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Q+A-Why are foreigners net sellers of Sri Lanka bourse

Alibaba.com, March 5, 2010. COLOMBO, March 5 - Sri Lanka's shares hit a record high this week to make the market the top performer in Asia after a meteoric 2009 when the index soared 125 percent.

But the rise is not proving attractive to foreign investors. They have been net sellers of the market since an end was declared to the island's 25-year civil war last May.

Here are some questions and answers about why foreigners are leaving:

WHAT IS THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT TREND?

Foreign investment was a net 1.4 billion rupees ($12.3 million) between Jan. 1 and the end of the island's 25-year civil war in May 2009.

By the end of the year though, the investment had turned into net sales of 789 million rupees, the first outflow since 2001.

The trend is continuing this year. Foreigners have been net sellers of 5.6 billion More...

Published: Fri Mar 5 08:29:06 EST 2010

U.N. rights chief slams abuses in Sri Lanka, Iran

Reuters, March 4. GENEVA (Reuters) – Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka are damaging prospects for reconciliation after 25 years of civil war and a violent crackdown on dissent in Iran is deeply worrying, the top U.N. human rights official said on Thursday.

Repeating her call for an independent investigation into war crimes allegations in Sri Lanka, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the U.N.'s Human Rights Council she was singling out outstanding cases in different countries. More...Discuss this story

Published: Thu Mar 4 11:50:39 EST 2010

Nirupama Rao to visit Lanka with political settlement in mind

HT, March 4. Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is expected in Colombo on Saturday evening for a three-day visit to push for a political settlement of the vexed ethnic issue between the Sinhalese and Tamils. She is also expected to urge for the early resettlement of the Tamils displaced in the 26-year-long war between government troops and Tigers, which ended in May, 2009.

Rao, according to a foreign ministry statement here, is coming to Colombo on the invitation of the Sri Lankan government. More...Discuss this story

Published: Thu Mar 4 11:52:55 EST 2010

Sri Lanka shrs up from over 1-wk low on local buying
Reuters, March 4. COLOMBO, March 4 - Sri Lankan shares recovered from a more-than-one-week low on Thursday led by a surge in local buying on hopes the country could reduce its budget deficit from an eight-year high after IMF delayed a loan on fiscal concerns...