Veteran banker Eastman Narangoda is tipped to step down as the Chairman of Seylan Bank at its Annual General Meeting scheduled for today. The move is despite Narangoda being listed in AGM’s agenda for re-election as Chairman and Director as he retires by rotation in terms of Article 82 of the Articles of Association of ...

Avurudhu Rupee Commitments Bear on Exporters The exchange rate (ER) held at the Rs. 130 levels to the US dollar ($) at Wednesday’s, Thursday’s and Friday’s trading as exporters began encashing their $ proceeds to meet their local commitments, a market source told this reporter. “In the event they persisted in holding on to their ...

Rupee recovers on State bank dollar supplies; stocks down Reuters: TWO State banks sold dollars to boost the rupee on Tuesday after it hit a record low of 131.60 a day earlier, despite strong importer demand for greenbacks due to the forthcoming April festive season. The rupee, however, retreated to close at 129.90/130.00 a dollar, ...

The country’s forex market encompassing highly dependent importers and key source exporters was yesterday rocked by what analysts described as the sharpest day gain in the US dollar exchange rate. Before mid-day the Rupee touched a new low of Rs. 127 and then on to Rs. 128 prompting many to assume the rate had bottomed ...

Continuous foreign buying in to select listed companies saw the year to date net inflow top the Rs. 20 billion mark by yesterday. The Colombo stock market began a fresh week with year to date net inflowing being at Rs. 17.7 billion and a further Rs. 2.5 billion was added bringing the total to Rs. ...

The entry in to Sri Lanka by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad via John Keells Holdings (JKH) is being hailed as a all round boost for the country, the Colombo stock market as well as the premier blue chip. JKH which has many first to its credit is also the first stock on ...

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund buys 8.8% stake in premier blue chip JKH for an estimated US$ 120 m from EPF Market turnover rockets to four-year high Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s State investment arm, yesterday bought an 8.8% stake in John Keells Holdings (JKH) from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in a deal that was aimed ...

The Employees Provident Fund gets a profit of 800 million rupees.   The Employees Provident Fund which possessed 71 million shares of conglomerate John Keells Holdings had been sold at 194 rupees per share, bringing a capital gain to the Fund. These shares have been purchased by Malaysia’s Khazana Nasional Berhard, a sovereign wealth Fund. ...

SLIC books hefty Rs. 4 b capital gain as an eager Harry secures large block; Ups control to 40.8%; Melstacorp to revise Spence mandatory offer price to Rs. 115 per share from Rs. 113 Business tycoon Harry Jayawardena-linked Melstacorp Ltd. yesterday acquired a strategic block of an 11% stake in Aitken Spence Plc for Rs. ...

Locals may be having fears of the Geneva outcome but the very investors from the West are continuing to be bullish with net inflow topping the Rs. 3 billion mark by yesterday. Foreigners were net buyers to the tune of Rs. 224 million increasing the net inflow under just two months of the year to ...

Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, during World War II, said that his brand of fascism ‘should be more appropriately called Corporatism, because it is a merger of state and corporate power’. Compare this with the dictionary definition of capitalism: ‘A system in which a country’s business and industry are controlled and run for ...

The Colombo Bourse last week saw a net foreign inflow of Rs. 1.2 billion, with Aitken Spence Plc drawing the most buying, whilst brokers expect the non-national interest to grow further. Spence saw net foreign shareholding increase by 4.8 million shares or 1% last week, whilst overall nearly five million of its shares traded for ...

Contrary to exaggerated claims the EPF investments in to the stock market last week had amounted to only less than 10% of market activity and unlike some past contentious buys, this time around it had focused on blue chips. The total turnover of the Colombo bourse last week was Rs. 8.6 billion and local purchases ...

EPF and stock market I was sad to see in the FT that EPF has begun to purchase stocks in the market again. Is it to give the market a boost or is it to fatten someone’s pocket again, as some people claim? It was not very long ago that the fund made so much ...

UNP National List MP and Chief Economist Dr Harsha de Silva said that he had wanted Central Bank Gov..

