Business
LOLC Development Finance leads market activity, analysts taken by surprise

by Hiran H. Senewiratne
Share trading at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) was positive overall yesterday and one of the LOLC subsidiaries LOLC Development Finance Plc shares were trading heavily thus creating an ‘artificial’ effect on the stock market, analysts said.
“Due to the illiquid nature, its share price appreciated by 25 percent or Rs 26.25. Its share price started at Rs 105 and at the end of the day it moved to Rs 131.25, which was an unprecedented appreciation of its share price the previous day as well. Its share price moved up without any reasons, stock market analysts said.
LOLC Development Finance total shares issued to the public was 238 million out of which 99.9 percent held by LOLC group, while 263.754 shares were available for the public to trade. Thus LOLC Development Finance became the highest contributor for the All Share Price Index yesterday with 14 points out of 17.81 points.
Amid those developments, both indices moved up. All Share Price Index up by 17.81 points and S&P SL20 up by 11.55 points. Turnover stood at Rs 3.96 billion with a single crossing. The crossing took place in Windforce , which crossed 103.6 million shares to the tune of Rs 1.89 billion and its share price traded at 18.20.
In the retail market top five companies that contributed to the turnover were Expolanka Rs 667.6 million (12.9 million shares traded), LOLC Rs129.7 million (320,000 shares traded), Dipped Products Rs 106.1 million (1.96 million shares traded), Royal Ceramic Rs 99.6 million (2.67 million shares traded), and Hayleys Rs 91.4 million (1.17 million shares traded).
Expolanka is the highest traded company in the stock market with 30 million shares traded during the day. Its share price appreciated by 3.8 percent or Rs 1.90. At the commencement of the market its share price started at Rs 50.40 and at the end of the day it moved upto Rs 52.30. Expolanka contributed seven points to the All Share Price Index.
Windforce’s contribution to the turnover was 49 percent with its crossing and retail market activities (Rs 55 million contributed trading of 2,9 million shares) . Its crossing traded below 80 cents and Rs 2 below the market price at the commencement of its share price of Rs 19.During the day 166 million share volume changed hands in 20649 transactions.
High net worth and institutional investor participation remained subdued during these days, according to market analysts. Mixed interest was observed in Expolanka Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Royal Ceramics, whilst retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, People’s Leasing and Finance and SMB Leasing.
Business
Share investors worried over Wealth and Heritage tax

By Hiran H Senewiratne
CSE trading kicked off on a positive note yesterday but the momentum could not be sustained for long owing to investor worries that the government is planning domestic debt restructuring involving the imposition of a wealth and heritage tax on citizens, market sources said.
Amid those developments both indices moved downwards. The All -Share Price Index went down by 131 points and S and P SL-20 declined by 46.8 points. Turnover stood at Rs 3.4 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in Agalawattte Plantations, which crossed 45.3 million shares to the tune of Rs 1.5 billion, its shares traded at Rs 35, CTC 420,000 shares crossed for Rs 269 million and its shares traded at Rs 640, Cargills 100,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 24.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 245 and Hayleys 300,000 shares crossed for Rs 24 million; its shares traded at Rs 80.
In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, SLT Rs 234 million (two million shares traded), Hayleys RS 121 million (1.5 million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 106 million (115,000 shares traded), Softlogic Capital Rs 69 million (5.6 million shares traded), CTC Rs 65.3 million (101,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank RS 54.7 million (one million shares traded) and Commercial Bank RS 52.5 million (801,000 shares traded).During the day 164 million share volumes changed hands in 20000 transactions.
Business
Brandix ‘RightToRead’ initiative gains momentum enriching Sri Lanka students and transforming learning

Inspired by the challenge to provide Sri Lankan children with better access to learning materials and the transformative power to read and comprehend English, Brandix launched the ‘RightToRead’ project in 2018 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Accordingly, Brandix introduced the ‘ReadToMe’ English learning tool, created by English Helper – India, to improve reading and comprehension skills of Sri Lankan students. Last Monday, Julie Chung, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, visited Susamayawardhana Vidyalaya in Borella, to observe progress of the project and experience how children and educators in Sri Lanka engage with educational technology.
Brandix Lanka Limited, Director, Ajit Johnpillai, said: “Education is the most powerful tool to enrich communities and futures, and Brandix is committed to build a strong foundation for transformational learning for students across Sri Lanka. The progress we have made with RiteToRead over the past two years is promising, and the potential for change in the education sector harnessing such digital technologies is immeasurable. Brandix will continue its commitment to deliver Inspired Solutions for the people of Sri Lanka.”
Business
Dialog TV Boosts Resilience and Capacity with Norsat Satellite Earth Station

Hytera, a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions, is proud to announce the successful deployment of a new backup satellite station for Dialog TV, Sri Lanka’s No.1 satellite Pay TV service provider. The project was fulfilled in 2022 by Hytera and its subsidiary specialized in Satellite Communications (SatCom), Norsat International Inc. The new station enhances the resilience and capacity of Dialog TV’s existing system and ensures continuity of service in the event of damage due to natural disasters.
Dialog TV provides coverage over the entirety of Sri Lanka through the Intelsat 38 Ku-band satellite. As the business expanded, it opted for a backup solution to support its existing satellite station and to strengthen the network’s disaster tolerance.
Hytera and Norsat provided an end-to-end satellite earth station solution that includes the installation, integration, and setup of satellite antennas, a transmission and receiving system, a new network management system (NMS), and a carrier monitoring system (CMS). The NMS makes routine work easier and simpler for on-duty staff, as equipment status, parameter monitoring and configuration, and remote control of the devices can be viewed and accomplished via a single interface. The CMS monitors the carrier spectrum status of satellite signals in real-time and ensures stable signal transmission and receiving.
“We are excited to have been able to work with Dialog TV on this important project,” said Kevin Sun, Sales Director for Hytera South Asia, “Our ability to seamlessly integrate our new equipment and software with Dialog TV’s existing systems has helped to ensure a stable and reliable service for their millions of customers across Sri Lanka.”
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