Sri Lanka opens $1.5 bln port to outside investors

• Aims to attract at least 2,500 ships/year initially 

• Sri Lanka mulls $800 mln Chinese loan for phase 2

• Oil bunkering operation not open for investment

 By Shihar Aneez

HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka on Sunday said it would invite outside investors into its $1.5 billion Hambantota port project, the keystone of a $6 billion post-war infrastructure revitalisation drive.

The invitation for external investment will coincide with the November opening of the port on Sri Lanka's southern coast, along an ancient "Silk Road" trading route and one of the world's biggest East-West shipping lanes.

 The port and its accompanying services represent the single largest investment option for foreign investors in Sri Lanka, which is aiming to transform its  economy after finally ending a quarter-century separatist war in May 2009.

One option that is not on the table for outside investors is the oil bunkering facility. Many have speculated China wants the right to use the site as part of its "string of pearls" strategy to expand its influence and maintain energy security.

 "We will handle oil bunkering. We don't want to give it outside. But bulk cargo handling, storage facility, warehouses, transshipment, and all others are open for investments," Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Priyath Wickrama told Reuters.

About 30 investors -- primarily from India, China,Singapore, Russia, the Middle East, Australia and major shipping lines -- have expressed interest, Wickrama said. He did not elaborate further.

CHINESE PEARL?

China, Sri Lanka's largest infrastructure lender, has loaned $425 million toward the port, which will be Sri Lanka's largest. "We are negotiating with China for an $800 million loan for the second phase," Wickrama said.

Wickrama declined to say if China will have a role in operating the bunkering facility, about which neighboring India has expressed concern to the Sri Lankan government.

Political analysts say Sri Lanka has successfully managed Indian pressure over the Chinese port investment, which could also help transshipment trade on the subcontinent.

Hambantota is one of four ports being built or upgraded under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's plans to renew the Indian Ocean island nation's $42 billion economy by returning it to its old and lucrative role as a trading hub.

Sri Lanka initially aims to get 2,500 of the 70,000 cargo vessels that pass Hambantota annually to use its bunkering and cargo handling facilities, and expand that to 8,000 a year once the second phase is done in 2014.

Sri Lanka now handles around 6,000 ships annually in its only port in Colombo on the western coast, which requires ships plying the East-West shipping lanes to divert.

Initially, Hambantota will have 100,0000 metric tonnes of bunkering capacity, which could be expanded to 4 million metric tonnes if demand picks up.

(Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Michael Shields)

source - http://af.reuters.com

ASPI surpasses 5000 points

The market continued its upward momentum with the ASPI touching the 5000 mark intra day on Tuesday and ended the week at 5161.18 up 265.67 points or 5.4 percent. The MPI (Milanka Price Index) appreciated by 309.60 recording a 5.6 percent increase to close at 5,854.73. The initial quarterly results flowing in have been positive boosting investors’ sentiment further.

Total weekly turnover increased by 20.7 percent week on week to report at Rs 16.21 b. Market turnover was driven by the Investment Trust sector contributing to 24 percent of total market turnover amounting to Rs 3.9 b while the Manufacturing and Banking and Finance sectors contributed 16.6 percent and 16.5 percent respectively. The investment sector price index gained 4260 points week on week while the Banking and Finance sector gained 605.7 points to close at 10986.5.

Trading volumes have increased during the week to record 627.4m shares, a week on week increase of 5 percent. Heavily traded stocks for the week were Mullers, Dialog, and Blue Diamonds.

The total number of trades in a day hit an all time high today by recording 30,728 trades. The week saw a few significant crossings, 5.4m shares of DIST changed hands on a price range of Rs 138 and 140 closing with a gain of Rs 2.75 week on week. Crossings of 15m shares of Janashakthi and 234,500 shares of JKH also took place during the day’s trading. The highest contributor to turnover was Environment Resources (GREG) adding Rs 1.26 b accounting for 23 percent of the total weekly turnover. The other significant contributors were Distilleries, DPL, RICH, Dialog and JKH.

