Positive response for ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ forum in Hong Kong
Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:30
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The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) yesterday successfully held their ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ Investor Forum at the Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong, showcasing the economic growth prospects and investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s capital market.
The forum attracted over 100 participants, including institutional and high net worth investors and fund managers.
Eleven leading listed companies from Sri Lanka – John Keells Holdings PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, DFCC Bank, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC, Nations Trust Bank PLC, Dialog Axiata PLC, Hayley’s PLC, Ceylinco Insurance PLC, Access Engineering PLC, People’s Leasing & Finance PLC and Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC – participated at the forum.
During the forum, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Dr. Nalaka Godahewa and Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange Krishan Balendra addressed the participants and delivered insightful presentations on the latest economic and investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal speaking at the forum said: “Sri Lanka is the fastest growing economy in South Asia. With promising growth in major sectors including ports, tourism, real estate, financial services and outsourcing industries, we believe Sri Lanka will provide an excellent investment opportunity for foreign investors, against the backdrop of a challenging global economy.”
SEC Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa commented: “The regulatory and infrastructure framework of Sri Lanka’s capital market has developed significantly over the past few years and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka has been leading major initiatives to enhance the regulatory and financial infrastructure further to be in line with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) standards.
“We will continue to work closely with other international regulatory bodies to better understand and adhere to international standards in order to enhance the confidence of foreign investors in our market and to become a financial centre in South Asia. It has been observed that foreign investors have been actively participating in the capital market of Sri Lanka which is reflected in a record level of net foreign inflows.”
CSE Chairman Krishan Balendra said: “We are pleased to have received a positive response from participants for our first ever investor event in Hong Kong. With the continuous increase in foreign investor participation in the total market turnover, we are confident that Sri Lanka’s capital market will continue to perform well in the next few years.”
