Investment Road Show in Middle East

A key investment promotion exercise involving multi-stakeholders and facilitated by Heraymila Investments Ltd. is being planned for February to woo significant interest from the Middle East.

A high powered delegation led by International Economic Cooperation Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama and comprising select public and private sector representatives is scheduled to visit Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai as part of the Middle East road show.

Heraymila Investments Ltd. subsidiary Heraymila Securities CEO Ravi Abeysuriya told the Daily FT that the objective of the road show was to showcase the immense post-war potential for direct and portfolio investments for Middle Eastern investors. With regard to select Government projects the idea of Public Private Partnership (PPP) will be pursued.



Some of the institutions that will participate are the Central Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission, Colombo Stock Exchange, Urban Development Authority, and Sri Lanka Tourism from the public sector whilst a few blue chips will form the private sector team.

The road show titled “Investment Destination Sri Lanka” will involve two day sessions in each of the three cities. “Depending on the success of the maiden initiative we will consider facilitating similar events in rest of the Middle East,” Abeysuriya added.

Colombo stock market’s attractive position as the world’s second best and Asia’s best performing for two consecutive years as well as post-war rebound are some of the key attractions for prospective Middle East investors.

Heraymila Investments, headquartered in UAE and registered with Dubai Financial Centre, manages over US$ 260 million out of the family wealth of Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Al Mashal, which has interests in aircraft leasing for European commercial airlines, investments in real estate apart from public and private equity in over 30 countries.

Abeysuriya said that given its own background and success in investing in Sri Lanka, the one-on-one meetings arranged by Al Mashal family will be a significant opportunity for the Lankan delegation. Separate meetings and presentations with chambers of commerce and industry in identified cities will be an additional feature of the road show.

Al Mashal’s interest in Sri Lanka originated much before the war ended. It first entered Sri Lanka in 2005 via the Colombo stock market by acquiring a 10% stake then in the country’s biggest private sector bank with an investment of US$ 25 million.

At the launch of Heraymila Investments and Heraymila Securities in Sri Lanka its Managing Director Vinod Krishnan in November said “We came to Sri Lanka at the height of the war and have gradually expanded our presence which shows we are a committed long term investor.”

Krishnan who has been associated with Al Mashal family for 18 years noted that in tandem with the dynamics of a country, GDP, opportunities and stock market, the Al Mashal family adjusts their asset allocation. “Like all ultra high net worth families in the world, Al Mashal focus is on capital preservation via investments and operating businesses and not rapid appreciation. At Heraymila we continuously seek emerging and frontier markets and Sri Lanka is one with tremendous upside potential thanks to the end of the war,” Krishnan added.

With its footprint firmly established in Sri Lanka, Heraymila in November promised it will aggressively promote Sri Lanka as an investment and business destination among its worldwide clients. The forthcoming road show is part of delivering on that promise, Abeysuriya emphasised.

Sri Lanka was the first country where Heraymila has set up shop outside Dubai to launch financial services products and services. “The post war potential and outstanding talent pool were among the key magnets for this decision,” Krishnan pointed out in November.