Foreign investors continued to be bullish on the bourse with total purchasing of Rs 2.1 b and selling amounting to Rs 1.8 b, closing the week as net buyers amounting to Rs 358.23 m a decrease of 57 percent compared to the previous week.

Watapota was the top gainer for the week gaining 50 percent on opening price while DPL gained 43 percent to close at Rs 83.25. Top losers for the week were Vidulanka losing 90 percent and Asiri losing 18 percent.

Point of view 

The initial flow of quarterly earnings has boosted investor sentiment and is expected to continue into the week ahead. We expect the market to build on the current momentum on the strength of improvements in macro economic indicators and quarterly earnings growth expected in key sectors. Retailers will continue to actively participate with refunds from the IPO subscriptions also being reinvested in the market.

The information contained herein has been compiled from sources that Acuity Stockbrokers (Private) Limited (ASB) believes to be true and reliable but we do not hold ourselves responsible for its completeness or accuracy. No matter published herein create any liability of any kind on ASB. All opinions, views, findings and conclusions included in this report constitute ASB’s judgment of this date and are subject to change without notice. ASB has the sole copyright for this report and the information and views contained cannot be reproduced or quoted in part or whole in any form whatsoever without the written permission from ASB.

source - www.dailynews.lk

Best Consumer Brochure: Sri Lanka Tourism wins PATA Gold

The revamped consumer travel brochures of Sri Lanka Tourism have been adjudged the PATA Gold Award winner for 2010. The brochures were entered with a title that reads Revamping Consumer Travel Brochures of Sri Lanka Tourism and it won in the Marketing Media – Consumer Travel Brochure category. This is the first time in Sri Lanka Tourism’s history that it has achieved Pata Gold.

The judges were most impressed with the quality of the entry and; with the overall high standard of entries submitted this year. Sri Lanka Tourism was competing with nearly 200 entries from 80 organizations and individuals worldwide.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association that works towards the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with private and public sector members PATA enhances the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within the region. PATA organizes the Gold awards on an annual basis.

The award will be presented at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on September 17, at an event that is expected to attract close to 500 participants. The brochures were designed by Phoenix O and M and the photographs were carefully selected by the staff at Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

“We took a different approach after conducting research on competing destinations brochures. We decided to go with a picture led approach as the research clearly showed that most consumer brochures are used at a very early stage of the decision making process. Therefore these brochures act as an interest generator rather than documented information,’ said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Managing Director Dileep Mudadeniya.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has produced close to 12 new brochures which on various themes including nature and wildlife, beaches, festivals and events to name a few. Each brochure has approximately 12 language translations each. All the brochures have been converted to E brochures which can be accessed at www.srilanka.travel, ensuring easy transference of data.

‘We have these brochures in various travel fairs and has been in demand with tour operators around the world. It has been a longstanding need. We are happy at having finally struck gold at Pata and delighted these brochures have gained world class standards,’ said ASMET President Siri de Silva.

source - www.dailynews.lk

Sri Lanka Telecom offers new tariffs for fixed wireless phones

Aug 01, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka Telecom has changed its tariff plans for new 'Citylink' fixed wireless telephone connections with a rate of one rupee a minute for outgoing calls within its own network for prepaid subscribers.
SLT said in a statement the charges for the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) fixed wireless telephone services are valid 24 hours a day, and includes a daily rental of three rupees.

For postpaid connections, outgoing calls for the first five minutes within the SLT network is billed at 1.25 rupees a minute and from the sixth minute onwards reduced to one rupee per minute.

For outgoing calls to other networks, the first five minutes will be billed at 2.25 rupees per minute and from the sixth minute reduced to two rupees per minute.

These rates are valid 24 hours of the day, and include a monthly rental of 299 rupees, the SLT statement said.

"No start up call charges are levied for both prepaid and postpaid packages and customers are billed on a per minute basis."

These charges are all without counting government taxes and applicable only for new connections.

"However, all existing SLT Citylink CDMA customers are able to avail themselves of the benefits of this new tariff plan by migrating to the new packages," the statement said.

