Secondary market doubles

Transactions top Rs 41.2 trillion in 2010:

The issue of government securities in the primary market and trading in the secondary market has increased in 2010.

Although the total of Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds issued through primary dealers remained almost unchanged at Rs 1.5 trillion in 2010, the composition issues of Treasury Bills increased as a percent of the total issues.

Secondary market transactions almost doubled to Rs 41.2 trillion.

It was noticed that activity in the secondary market for Treasury Bills surpassed that of Treasury Bonds.

The number of investor accounts at LankaSecure (Depository System) also increased by 13 percent to 73396.

With the easing of the monetary policy stance and improved market liquidity, yield rates moved downwards in 2010. The range within which the yield rates changed during the year also narrowed significantly, the Central Bank said.

The yield rates of Treasury Bills which were in range of 7 to 19 percent in 2009 declined to a range of 7 to 9 percent last year.

The corresponding decline in the rates pertaining to Treasury Bonds was from a range of 10 to 20 percent in 2009 to a range of 8 to 13 percent in 2010. The Central Bank also said foreign investment in Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds also reached the ceiling of 10 percent of the total outstanding.

Foreign investments in Treasury Bills amounted to Rs 57 billion in 2010 while foreign investment in Treasury Bonds amounted to Rs 184 billion last year.