Peace Talks delayes IPOs in Srilanka

COLOMBO, Mar 29: Most new Sri Lankan initial public offerings (IPOs) will be delayed until after crunch peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Geneva next month, market sources say.

Power firm Vallibel's IPO, the first Sri Lankan share sale of 2006, will proceed as planned on April 6, but other firms are expected to wait for the outcome of the rebel talks and the mid-April Sinhala and Tamil new year holiday.

Vallibel aims to sell 20 per cent of the company to raise 400 million Sri Lankan rupees (