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Thursday, 29 October 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake delivering the keynote address in Zurich
The capital market industry will make a fresh push to woo investors based in UK via the ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ forum in London today (29 October).
The first to be held since the assumption of the new Government, the ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ forum at The Savoy Hotel, London is expected to draw over 100 institutional investors. The London forum is being held just after a breakfast meeting in Zurich on Wednesday to promote Sri Lanka’s new investment profile.
The last Sri Lanka Invest Forum in London was a major success and was part of several road shows held covering cities such as New York, Singapore, Mumbai and Dubai.
Held in association with Bloomberg, the London event will feature 12 listed companies which will each host one-on-one or group meetings. The companies attending are John Keells Holdings PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Hatton National Bank PLC, National Development Bank PLC, Dialog Axiata PLC, Carsons Cumberbatch PLC, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, People’s Leasing & Finance PLC, Softlogic Holdings PLC, Tokyo Cement PLC, Singer Sri Lanka PLC , MTD Walkers PLC and Sunshine Holdings PLC.
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake will deliver the keynote address at the London forum, while Colombo Stock Exchange Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka and Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) Director General Vajira Wijegunerwardane will make presentations on the opportunities in the capital market and the regulatory framework, respectively.
A macroeconomic overview of the country will be provided by Copal Amba (a Moody’s subsidiary) Country Head – Sri Lanka Chanakya Dissanayake. The main presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session with the audience. Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa will also address.
Today’s forum will also feature presentations by London Stcok Exchange Chief Executive Officer and Director of International Development Nikhil Rathi and Stewart Investors Ashish Swarup will share his company’s experience of investing in the Sri Lankan capital market.
Though the Colombo stock market has offered a negative return year to date (in terms of ASI 3% as of Monday) and net foreign outflow is around Rs. 3 billion, the CSE, brokers as well listed firms believe there is upside in the medium to long term for foreign investors.
The CSE said the combined attendance at the forums numbers nearly 200 and includes major institutional investors with assets under management of $ 110 million or above.
Sri Lanka will ring the market opening bell at the London Stock Exchange tomorrow.
The symbolic event coincides with the ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ forum in London. The officials in the Sri Lankan delegation for the forum will attend the LSE market opening ceremony.
The first0ever capital market investor forum held in Switzerland yesterday proved to be an outstanding success, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said in a statement.
Titled ‘Invest Sri Lanka’ and organised by the CSE in association with the Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC), the forum attracted a full house for the Breakfast Meeting at The Widder Hotel in Zurich.
The event saw the participation of major institutional investors surpassing the initial expectations of attendance and the interest in Sri Lanka was evident from the lively interaction, the participants had with the Sri Lankan delegation at the Q&A session, with topics ranging from opportunities in the stock market, foreign investor participation in future infrastructure developments, the ease of investing in the Sri Lankan stock market and the future economic potential of Sri Lanka.
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake in his keynote address called on Swiss investors present on the occasion to invest in the future investment destination that is Sri Lanka. He said that since the change of government in January 2015, there is a strong national-oriented government in place ushering in sustainable political stability for Sri Lanka and that now that the process of political stabilisation has taken place, the Government is laying emphasis on the country’s economic stabilisation. He stated that the Government had depoliticised the running of the administration through independent commissions appointed to look after the financial system, law and order, human rights, etc.
The Minister invited the participants to visit Sri Lanka and see for themselves the positive reforms that are taking place in Sri Lanka. He assured the investors that investing in Sri Lanka would bring them better returns than investing in traditional European markets.
Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha in welcoming the participants stated that Sri Lanka and Switzerland had enjoyed a long relationship and recalled that economic ties between the two countries went as far back as the 19th century.
CSE Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka spoke about the potential of the stock market and emphasised that the time to invest was now, given that the market was relatively cheaper than most markets in the region. He also cited how the CSE had significantly outperformed most regional markets. He cited Sri Lanka’s low market cap to GDP ratio against other markets as a growth opportunity. He further stated that the low co-relation with major global indices provided an excellent diversification opportunity for global institutional investors.
Kulatilaka also spoke about the future developments of the capital market in relation to strengthening and improving the regulatory framework, addressing risk management, diversification of product range, governance, improvement of market infrastructure and institutional building.
Copal Amba Country Head Chanakya Dissanayake in his presentation emphasised that the Sri Lankan stock market carried attractive valuations versus its peers especially in the context of Sri Lanka’s growth profile and stated that 2015 political reset augured well for a robust investment climate in 2016.
Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Director General Vajira Wijegunawardane outlined the measures that the SEC was taking to strengthen the regulatory framework of the capital market with the objective of creating an enabling environment for issuers to raise funds and instil adequate safeguards to protect investors and maintain professionalism in the industry.
A few of the investors present shared their investment experience in Sri Lanka which they described as a rewarding experience and expressed confidence in the future growth potential.
