share price index ended at 3,344.89, up 1.58 percent (52.13 points) while the more liquid Milanka closed at 3,809.02, up 0.84 percent (31.78 points).

Turnover was 563.2 million rupees.

Confifi Hotels closed at 154.00 rupees, up 4.00, John Keells Hotel closed at 22.25 rupees, up 1.50 and Mahaweli Reach Hotels closed at 19.50 rupees, up 1.00.

Sigiriya Village Hotels closed at 38.25 rupees, down 25 cents and Aitken Spence Hotels closed at 265.00 rupees, up 50 cents.

JKH closed at 170.50 rupees, up 25 cents, and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, an alcohol manufacturer closed at 105.50 rupees, down 1.50.

Commercial Bank closed at 189.00 rupees, up 2.00.

Central Finance closed at 310.00 rupees, up 4.00 rupees, and Nation Lanka Finance, a former unit of troubled Ceylinco Group closed flat at 15.25 rupees.

"Some retail investors may seem uncomfortable with the present soaring prices of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), for the simple fact that they haven’t seen such high share prices in the recent past," Nikita Tissera, research manager at SC Securities said.

"It must be noted that the war has come to a definite halt, thus removing a huge uncertainty away from the CSE’s investment equation. In such situations the markets usually warrant a significant re-rating of the trading multiples.

"Colombo’s ASI still trades at a significantly lower market (PER) compared to the trading multiples of Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong."

By end June 2009, Singapore's market multiples were at 12 times, India 15, Malaysia 18, Taiwan 60 and China at 29.

Hemas Power closed at 19.50 rupees, and Haycarb, a unit of diversified Hayleys closed at 140.75 rupees, up 1.75.

Retailer favorite Lanka Cement closed flat at 24.00 rupees.

Sri Lanka Stocks Hit New High. Up 1.44-pct

22nd December 2009, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lankan shares closed up Tuesday as investors continued buying into the market to cash in on an anticipated market re-rating following presidential elections next month, brokers said.

The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 1.44 percent (46.54 points) to end at 3,280.82 while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained 1.84 percent (67.74 points) to close at 3,757.02, according to provisional stock exchange data.

Turnover was 1.44 billion rupees.

"Market sentiments are at an all time high with the investors grabbing blue chips despite the festive season," Nikita Tissera, research manager at stock brokering firm SC Securities said.

"We are also of the view that investors are grabbing shares before the presidential election.

"I'm expecting the market to rerate itself upwards in the short to medium term after the presidential elections," Tissera said.

Conglomerate John Keells Holdings closed at 167.00 rupees, up 4.75, and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka closed at 106.50 rupees, up 1.25.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed at 190.00 rupees, up 1.75, Hatton National Bank closed at 170.75 rupees, up 1.50, Sampath Bank closed flat at 202.00 rupees and Seylan Bank closed at 37.00 rupees, up 75 cents.

National Development Bank closed at 205.00 rupees, down 1.00 and DFCC Bank closed at 164.50 rupees, up 1.50.

Sri Lanka Telecom closed at 44.75 rupees, up 75 cents and Dialog Telekom, a unit of Telekom Malaysia closed flat at 7.00 rupees.

Retailer favorites, Touchwood Investment 86.75 rupees, up 1.50 and Lanka Cement closed at 24.50 rupees, up 75 cents.