Colombo stocks slide after negative judgement vs JKH

The announcement of the Supreme Court judgment of the 2002 privatisation of Lanka Marine Services Ltd (LMSL) to John Keells Holdings’ (JKH) saw the company share price drop by Rs.1.25 to Rs.103 and it will further slip tomorrow, according to stock market analysts.

The judgement issued this morning said that all assets in relation to the LMSL privatisation should be restored to the state while however permitting JKH to retain the 90 percent stake in the company. “With this situation, the indices will see the same dismal outcome as today, because JKH is index heavy,” a stock market analyst said.

He said that Janashakthi Insurance Company Ltd (JICL), which started trading today, didn’t perform upto expectations with the share depressed to Rs.11 at the close, down by Rs.2.50 compared to the initial trading price of Rs.13.50. The Initial Public Offer price was at Rs.12. The All Share Index lost 31.81 points to close at 2,380.57 while the Milanka increased marginally with 38.23 points to stand at 2,843.68. Total turnover stood at Rs.176 million.