Kuwait’s National Industries Group upbeat on SL; buys out Heraymila Securities

The Colombo Stock Exchange’s second foreign owned stock brokering firm Heraymila Securities Ltd. and asset management firm Heraymila Capital Ltd. have been acquired by National Industries Group Holding SAK (NIG) through their fully owned investment arm, Eagle Proprietary Investments Ltd. With this acquisition, the Heraymila companies will be rebranded as ‘Candor’.

EPIL hosted a special lunch in honour of the visiting delegation from Sri Lanka for the ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ forum organised by the Colombo Stock Exchange in Dubai. The delegation was headed by Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Senior Minister for International Monetary Co-operation and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning and also included Faizer Musthapha, Deputy Minister Investment Promotion, the Chairmen of the Securities Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC), Colombo Stock Exchange and the Board of Investments, under the patronage of Mahinda Balasuriya, the Sri Lanka Ambassador to the UAE.

Raj Dvivedi, CEO of EPIL, said that Sri Lanka’s capital markets have immense potential for growth being situated at the centre of global shipping routes that link international trade between the East and West. 

He further expressed: “Sri Lanka’s proximity to rising economic powers of Asia and the Middle East will also play a central role in its success story. Since mid-2009, Sri Lanka has been a politically stable nation and perhaps one of the safest places in Asia for doing business.”  

Ravi Abeysuriya, CEO of Candor Equities, said: “National Industries Group, one of the largest listed companies in Kuwait, has seen the potential that Sri Lanka has to offer and Sri Lanka’s immense growth opportunities and has made the move to tie-up with us and take our business to the next level.”

“Candor is the quality of being honest and we aspire to provide dependable customer service by building a handpicked team of qualified investment advisors, bound by a strong code of ethics. With political stability and the improving economic situation, we expect a momentous inflow of capital into Sri Lanka, a fast emerging market.”

NIG is a multinational conglomerate engaged in asset management, building materials, petrochemicals, oil and gas services, mechanical industries, utilities, real estate infrastructure, and financial services. NIG has spread its wings far and wide with significant simultaneous investments in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Singapore, UK and Latin America with major shares in several prominent companies in the region.  EPIL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NIG based in DIFC, Dubai, UAE. It is globally diversified private investment firm, which has a core focus on the financial industry and supporting sectors.  Since its establishment, EPIL has invested in a globally diversified portfolio comprising high-growth companies in China and the USA.  

The new management of Candor Equities will comprise of members of the former Heraymila Securities and experienced directors from the financial industry.

Chairman – Raj Dvivedi, accounts for over 35 years of experience in the global finance industry. He currently serves on several boards including BI Group (London), Accordion Partners (New York), China Risk Finance (China), Shanghai Harvest Network Technology (China) and Eagle Investments Limited (Dubai). Dvivedi held various senior executive positions at Citigroup, last of which was from 2006 – 2010 as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Country Officer of Citibank Kuwait.

Director – Sharon D’Souza has over 19 years of experience in the finance industry. Sharon setup Eagle Proprietary Investments in 2008 in the DIFC in Dubai, UAE and managed the company as its COO. Sharon was with Citibank for over 14 years in compliance, risk administration, operation management, and business systems and technology management. 

CEO – Ravi Abeysuriya continues on the board of Candor Equities, with over two decades of experience in top management positions in private equity investments, investment banking, credit rating and investment research outsourcing. Abeysuriya has a distinguished track record in the Sri Lankan financial sector for establishing highly successful companies from inception. Director–Mohammed Riyas is armed with a stock broking career spanning nearly20 years; Riyas was instrumental in bringing Heraymila Investments to Sri Lanka in 2010. He has actively participated in many road-shows, promoting Sri Lankan listed equities in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.