By Hiran H.Senewiratne
Lanka IOC’s Rs. 320 million grease plant in Trincomalee, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, began commercial operations to meet Sri Lanka’s entire market demand. The construction of the plant began last year.
The opening of the grease plant will help save valuable foreign exchange, as at present the requirement is met entirely via imports. The plant’s capacity of 3,000 tons is capable of meeting the entire market demand in Sri Lanka, sources said.
The net foreign inflow to the CSE has reached the Rs. 7.5 billion mark so far this year, supported by SG Holdings’ buying into Expolanka Holdings PLC, among others developments.
According to market analysts, as of September 16, net buying amounted to Rs. 6.96 billion, while year-to-date the net inflow is Rs. 7.5 billion, marking a positive development for the first time in four years.
Last year, the net foreign outflow was Rs. 53 billion and in 2020 it was Rs. 51 billion and Rs. 11.7 billion and Rs. 23 billion in the preceding years. The previous net inflow was in 2017 at Rs. 17.6 billion.
Amid those developments, the CSE fell 0.52 per cent in mid-morning trade yesterday for the second session pulled down by index heavy shares. Both indices reported a downward trend. The All- Share Price Index went down by 35.7 points and S and P SL20 declined by 13.1 points. Turnover stood at Rs 3.3 billion without any crossings. However, retail participation was quite satisfactory during the day, market analysts said.
In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, Lanka IOC Rs 626million (2.3 million shares traded), ACL Cables Rs 326 million (3.2 million shares traded), Expolanka Holdings Rs 289 million (1.3 million shares traded), Lankem Development Rs 201 million (5.7 million shares traded), Dipped Products Rs 196 million (4.3 million shares traded), Richard Pieris Rs 192 million (6.1 million shares traded) and Royal Ceramic Rs 94 million (2.2 million shares traded). During the day 1.3 million share volumes changed hands in 34000 share transactions. During the day Dipped Products, a subsidiary of Hayleys Group, recorded a 12 per cent or Rs 5.20 gain. Its share price moved to Rs 46.60 from Rs 41.40.
Yesterday the Central Bank- announced $ buying rate was Rs 359.17 and the selling rate was Rs 369.93. In the month of August, the Manufacturing and Services sector activities increased due to the Central Bank’s prudential monetary policy mechanisms, observers said.
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