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| Thursday, 1 July 2004 |
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Over 17 per cent of public investments in Govt Securities By Irangika Range Sri Lanka is one of the few countries which has high ownership of public debt by private individuals. According to a survey conducted by the World Bank the country has over 17 percent of public investments in Government Securities. This is highest when compared to India, said Assistant to the Governor and Secretary of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank, K. G. D. D. Dheerasinghe. He was addressing a seminar on "Investor Awareness 2004" conducted by Ceylinco Shriram Security Ltd. in collaboration with the Central Bank. Dheerasinghe said primary dealers or market makers are expected to quote trading prices in Government Securities. "There are 12 primary dealers appointed by the Central Bank and they can attract the public according to their best performances," he said. "The total Government Securities' tradable and non-tradable stock was Rs. 950 billion in 2003 and this was the biggest performance of the Government Securities sector. The total monthly primary issues by the Central Bank including treasury bills, treasury bonds and rupee loans was Rs. 54 billions. The secondary market's weekly transactions for treasury bills recorded Rs. 3 billion while treasury bonds recorded Rs. 4.8 billion. This was a substantial amount of trading in the secondary market," he said. Superintendent of the Public Debt Department of the Central Bank Dr. H. N. Thenuwara in his address on "Economy of Sri Lanka and Interest Rate Behaviour Borrowing Program" said Sri Lanka's economy is managed with the objective of sustainable high economic growth and macroeconomic stability. "The macroeconomic stability comprised fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate policy and structural reforms. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded a growth of 6.2 percent in the first quarter of this year and this should move further promoting major policies, " he said. Additional Superintendent of the Public Debt Department of the Central Bank, Dr. W. M. Hemachandra explained the recent developments in the Government Securities market. He said the Scripless Securities Settlement System (SSSS) and the Central Depository System (CDS) are involved to reduce risks for Government Securities. "Generally Government Securities are free of credit or default risk. Under the new system since the records of transactions and holdings are maintained electronically in a centralised database with a hot back up, the risk of technical failure is minimum, " he said. The Executive Director and CEO of Ceylinco Shriram Securities Ltd. Hiran de Silva said the company is expected to conduct this awareness program islandwide in the future. "We are one of the exclusive primary dealers appointed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to deal in Government Securities such as treasury bills and treasury bonds. The company has invested Rs.150 million to promote activities under supervision of the Central Bank, " he said. |
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