"This was made following the recent direction made by Telecommunication Regulatory Commission requiring all operators to adhere to a stipulated minimum floor rate."

The TRC recently introduced a floor rate for call charges following a fierce price war that caused heavy losses among telecom operators.

source - www.lbo.lk

ASPI crosses 5,000 mark: CSE creating history:

By the Business Desk

Flash

CSE recorded the highest number of trades on a given day by recording 30,728 on Friday

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) closed above the 5,000 level for the first time in history on July 28. The ASPI closed the day at 5,138.9 gaining 139.8 points (2.8 per cent). The Milanka Price Index (MPI) gained 159.5 points (2.8 per cent) to close the day at 5,828.7, also recording the highest level in history. The total turnover recorded during the day was Rs. 3.2 billion.

The market capitalisation at the end of trading today of Rs. 1.68 trillion is the highest market capitalisation recorded in the history of the CSE.

The ASPI has gained 1,753.3 points (51.8 per cent) for the year 2010 to date while the MPI has gained 1,979.3 points (51.4 per cent) for the year to date.

According to Bloomberg News, the performance of the ASPI has led to the CSE being ranked the second best performing stock exchange in the world for the year 2010 to date. CSE was named the second best performing Stock Exchange globally for the year 2009.

Though CSE is creating history elsewhere in Asia the situation is very different. According to AFP report dated July 29 Asian markets were pushed lower with Tokyo losing 0.54 percent by the break while Hong Kong opened 0.28 percent lower, Sydney fell 0.45 percent and Seoul was off 0.12 percent while Shanghai and Singapore were flat due to the US recovery. According to analysts the main reason is the economic and political stability of the country as well as the peaceful situation in the country which attracts investors to the stock market. The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) closing over the 5,000 mark on Wednesday was acclaimed by capital market experts as an outstanding performance that augurs well for the growth of the economy. Senior Banker and Capital market analyst, Mangala Boyagoda said the CSE feat was remarkable but there is still room for growth.

“Sri Lanka’s capital market contribution is around 30 percent of the country’s GDP compared to markets of developed countries which is over 100 percent of the GDP.

“We should encourage more corporates to list on the CSE that would bring in more capital to the Stock Exchange.

The CSE should attract more companies to join the stock market”, Boyagoda said.

Currently around 230 companies are listed in the CSE.

Managing Director, Ceylon Asset Management Co. Ltd., Dulindra Fernando said the strong fundamentals of the Sri Lankan economy were the salient contributor to the growth of the capital market.

“Our currency position is stable compared to developed countries which have not still fully recovered from the economic crisis”, Fernando said.

Stock market analysts commended the growth of the ASPI while being optimistic of sustaining the momentum.

The CSE was rated the best performing stock market this year, a feat reached amidst challenging times.

CSE created history on September 18, 2009 as well by recording the highest ever market capitalisation (the total value of the CSE) of Rs. 942.6 billion.

The previous record was Rs. 938.6 billion, recorded on 13th February 2007.

Market capitalisation represents the aggregate value of a company or stock.

It is obtained by multiplying the number of shares issued by their current price per share.

The total market capitalisation of the CSE is an aggregation of the market capitalisations of all listed companies.

CSE amends ATS

* The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has amended Automated Trading Rules (ATS) with effect from August.

* The crossing threshold has been increased by Rs. 10 mln to Rs.20 mln. The Tick size across the board has been reduced to 10 cents while negotiable brokerage will be reduced from Rs 100 mln to Rs 50 mln. The minimum brokerage floor will be 0.20 percent.

* Accordingly, the revised transaction costs up to Rs. 50 Mn are as follows: Brokerage Fees 0.640 per cent, CSE Fees 0.084 per cent, CDS Fees 0.024 per cent, SEC Cess 0.072 per cent, Share Transaction Levy 0.200 per cent, Total 1.020 per cent For transactions over Rs. 50 mln;

* Minimum Brokerage (floor) 0.2000 per cent, CSE Fees 0.0525 per cent, CDS Fees 0.0150 per cent, SEC Cess 0.0450 per cent, Share Transaction Levy 0.2000 per cent.