ASI gains by 5% as Bourse’s value swells by Rs. 96 b Brokers positive after fresh meeting with SEC EPF, private institutional and high networth investors active on attractive valuations The Colombo stock market yesterday produced a major rebound gaining by 5% thanks what some described as “spirited support” whilst others emphasised it was largely due ...

Stock market plunges further; Rs. 69 b in value wiped off One year loss of value is a staggering Rs. 766 b EPF and foreign buying saves Bourse after near 5% crash Rupee dips to all-time low of Rs. 120; likely to settle down though triggering panic in import trade Crisis could be an understatement ...

Shareholding down 21% to 18% between September and December quarters Divests near 1% yesterday for Rs. 1.2 b; Current holding likely to 15%; Shifts focus to banking stocks, on the buying side of Commercial Bank yesterday More foreigners buy in to JKH Harry J’s Melstacorp with 3.2% stake is sixth largest; EPF’s third place intactJKH’s ...

The Sri Lankan economy is dragged out – the country is over-borrowing, underperforming and leading into a debt crunch, claims United National Party Colombo District Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake. Karunanayake accuses the Rajapaksa administration of damaging the country’s social fabric, which he says is Sri Lanka’s biggest asset. Following are excerpts of an interview: Q: What...

The audited accounts of the EPF for the year ending 2010 have finally been submitted to Parliament yesterday, which the UNP said was a direct result of its expose’ and the subsequent pressure applied on the Government for the immediate submission of the same.  “We will now review these accounts and summon all relevant officials ...

The Auditor Generals’ Department will table in Parliament today (Friday) the 2009 and 2010 audit reports of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Auditor General H. A. S. Samaraweera told TimesOnline.   He said the department has completed the scrutinizing accounts of 210 corporations, statuary boards, Government Owned Business Undertakings and other state institutions for 2009 and 2010 financial ye...

The United National Party (UNP) yesterday submitted a request to the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) to urgently summon all officials of the Central Bank and Labour Ministry to answer questions on the management and performance of Employees Provident Fund (EPF). This request was officially made by UNP MP and Consultant Economist Dr. Harsha de ...

The controversial Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Amendment Bill will be presented to Parliament on 18 January. Minister of Labour and Labour Relations Gamini Lokuge points out that there are no hidden agendas behind the bill and it was unanimously agreed during the tripartite meeting to go ahead with the amendments. However, he admits that the ...

THE proposed amendments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) have created a much-needed discussion forum on pension funds and their benefits, while also bringing several crucial points into the limelight. Experts have pointed out that if the Government is genuinely keen on maximising returns of workers, then they need to exempt EPF earnings from tax ...

‘A ruler with a depleted treasury eats into the very vitality of the citizens and the country. A ruler, who impoverishes his own people or angers them by unjust exactions will also lose their loyalty Impoverishment, greed and dissatisfaction are engendered among the subjects, when the ruler among other things (i) fails to give what ought ...

Last week there were more stories making the rounds on contemplated decisions made outside the cabinet meeting than decisions made inside. Of course, the usual briefing on cabinet decisions were spelled out, Thursday afternoon. For a regime that still wants to boast it has popular support, comparing itself to an opposition fractured and quarrelling red and green, it is ...

The commercial Bank of Ceylon recently presented its latest facility for paying Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) dues via ‘Paymaster,’ the bank’s the innovative electronic total payment solution, to a representative audience from the corporate sector. A large number of customers of Commercial Bank who use the Paymaster solution and senior officials of the bank and ...

If the Governor of Central Bank has an urge to enter politics, he should come to Parliament without playing politics inside the CB, charges United National Party Parliamentarian and well-known Economist Dr. Harsha de Silva. Dr. de Silva notes that Governor Nivard Cabraal should respect the sanctity of the Central Bank and therefore if Cabraal ...

The UNP yesterday demanded that the annual accounts of the Employment Provident Fund for 2010 be immediately released.    “The Government has no moral right to bring an amendment to the EPF Act not having submitted its accounts since 2009 and dodged the numerous questions on its questionable investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange,” UNP ...

The proposed amendments to the EPF Act would confuse demarcations between it and the Employees’ Trust Fund, claims UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva. Clause 4 of the new Amendment allows the EPF to extend housing benefits and medical treatment to every member of the fund, which is already done by the ETF. “The whole ...