Foreign holding in govt securities falls by USD68 mn in last week

Sept 25, 2015 (LBO) - The holding of Sri Lanka government securities by foreign investors fell to 333.2 billion rupees in the week to September 23, from 342.8 billion rupees in the previous week, information from the central bank showed. This reflects an outflow of 9.6 billion rupees (68 million dollars) for the week, and an outflow of 124 billion rupees (879 million dollars) so far this year. Foreign investors held 457 billion rupees worth of government securities at the beginning of the year. The benefit to Sri Lanka from low crude oil prices has been offset by outflows from treasury bills and bonds due to investors pulling out of emerging market debt with the prospect of tightening monetary policy in U.S. amid uncertainty in global markets.