Colombo Stock Exchange rebuts Dinesh Anthony Perera

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has sent the following statement with reference to an opinion/guest column titled ‘CSE – The Cussed Stock Exchange’ by Dinesh Anthony Perera published on 30 January.

We were surprised and alarmed that the above article titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Cussed Stock Exchange’ by Mr. Dinesh Anthony Perera was published on your esteemed news publication. The article contains mostly falsehoods, baseless allegations and incorrect facts.

It is our view that the above mentioned article has used the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as a subject of a vile and personal attack, featuring terms that should not be accommodated on responsible media. The writer has attempted to portray the CSE as a politically affiliated organisation, by branding the recently launched Empower Board for Sri Lankan SMEs as a pet project of the Minister in charge of Finance with no realistic basis for making such a statement. Overall, the opinion piece, from the headline onwards, presents a biased view that has the potential to impact readers that may not be fully aware or informed on the entirety of the topics or matters discussed. 

Comments made with regards to trips by senior staff, exclusivity for listing and multiple listing boards, the multi-currency board, introduction of REITs, connecting derivatives to employee share option schemes and lack of liquidity on corporate debt are ill-conceived, lack clarity and are completely misleading.

Furthermore, the writer, on a personal social media account post (shared as annexure 1) has gone to the extent of openly acknowledging the same opinion piece published on an online business news website as “an attack on the Colombo Stock Exchange” further, accusing the CSE of “shameless buying of good press”. The “shameless buying of good press” the writer refers to on his social media post, includes articles carried by your own newspaper and written by one of your business writers on the stock market. Statements such as these are not only offensive to the CSE but they also challenge the credibility of your newspaper. 

CSE, as the operator of the stock market in Sri Lanka is subjected to scrutiny by multiple stakeholders and any criticism in the media is always accepted constructively. CSE will always honour and acknowledge the important role carried out by media personnel and institutions around the country. We have therefore at all times offered reporters access and opportunities to engage in truthful and balanced reporting on the market and will continue to do so. 

We urge you to not endorse the usage of inflammatory words/terms on articles published by your media institution. We believe that presenting ideologies branded as “analysis” is professionally unethical.

We kindly request that the readers of the Daily FT are made aware of our stance on the said article.