Says SOEs will not be listed on CSE where a few can benefit
Calls for changes in the CSE and says if not a new institution will be set up
President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday raised concerns about the manner in which the country’s capital market, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), operates, and asserted the need for the entire system to change.
He said that shares of State-Owned-Enterprises (SOE) will not be listed on the Colombo bourse as a part of restructuring efforts as it is controlled by a few investors.
Highlighting the market manipulation that takes place at the CSE, Wickremesing he stressed he would not list the SOEs on the CSE so that a few investors can benefit from such a move.
“The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is not recognized by the London Stock Exchange. There are many questions about the stock exchange that a few people control it. And a few people rig it.
“Now can I put an SOE shares on to that?” said Wickremesinghe while questioning the credibility of the stock market operations in Sri Lanka.
The President called for changes to take place at the CSE, failing which he said a new institution will be set up. “I don’t want any arguments on that. If we are to use the present stock exchange, we all should be satisfied that it is neutral and will benefit all,” asserted Wickremesinghe.
LIVE — Australians will compete for gold medals in at least seven events on day eight of the Commonwealth Games as the nation aims to hold off hosts England in Birmingham.
Australia heads into Friday’s competition sitting on top of the medal tally with 51 golds — nine more than England — as well as 42 silver and 39 bronze.
And it could be plenty more by the close of the day with at least three medals on offer in athletics, two in diving, and one each in lawn bowls and artistic gymnastics.
Follow all the action in Birmingham in our live blog below!
FULL MEDAL TALLY LIVE >
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Australians are also in the hunt for wrestling medals in the women’s 57kg (Irene Symeonidis), men’s 65kg (Mustafa Rezaeifar), and men’s 86kg (Jayden Lawrence), starting with the quarterfinals stages from 7.30pm.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Cedric Dubler headed into the final day of the decathlon sitting in second.
Dubler then won the first decathlon event for the night, the 110m hurdles, with a time of 14.20 — good enough for another 949 points. That has moved him one point into the lead over Lindon Victor.
Also in athletics, Jess Hull will compete in the 1500m heats, while Brooke Buschkuehl will be in action in qualifying for long jump.
Celeste Mucci ran a strong 100m hurdles heat, matching her personal best time of 12.96, which saw her finish third.
Comeback star Michelle Jenneke was up next and comfortably finished second with a time of 12.63 to go through to the end on Sunday night. The time is the fastest she’s ever run the event, although it does not count as an official PB due to big tailwinds.
In the 1500m women’s heats, Abbey Caldwell and Linden Hall have progressed to the final after finishing inside the top four of their race with times of 4:13.59 and 4:14.08 respectively.
Away from the track, Australia’s Hockeyroos will have the chance to win a guaranteed medal when they take on India in the semi-final.
Dennis SCORCHES field to take TT gold | 00:28
You can track the live medal tally for every country here, with key Aussie wins and updates as they happen.
AUSSIES GOING FOR MEDALS ON DAY 8 (all times AEST)
Lawn Bowls
9pm — For mixed pairs B2/B3 finals
diving
8.18pm — men’s synchronized 3m springboard final
3.05am — women’s 1m springboard final (qualifying at 7.05pm)
4.23am — men’s synchronized 10m platform final
Gymnastics – rhythmic
10.30pm — Individual all-around final
Athletics
4.55am — men’s T53/54 1500m final
6.42am—women’s 3000m steeplechase final
7.15pm – 6.27am — men’s decathlon
Hockey
5am — women’s semi-final vs. India
OTHER KEY EVENTS (times AEST)
Athletics
Women’s long jump qualifying — Brooke Buschkuel — 8.40pm
Men’s decathlon — Cedric Dubler, Daniel Golubovic, Alex Diamond — 7.15pm
Round of 16 – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles – Kaitlyn Ea/Angela Yu (AUS) v Yujia Jin/Jia Ying Crystal Wong (SGP), Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen/Gronya Somerville (AUS) v Elena Johnson /Chloe Le Tissier (GGY)
TABLE TENNIS (from 6.30pm)
Mixed Doubles Round 3 and Quarterfinals; Men’s Class Semi Finals; Women’s Class Semi Finals; Women’s Singles Round 2; Men’s Doubles Round 3 and Quarterfinals; Women’s Doubles Round 2 – Chunyi Feng/ Yangzi Liu (AUS) v Shanecia Delpesche/Jessica MC Carter (SVG), Minhyung Jee/Jian Fang Lay (AUS) v TBA; Men’s Singles – Dillon Chambers (AUS) v Zhe Yu Clarence Chew (SGP), Finn Luu (AUS) v Sharath Kamal Achanta (IND), Nicholas Lum (AUS) v Javen Choong (MAS)
Three members of the Sri Lankan team have gone missing at the Commonwealth Games, the team has confirmed.
The Sri Lankan team says it has not been able to find two athletes and one official team.
Local news agencies in Sri Lanka are reporting the team’s chef de mission, retired army general Dampath Fernando, has now confiscated the passports for all remaining athletes and officials the country brought to Birmingham.
Sri Lankan team spokesperson Gobinath Sivarajah has told The Telegraph in India that Birmingham police are investigating the disappearance and have launched an official inquiry
“We have asked all athletes and officials to submit their passports to our respective venue officials in all the villages after the incident,” he said.
“The police are investigating and the three cannot cross the UK borders. What has happened is really unfortunate.”
The team has confirmed reports that the athletes involved are a wrestler, a judo athlete and a judo coach. The team says they have not been since Monday.
The judo and wrestling events are taking place at Coventry Arena, a 30-minute drive from Birmingham.
It is feared the three individuals do not want to return to Sri Lanka, which is facing the worst economic crisis in the country’s history.
Sri Lanka had picked a 161-member contingent, made up of 110 athletes and l51 officials.
The athletes and officials were granted standard 180-day visas by the British government for the event.
The scandal has overshadowed one of the country’s greatest athletics results after Yupun Abeykoon won the bronze medal in the men’s 100m at Alexander Stadium in a time of 10.14 on Thursday morning (AEST).
At the Gold Coast Games in 2018, a third of the Cameroon team went missing after the event was completed.
It was revealed the following year that 230 athletes and officials had made asylum claims to remain in Australia. 217 of those claims were rejected.
Sri Lanka is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. The economy has collapsed under the weight of $75 billion of debt.
