Time now to invest in Lanka

SEC holds successful Investor Forum in Singapore:

The Sri Lankan market is in a new era after the eradication of terrorism, said Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) Chairman Udayasiri Kariyawasam.

He was speaking at an Investor Forum organised by the SEC targeting overseas fund managers based mainly in Singapore on November 26 at Fullerton Hotel, Singapore.

Institutional investors and fund managers participated in the forum.

Kariyawasam noted that the Government’s vision is to build a new Sri Lanka and part of that being the Capital Market Development.

“We are trying to demutualise the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and attract new listings, in particular the registered finance companies and also the insurance companies,” the Chairman said.

He said this event was not a mere forum aimed at Capital Market related stakeholders, but was an initiative to market the country as a whole emphasizing the untapped potential Sri Lanka has on offer.

One of the objectives of organizing this forum was to create and build a common platform affording an opportunity for stockbrokers, investors and other stakeholders engaged in capital market operations. Kariyawasam said more responsibility lies with the CSE and Stockbrokers in particular to reap the benefits of events of this magnitude.

Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said Sri Lanka has been a high inflation country for a long time and now both high inflation expectations as well as high inflation have been dealt with and are concerns of the past.

“We can take a lot more pragmatic decisions going into the future,” he said.

Cabraal said the growth expectation of 3.5 percent is good in the world context whilst noting that based on this momentum a growth of around six percent would be possible for 2010.

The Sri Lankan delegation was represented by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister and Deputy Finance and Planning Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama, CBSL Governor, SEC Chairman and Director General, CSE Chief Executive Officer as well as senior members of the management of the CSE listed John Keells Holdings PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC and National Development Bank PLC, members of the stock broking community and representatives of custodian banks.