Sri Lanka, world’s fastest rising market - Guardian
Sri Lanka had the world’s fastest rising market as its post-war
economy boomed, UK’s Guardian said in a recent report titled ‘The best
and worst investments of 2010’.
“In 2009, the little-known Colombo Stock Exchange rose a remarkable
128 percent after the Sri Lankan Government formally declared an end to
the 25-year civil war.” This year, the market has soared again, rising
by 101 percent (in sterling terms) in the year to December 20, according
to figures compiled for Guardian Money by Vanguard, which operates a
wide range of index funds. The Sri Lanka stock market is reported to be
one of the most modern exchanges in South Asia, with a fully automated
trading platform.
The value of the companies traded on the market is now more than $ 20
billion and 2011 will see companies such as SriLankan Airlines listing
its shares.
The island’s economy is expected to grow eight percent in 2010 and
nine percent in 2011 - rates usually seen in China. Tourism is booming,
with 750,000 visitors anticipated in 2011, while tea exporters are also
enjoying strong gains. Argentina, once a by-word for economic default,
is also back in fashion among investors.
“The Buenos Aires Bourse advanced 82 percent, closely followed by the
Thai exchange (up 70 percent) and the Ukraine (up 68 percent and no, we
didn’t know there was a stock market there, either),” the report said.
priu.gov.lk
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