Heraymila launches $ 50 m Sri Lanka Growth Fund in Dubai

Nisthar Cassim reporting from Dubai

The Middle East-based Heraymila Group on Wednesday announced in Dubai the launch of a first-of-its-kind Sri Lanka Capital Growth Fund, an open-ended unit trust mainly for foreign investors, especially in the Gulf region, who are keen to benefit from the post-war rebound.

The announcement was made by Heraymila Securities Ltd., (HSL) a licensed stock broking firm in Sri Lanka and set up by Heraymila Investments, the fund management arm of Abdulaziz Al Mashal family group of Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest families in the Kingdom.

HSL said that Heraymila Group would soon launch its first Sri Lankan unit trust fund through fund management company, Heraymila Capital (Pvt) Ltd. The fund will be marketed to both overseas and local clients and would provide investors an opportunity to take part in the Sri Lanka growth story.

An initial value size of US$ 50 million has been earmarked for the new initiative named Sri Lanka Heraymila Capital Growth Fund with seed capital from Heraymila Investments, which is the first family office from Saudi Arabia to be set up in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The timing of the announcement coincided with the holding of the two-day Destination Sri Lanka Investment road show at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dubai which successfully concluded on Thursday. Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama was the Chief Guest for the road show, first in the Middle East since the end of the war in Sri Lanka two years ago.

Heraymila Investments Managing Director Vinod Krishnan said the Al Mashal family was one of the first from Saudi Arabia to identify the opportunities in Sri Lanka even before the war ended with equity investments made in 2005.

Successful returns as well as unprecedented opportunity post-war encouraged Heraymila to set up fully-fledged operations in November 2010 to explore prospects and offer financial services such as innovative wealth management, investment banking and capital market products.

HSL Chief Executive Officer Ravi Abeysuriya said the launch of Heraymila Sri Lanka Capital Growth Fund will be announced in Sri Lanka and actively marketed globally after some of the remaining approvals are obtained. The initiative follows the Government in 2011 Budget announcing support for Unit Trust industry.

The road show, the ceremonial opening of which saw over 100 investors, entrepreneurs and representative from Dubai-based fund managers and investment bankers attend, promoted the post war revival in the Sri Lankan economy, stock market, tourism, etc., to thereby attract direct and portfolio investments from the UAE, the dominant business hub in the Gulf.

The Lankan delegation for the road show included premier blue chip JKH, Hemas Holdings, Expolanka Holdings, People’s Bank, Sampath Bank, Nations Trust Bank, Deutsche Bank Sri Lanka, which specialises in providing trustee services to foreign investors in Sri Lanka, and LR Global, the Sri Lankan arm of LR Global Partners, LP, a US based private equity firm specialising in frontier markets.

Heraymila Investments currently manages over $ 285 million as one of the many investment vehicles of Abdulaziz Al Mashal which has investments in private and public companies throughout the world including in sectors banking, real estate and private equity.