SRI LANKA-ELECTION/ECONOMY Sri Lanka poll results fuel hopes of economy gaining steam

Record ID: 143275

  • Title: SRI LANKA-ELECTION/ECONOMY Sri Lanka poll results fuel hopes of economy gaining steam
  • Date: 20th August 2015
  • Summary: COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) BUILDING OF SRI LANKA'S BANK OF CEYLON SIGN READING (English): "BANK OF CEYLON" EXTERIOR OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER PEOPLE WALKING ON A STREET IN THE BUSINESS DISTRICT OF COLOMBO LOGO SIGN READING (English) : "COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE" HEAD OF MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE, NIROSHAN WIJESUNDERE, TALKING TO A REPORTER EXCHANGE BELL (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE, NIROSHAN WIJESUNDERE, SAYING: "The market is reacting positively, we could see the activity levels going up, the turnover levels going up, we see that the retailers are coming in back into the market, the institutions are bit more active, the foreigners are also gradually getting into the market. We see some foreign inflows as well." WIDE VIEW OF THE TRADING ROOM OF COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE PRICES OF VARIOUS INDICES ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE BOARD TRADERS LOOKING AT THE SCREEN SCREEN SHOWING TOP GAINERS AND TOP LOSERS TRADERS SEATED AND LOOKING ON INDICES CHANGING ON THE SCREEN FACE OF A TRADER LOOKING AT THE SCREEN SCREEN DISPLAYING A GRAPH OF SHARE MOVEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE, NIROSHAN WIJESUNDERE, SAYING: "I think they will be more investor friendly, they will be more poised towards the development of the market and I think we should see some state-owned enterprises coming in and getting listed which will help increase liquidity of the market." COMMERCIAL STREET OF COLOMBO PEOPLE WALKING ON THE STREET A MUSLIM MAN TALKING ON PHONE NEXT TO A COLOMBO MONEY EXCHANGE BOARD BOARDS ON RETAILER'S SHOPS AND READING (English): "CITY EXCHANGE (PVT) LTD." (SOUNDBITE) (English) A BUSINESSMAN AND OWNER OF A COMPANY IN SRI LANKA, NIMAL PARERA, SAYING: "I hope that this country will go forward with Ranil Wickremesinghe and his team if they do a good job, that is all I can say. Without any interference if the specialists are given to do their job, then it will be excellent." (MUTE) COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AUGUST 19, 2015) (REUTERS) LEADER OF THE UNITED NATIONAL PARTY (UNP) RANIL WICKREMESINGHE ALONG WITH HIS WIFE MAITHRI WICKREMESINGHE, WAVING TO REPORTERS AFTER HIS PARTY'S VICTORY IN THE GENERAL ELECTIONS COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR ANALYST AT THE INDEPENDENT ECONOMIC THINK-TANK FRONTIER RESEARCH, SHIRAN FERNANDO, SAYING: "It is a good thing because now a clear mandate has been given because January 8 I think it was a presidential mandate that was given but now there is a parliamentary mandate. So, a lot of the reforms that need to be done, for example education reforms where they want to increase spending, health reforms - those kind of things would be beneficial in the next five years." TOP VIEW OF THE COLOMBO PORT MORE OF THE COLOMBO PORT
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sri Lanka
  • Country: Sri Lanka
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAEU2U3Z5551GC1S3K8NH3UP3YB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government's poll victory raised hopes of speeding up reforms and fuelling faster economic growth in Sri Lanka, economists and market experts said on Thursday (August 20).
    Wickremesinghe's centre-right United National Party (UNP) is due to form a stable government along with President Maithripala Sirisena's centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) after coming up tops in the general elections.
    Wickremesinghe is expected to continue as the prime minister of a centre-right government that would seek to revive stalled reforms to make the government more open and accountable.
    The election results which left Wikremesinghe tantalizingly short of an outright majority were cheered by the stock markets which zoomed to seven month highs and triggered record turnover at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
    Niroshan Wijesundere, head of CSE market development, said the poll outcome was in line with the market expectations and helped clear uncertainty over key economic policies.
    "The market is reacting positively, we could see the activity levels going up, the turnovers going up, we see that the retailers are coming in back into the market, the institutions are bit more active, the foreigners are also gradually getting into the market. We see some foreign inflows as well," Wijesundere said.
    Sri Lankan shares fell on Thursday after hitting their more than seven-month closing high in the previous session, with investors booking profit as they waited for the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government to announce its economic policies after the parliamentary election victory.
    The main stock index was 0.44 percent weaker at 7,465.93 as of 0618 GMT, after closing its highest peak since Jan. 16 on Wednesday.
    Wickremesinghe's government has sought to refinance loans taken out under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to back major investment projects, many of them Chinese led.
    Wijesundere said long pending decisions to improve liquidity and broaden the overall market, making it attractive for both foreign and domestic investors would be one of the key challenges for the new government.
    "I think they will be more investor friendly, they will be more poised towards the development of the market and I think we should see some state-owned enterprises coming in and getting listed which will help increase liquidity of the market," he said.
    On the streets of Colombo, there was a sense of optimism with people looking forward to a period of unstinted economic growth without any undue interference from the state government.
    Nimal Parera, a Colombo-based entrepreneur, said uniformity and consistency in policy matters would really help the economy under Wickremesinghe's reign.
    "I hope this country will go forward with Ranil Wickremesinghe and his team if they do a good job, that is all I can say. Without any interference if the specialists are given to do their job, then it will be excellent," Parera said.
    Earlier this month Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who is expected to retain his portfolio after the new government is sworn in, said that Sri Lanka's economy should grow by 7 percent this year, up from 4.5 percent last year.
    Karunanayake had said that he hoped to formalise an investor-friendly set of policies after the election.
    Shiran Fernando, a senior analyst at the independent economic think-tank Frontier Research, said the results were a verdict for the continuation of those policies that the new government had followed since the January presidential poll when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had lost in a stunning result.
    "It is a good thing because now a clear mandate has been given because January 8 I think it was a presidential mandate that was given but now there is a parliamentary mandate. So, a lot of the reforms that need to be done, for example education reforms where they want to increase spending, health reforms - those kind of things would be beneficial in the next five years," Fernando said.
    The new government is expected to be sworn in by President Sirisena on Friday.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register