Sri Lanka’s stock market reacted to the uncertainty caused by the expropriation bill with plummeting numbers of trades.
After a holiday on Thursday, turnover on Friday was 393.7 million Sri Lanka rupees, a fraction of this year’s average of 2.5 billion per day.
The total volume of shares traded was just 13.6 million shares, against a five-day average of 28.3 million and a 90-day average of 102.4 million reported Reuters.
"Nobody knows what they are taking over, whether it's just the land or the shares of the company," a bourse official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, referring to the two listed companies – Pelwatte Sugar Industries and Hotel Developers Lanka Plc – that are on the list of 37 companies to be taken over.
"We are awaiting something substantial on what is really happening," he said.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.