* SEC said that above amendments to the ATS Rules and the revised transaction costs will be effective from August 1.

source - www.sundayobserver.lk

Harry sees "very bright’’ future for Distilleries Company

The Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC (DCSL), market leader in the alcohol and spirits and a diversified conglomerate, has earned almost 80% of group revenue in the year ended March 31, 2010 from its core alcohol sector, Mr. D.H.S. Jayawardena, the company’s Chairman/MD has told shareholders in its annual report.

He claimed an "impressive" overall performance for the DCSL group against the backdrop of a sluggish economy saying that the company’s turnover was up marginally to Rs.29.96 billion and net profits up 5% to Rs.2.81 billion during the period under review.

This has been achieved despite a reduction in disposable income among households in the country, Jayawardena noted.

"However, group profits declined from Rs.3.43 billion to Rs.2.15 billion (37%) as a result of the loss of profits due to the government taking over Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) and the poor performance of the telecom sector (Lanka Bell) due to intensive and self destructive price-based competition," he said.

Jayawardena expected compensation soon for the government takeover of SLIC following the Supreme Court ruling that there had been irregularities in the privatization process.

"We were disappointed by this ruling as within a short span of six years, SLIC had been built into a company with strong financials and dynamic profitability,’’ he said.

"While this loss has impacted overall group profitability in the year under review, I see this as a temporary setback."

He said that the compensation payment was "in the pipeline" and should be paid in full soon in accordance with the court order.

Jayawardena saw tourism and transportation as the two key sectors in the economy that would need immediate investment to reap the dividends of the end of the war and said that the Central Bank was making some right moves towards checking inflation and keeping foreign reserves healthy.

The future for the company is "very bright indeed," Jayawardena said. He could say so "with total sincerity".

"The beverage consumer in Sri Lanka is getting more sophisticated and demanding, and we at DCSL feel that we have been able to (predict) the likes and dislikes of the consumer to be able to come up with new product innovations on a regular basis, to retain our leadership position," he said.

"We will continue to focus on our core business while keeping a look out for business ventures that are in sync with our philosophy and expertise."

The launch of Continental Insurance (floated after SLIC reverted to the state) reflected the synergy and going by their success with SLIC, that company had much potential to emerge as a significant player in the insurance segment in the future, Jayawardena said.

The directors of DCSL whose other businesses include plantations (Balangoda and Madulsima), a textile subsidiary (Texpo) and telecommunications (Lanka Bell) have recommended a dividend of Rs.2.50 per share (Rs.2.25 previous year) costing Rs.750 million for the year under review.

The directors said that this was in accordance with the company’s policy of paying sustainable dividends linked to long-term performance keeping in view the company’s need for capital for its growth plans and the intent to finance such plans through internally generated funds.

The company has a stated capital of Rs.300 million, capital reserves of Rs.2.7 billion and revenue reserves of nearly Rs.17.3 billion in its books.

DCSL’s total assets were running at nearly Rs.34.9 billion and liabilities (current and non-current) at nearly Rs.13.4 billion.

The company’s main shareholders are Milford Exports (Ceylon) Ltd (41.49%), Lanka Milk Foods (12.65%), Mr. Muzaffar Ali Yaseen (9.23%) and Mrs. Lorraine Estelle Marlene Yaseen (8.27%). The Life Fund of SLIC owns 6.40% and the General Fund 2.43%.

The directors of the company are: Messrs. D.H.S. Jayawardena (Chairman/MD), R.K. Obeyesekere, C.R. Jansz, N. de S. Deva Aditya, Capt. K.J. Kahanda (Retd), C.F. Fernando, Dr. A.N. Balasuriya and Ms. V.J. Senaratne (Alternate to N. de S. Deva Aditya).


source - www.island.lk

Positive growth in all sectors : Industry and Commerce Minister

All sectors of the economy are achieving positive growth, according to Sri Lanka's Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen. Further remarking that private sector was responsible for 75% of the GDP of the country, he also noted that this segment of Sri Lanka must endeavour to meet the growth targets put forward by the government. He also noted that his ministry was playing its part by appointing a high-powered, seven member committee to formulate a 10-year plan which would also include improving the Indo Sri Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, particularly with regard to its impact on industries and small and medium enterprises.

