Mega push to woo UAE investors into Sri Lanka’s capital market

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in association with Bloomberg Data Services, held an investor forum ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ yesterday at the Ritz Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre. The forum attracted over 100 institutional, high net-worth investors and fund managers to be introduced to the value proposition for investing in Sri Lanka’s capital market.

The listed companies that participated in the investor forum were John Keells Holdings PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Carson Cumberbatch PLC, Sampath Bank PLC, National Development Bank PLC, Hayleys PLC, Access Engineering PLC and Peoples Leasing and Finance PLC.  

Senior Minister for International Monetary Co-operation and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning in Sri Lanka Dr. Sarath Amunugama delivered the keynote address at the forum followed by presentations by Chairman of The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Dr. Nalaka Godahewa and Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange Krishan Balendra.

Presentations covered the investment opportunities in Sri Lanka, noting the diversification opportunities and the country’s emergence as one of the fastest growing economies in South Asia.

Dr. Sarath Amunugama, speaking at the event, stated: “This century belongs to Asia and Sri Lanka will play a key role as a fast-growing, emerging economy. Its unique geographical location will make it an attractive investment location for investors in many industries. The educated and high quality workforce, fast developing infrastructure and the investor friendly policies will be key attractions.”

SEC Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa also spoke at the forum and said: “Sri Lanka’s economy has been doing very well in the recent past which is reflected in the performance of the fast-growing capital market. Over the last 12 months, the market has grown by 36.49%.  Our target is to see market capitalisation increasing by three-fold over the next three to four years. By 2016, when the country’s GDP reaches US$ 100 billion, we like to see the capital market contribution to be around 50%. In order to sustain growth and to achieve its targets, Sri Lanka has introduced a 10 point action plan, one of which is attracting more foreign funds into the market.”

The CSE, in collaboration with the SEC, has planned four investor forums in key international financial hubs this year. The first investor forum was held in Mumbai in February and will be followed by two more in Hong Kong and Singapore. With Dubai’s emergence as a financial hub, the forum was strategically held there with the objective of giving UAE based investors the opportunity to capitalise on Sri Lanka’s positive economic growth trajectory.

CSE Chairman Krishan Balendra stated: “We are pleased with the response at the Dubai Investor Forum. Increase in foreign inflows would play a pivotal role in the performance of the CSE.”

The SEC and the CSE, in association with the Sri Lankan Consulate General in Dubai, also held a successful event for the Sri Lankan Diaspora on 1 June 2013 at the Le Meridian Hotel, showcasing the investment opportunities to the Sri Lankan Diaspora.