Asia's best perfomer - Sri Lanka
nuanho nuanho
COLOMBO — The Sri Lankan stock exchange more than doubled in value in
2009, figures showed Wednesday on the last day of trading for the
year.
Investors sent the Colombo market soaring on the prospect of peace and
investment after the government claimed victory over separatist Tiger
rebels in May after 37 years of bloodshed, analysts say.
"The end of the conflict is a key factor driving the market," said
Saminda Weerasinghe, manager of research at the Acuity Securities
brokerage. "The market is going up through local buying pressure."
The All Share Price index hit 3,385.55 at the end of trading Wednesday
compared to the opening level of 1,484.55 at the beginning of the
year, Colombo Stock Exchange figures showed -- a rise of 128 percent.
The market is closed on Thursday for a Buddhist holiday.
The tiny stock market, which had a car bomb explode at its doorstep in
1997, has emerged as one of Asia's best performers.
Mahesh Peiris, a director at Asia Securities, said local investors
were banking on better times, particularly in the hotel sector.
"What we are currently seeing is people running on the hope-factor,"
Peiris said. "They are not paying much attention to the fundamentals."
Government forces wiped out the leadership of the rebel Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May this year.
The LTTE took up arms in 1972, five years before the country ended a
socialist-style system to become the first in South Asia to embrace a
free-market economy.
Tourism and infrastructure-related stocks have been doing well on the
back of expectations that more foreign holiday makers will visit the
island, which is also set to rebuild its war-ravaged northeast.
The market saw a 41.57 percent decline during 2008 when government
forces and separatists were locked in what seemed an unwinnable war,
but as troops gained ground early this year, investor sentiment
changed.
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