Asia Securities to host 4th annual Sri Lanka investment conference

• Conference to explore post-COVID investment outlook for 2021
• Top-notch Sri Lankan and international expert speakers, including Nobel Prize winner

State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Founding Partner, WilmotML and Former Head of Macro Research & Chief Global Strategist, Credit Suisse Jonathan Wilmot

2006 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient and Founder of Grameen Bank Prof. Muhammad Yunus

Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon

Asia Securities, Sri Lanka’s leading independent investment banking and wealth management firm, will host its 4th Annual Sri Lanka Investment Conference over three days next week. Titled ‘2021: The Investors’ Dilemma’, the event will explore the outlook for the economic rebound and financial markets next year, in what will surely be a fascinating investing environment. Considering current safety concerns, Asia Securities will deliver the conference virtually with three two-hour sessions which will be live-streamed from 15-17 December.

Asia Securities Chairman Dumith Fernando, speaking on the conference said: “We continuously try to understand our clients’ biggest concerns. While they look ahead optimistically to a 2021 recovery, many unknowns will affect business and investment decisions. This year’s Asia Securities Sri Lanka Investment Conference aims to address the dilemmas our clients are grappling with by exploring the root causes of a possible recovery and what global and local indicators they should follow.”

The conference features a list of well-known experts in the areas of fiscal, monetary, socio-economic and health policy, global and local financial markets, and corporate leadership. Minister of Money and Capital Market and Social Enterprise Reform Ajith Nivard Cabraal will deliver a keynote address at the conference and join a panel discussion on the policy and financial sector priorities for a strong 2021 recovery. Joining him on this panel discussion, and also delivering a keynote address, will be the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Peace Prof. Muhammad Yunus, who will speak from Bangladesh. Prof. Yunus is expected to share his thoughts on taking a creative approach to rejuvenating low and middle-income countries in a post-pandemic world. 

Two global financial experts will also speak at the conference. WilmotML Founder and leading investment bank Credit Suisse former Head of Macro Research and Global Strategist Jonathan Wilmot will share his global market outlook. Wilmot’s opinions are closely followed by leading global investors, and he has had a track record of predicting economic recoveries well ahead of market consensus. 

Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Tundra Fonder AB, a Swedish-based investment fund, Mattias Martinsson will discuss challenges and opportunities in investing in frontier markets. Martinsson has for long been an investor in the Sri Lankan stock market.

The biggest ‘X-factor’ for investors next year—the shape of pandemic recovery and its economic implications—will be explored on a panel discussion, including University of Sri Jayewardenepura Professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine Prof. Neelika Malavige, Institute for Health Policy Executive Director Dr. Ravindra Ranna-Eliya, and Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon. 

Prof. Malavige has been involved in various international COVID management initiatives, including vaccine development work. Dr. Rannan-Eliya has spoken and published extensively on critical policy matters relating to COVID-19. His recent analysis of what affected COVID-19 spread during the first wave has been published and is gaining much interest internationally. Dr. Weerakoon and her team’s recent work has focused on identifying the nature of the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic in Sri Lanka. She will discuss her views on the critical medium-term economic issues stemming from COVID-19.

Rounding up the sessions will be a presentation of the 2021 Economic and Equity Market Outlook by Asia Securities Research Co-Heads Lakshini Fernando and Naveed Majid. This will coincide with the release of a new research report on the same topic by Asia Securities, the top-ranked equity research provider in the country. This will be followed by what should prove to be an insightful panel discussion with the heads of three of the most important listed companies – John Keells Holdings PLC Chairman Krishan Balendra, Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Nanda Fernando, and Hemas Holdings PLC Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Kasturi Chellaraj Wilson. Their panel discussion will focus on the business realities and opportunities going into 2021 and should garner much investor interest as the shares of the companies led by them have recently been on the move in the stock market.