The main opposition United National Party (deleted) yesterday rejected allegations made by the government and some so-called investors that complaints made by opposition MPS had led to the collapse of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). deleted Senior Vice President Lakshman Kiriella said the CSE had crashed because of the poor state of Sri Lanka’s economy and the manipulation of the market by certain forces backed by the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government. He told a news conference the collapse of the stock market had nothing to do with the investigations carried out by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He was referring to a letter written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by some investors saying the investigations carried out by the by SEC following complaints made by the opposition had led to the stock market crash. He said this letter should be tabled in parliament.
Mr. Kiriella said there had been a clear manipulation in the share market in the recent past where the price of shares of some unknown companies had suddenly increased and alleged that these questionable listed companies had been formed by a group of unscrupulous businessmen with political backing and using their black money.
He said some of these companies did not even issue dividends and their directors were unknown.
Making another allegation, Mr. Kiriella said the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which had invested in these companies had lost Rs.300 million and added that each share was bought at Rs.10 whereas the actual value was Rs.5.
He charged that the country’s economy was in a bad shape with the expenses being more than double the revenue and thus forcing the government to borrow heavily to meet 50 per cent of the expenditure.
“This is the conclusion one can make considering the repeated statements made by several ministers that the stock exchange of a country reflects the state of its economy,” Mr. Kiriella said.
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