He also suggested that anyone could submit to him, through affiliated professional bodies, chambers and companies, proposals which could be helpful in improving growth so that these could be incorporated into the 2011 national budget, which would be made public in the next four months.
Making these comments on Wednesday at the inaugural dinner of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Business Leaders Summit 2010, Mr. Bathiudeen also urged the private sector to enter new areas, and highlighted hotels in the North as well as agriculture and fisheries as possibilities. He also encouraged exploring the employment of groups such as war widows.

A full-day conference held in Colombo this week, this event featured a number of presentations by local and foreign resource people; including a report by the country's Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman, Jayampathy Bandaranayake, which covered domestic opportunities for growth in the areas as diverse as investments, tourism, exports, etc.

Slated presentations also included: "Re-create your Mind DNA" by Reg Athwal, Founder of RAW Group LLC and Co-Founder and Chairman of OneTVO, Business Advisor and World-Renowned Speaker, based in Dubai; "It’s your future: take or lead it" by David Taylor, World acclaimed business management and motivational author / Honorary Professor of Leadership at the UK's Warwick University Business School; "Re-imagine and re-create Sri Lanka's Tourism Brand" by Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of VisitBritain; "Re-imagine brand, re-create returns" by Ray Perry, Executive Director - Brand, Profile and Marketing of CIMA, UK; "Re-imagine and re-create, the JKH experience" by Ajit Gunewardene, Deputy Chairman of Sri Lanka's John Keells Holdings; and "Staying ahead in challenging times" by Mahesh Amalean, Chairman of Sri Lanka's MAS Holdings.

source - www.sundaytimes.lk

Sri Lanka hospital net down 38-pct

July 30, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Asiri Hospitals group said profits fell 38.4 percent to 24.5 million rupees in the June 2010 quarter from a year earlier as the bottom line was pressured by a new hospital.
Revenues rose 28.2 percent to 1,141 million rupees from a year earlier, the firm said in interim accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange. The firm reported a basic earnings per shares of 3 cents for the quarter.

At stand alone company level, the hospital made 90.4 million rupees, up from 29.6 million rupees a year earlier.

The Asiri group has a medical hospital, a surgical hospital and a new unit Central Hospital, to which the business of another older acquired hospital, Asiri Central, has been shifted.

The firm said Central Hospital (Pvt) Ltd started operations on April 02 and losses made in the quarter had been included in the group accounts.
Sri Lanka's John Keells Holdings is a key shareholder of Central Hospitals.

Softlogic Holdings owns 20.3 percent of Asiri Hospitals, and two other group companies own a further 5.0 percent of the firm.

source - www.lbo.lk

Sri Lanka, Hawaii sites get world heritage status

Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:08pm GMT

* UNESCO meeting in Brazil to update list of heritage sites

BRASILIA July 31 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's central highlands and a protected marine area in Hawaii, the only habitats of several endangered plant and animal species, have been added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites, the U.N. body said on Saturday.

Sri Lanka's central highlands were deemed of prime importance because of the pristine forests that are home to the Sri Lanka leopard and other rare animal and plant life.

The Hawaiian marine site, known as Papahanaumokuakea, is the habitat of the endangered Hawaiian Monk seal and rare birds. The site encompasses about 140,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean. Its isolated reef ecosystems are dominated by top predators like sharks.

"This feature has been lost from most other island environments due to human activity," said Tim Badman, a top adviser at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Badman's group is the advisory body to UNESCO's World Heritage Committee and makes recommendations to the committee based on its field research at the sites.

The UNESCO committee is meeting in Brazil's capital, Brasilia. On Friday it declared the Florida Everglades an endangered World Heritage site due to pollution and water shortages. [ID:nN30200525] (Reporting by Peter Murphy, Editing by Stacey Joyce)

source - http://af.reuters.com/

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