Business

Rs. 682 million net foreign outflow from CSE for June thus far

Published

3 years ago

2023/06/14

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

The CSE has witnessed Rs. 700 million worth net foreign selling in the first eight days of June. In the past four consecutive market days, the net outflow was Rs. 678 million, while so far for June the figure is Rs. 682 million, stock market analysts said.

Despite the heightened foreign selling, the CSE still reports Rs. 678 million in net foreign buying year- to- date, down from Rs. 1.4 billion as at end May and Rs. 4.4 billion in mid-February. Last year, net foreign inflow to CSE hit a 10 year high of Rs. 30.6 billion, market analysts added.

Amid those developments the stock market was positive yesterday, due to positive attitudes to Sri Lanka from foreign creditors, including the Paris Club and Non Paris Club. Consequently, both indices moved upwards. The All- Share Price Index went up by 54.8 points and S and P SL20 rose by 35.6 points. Turnover stood at Rs 1.5 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in HNB, where one million shares crossed for Rs 130 million, its shares traded at Rs 130, Sampath Bank 1.8 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 91.8 million, its shares traded at Rs 51, JKH 250,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 35.4 million, its shares traded at Rs 141.50 and Access Engineering 2.1 million shares crossed for Rs 31.9 million and its shares fetched Rs 15.20.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; LOLC Finance Rs 151 million (25.9 million shares traded), CIC Holdings Rs 144.2 million (2.3 million shares traded), HNB Rs 84.9 million (632,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs 78.8 million (1.5 million shares traded), Softlogic Rs 58.6 million (6.4 million shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 57.2 million (10 million shares traded) and Agstar PLC Rs 44.2 million (4.1 million shares traded). During the day 116.7 million share volumes changed hands in 16000 transactions.

It is said that high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Vallibel Finance, Union Bank, and JKH. Mixed interest was observed in LOLC Finance, CIC Holdings and Hayleys, while retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, Softlogic Capital and Nation Lanka Finance.

Diversified Financials sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to LOLC Finance and Vallibel Finance) while the sector index gained 4.14 percent. The share price of LOLC Finance increased by 40 cents to Rs. 5.50. The share price of Vallibel Finance moved up by Rs. 1.60 to Rs. 32.

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Browns Investments) while the sector index increased by 1.52 percent. Yesterday, the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 294.91 and selling rate Rs 309.22.

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Business

Ceylinco Life agent among three global finalists for award

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula

Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula has been named one of three global finalists for the prestigious Insurance Agent of the Year award at the 11th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards (ATLAA) 2026.

The recognition places a Sri Lankan insurance professional among the finalists in a regional field spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Ceylinco Life said the achievement reflected the calibre and customer-focused approach of its agency force, while recognising Manjula’s professionalism and commitment to policyholders.

The award evaluates insurance agents on criteria extending beyond sales performance, including ethical conduct, client service, policy persistency, digital adoption, innovative practices and contributions to the insurance industry and community.

The awards are organised by Asia Advisers Network and Asia Insurance Review, with LIMRA as co-organiser. An independent judging and balloting process is monitored by KPMG as the official scrutineer. The judging panel comprises senior insurance executives, association presidents and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.

Business

CEAT Kelani retains AA+ rating for sixth year

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

CEAT Kelani Holdings (CKH) has retained its National Long-Term Rating of ‘AA+(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings for the sixth consecutive year, reflecting the company’s financial resilience and leading position in Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre market.

The ‘AA+(lka)’ rating, the second-highest on Fitch’s national scale, indicates a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.

Fitch said CKH’s established market leadership and resilient financial profile remained key strengths, while noting its exposure to price-sensitive, cyclical and highly competitive markets.

The Stable Outlook reflects expectations that the company will maintain its market position despite rising input costs and increasing competition from imported tyres, while preserving adequate credit metrics during periods of weaker earnings and higher investment.

Fitch expects CKH’s established brand, extensive dealer network and adaptive pricing strategies to support its market position. Planned production facility upgrades are also expected to improve product quality, particularly in the radial tyre segment.

The rating agency expects near-term pressure on margins from higher raw material and energy costs but said the company’s low leverage and sound liquidity would provide a cushion.

CKH Chairman Chanaka De Silva said the rating reinforced the company’s focus on disciplined financial management, operational adaptability and long-term investment.

Business

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise launches Premium Cloud

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

Riyaaz Rasheed, CEO, SLT-MOBITEL, and Faiz Shakir, VP Sales – Nutanix, Southern Asia, unveil SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise Premium Cloud Powered by Nutanix to support enterprise digital transformation

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise, the enterprise services arm of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, has launched its Premium Cloud service powered by Nutanix, aimed at helping Sri Lankan businesses modernise their IT infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation.

The service was unveiled at the Lanka Tech Summit 2026 held recently at ITC Ratnadipa, Colombo.

The Premium Cloud combines hybrid multi-cloud capabilities with enterprise-grade performance, enabling businesses to run mission-critical workloads, scale cloud deployments and strengthen business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities.

Hosted on SLT-MOBITEL’s Tier III data centre infrastructure, the platform is designed to provide enhanced security, reliability and flexibility while supporting the growing technology requirements of enterprises.

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise said the platform would also support organisations seeking to adopt AI-ready capabilities and improve the management and performance of IT workloads.

A key feature of the launch was SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise joining the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program (NESPP), which the company said made it the first service provider in the region to join the programme.

Powered by Nutanix’s hybrid multicloud platform, the service enables application and data mobility across on-premises environments, public clouds and edge locations.

The company said the partnership combined Nutanix’s cloud technology with SLT-MOBITEL’s local expertise and support, strengthening its multi-cloud portfolio.