Debutant duo delights

The two debutants on the Colombo stock market yesterday shined with sharp rises in their prices, though volumes of at least one were low.

By virtue of a 968% rise, George Steuart Finance topped the list of percentagewise gainers, whilst Asia Siyaka, with its 395% rise, was second.

George Steuart Finance saw its shares with a reference price of Rs. 20 opening trading at Rs. 200 hitting an intra-day high of Rs. 220 before closing at Rs. 213.70, up by Rs. 193.70. However, only 170 shares were transacted via 26 trades in a turnover of Rs. 36.3 million. GSF ended its debut with a market capitalisation of Rs. 4.8 billion.

The other debutant, Asia Siyaka, with a reference price of Rs. 2, started off with a price of Rs. 21.50 and peaked to Rs. 22 before closing the inaugural day at Rs. 9.90, up by Rs. 7.90.

Asia Siyaka was more active with 149,562 shares changing hands via 224 trades for Rs. 1.78 million. Its market capitalisation was Rs. 2.5 billion.

Both were listed via introduction and brought the number of companies listed on the CSE to 287.