Sri Lankan PM orders probe into power failure at Stock Exchange

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for a probe into a sudden power failure at the country's stock exchange earlier this month which halted trading for over 17 minutes.

The power failure affected the Colombo Stock Exchange on March 16, causing panic and mayhem among traders.

"Every stock exchange should have back-up power to operate. Today, foreign investors asked us how should they invest in a market where there is no power to operate," Locale media quoted Wickremesinghe as saying on Thursday.

"That is our biggest issue now. They are more concerned on that, not on our proposed taxes (Capital Gains Tax). This tax is even there in London."

Sri Lankan's power sector has been facing a crisis in recent months with three nation wide power failures being reported since September last year.

The latest country wide breakdown was reported on March 13, with power cut off for more than seven hours, the longest power failure to be reported in Sri Lanka in 20 years.

The failure occurred due to an explosion in an electricity transformer in the outskirts of the capital which prompted the authorities to initiate an immediate probe.

Days later, another substation in Kotugoda in the suburbs of the capital caught fire after exploding, plunging parts of the country into darkness.

Experts from Germany arrived in the country earlier this week to inspect the two transformers which caught fire and the reasons which led to the power failures.

On Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Power and Energy Ajith Perera announced that the government would seek assistance and support from China to operate the country's main power plant. Endit