NDB Capital unveils four Indices
More clarity for debt market:
Indunil HEWAGE
NDB Capital Holdings PLC in collaboration with CRISIL Limited, India
has developed Sri Lanka’s only fixed income Indices to measure the
performance of the government securities of selected maturities. This
initiative will unveil four Indices and will cover two selected
maturities each for both Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds. The Indices
are expected to provide more clarity to the debt capital market
participants and further propagate government securities as an
attractive investment opportunity.
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CRISIL Research President Mukesh
Agarwal, NDB Capital Holdings Chairman Ashok Pathirage, NDB
Bank Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya, NDB Bank CEO Russell De
Mel and NDB Capital Holdings CEO Hemaka Amarasuriya in
Colombo. |
NDBIB-CRISIL 91 day T-bill index, NDBIB-CRISIL 364 day T-bill Index,
NDBIB-CRISIL 3 year T-Bond Index and NDBIB-CRISIL 5-year T-bond index
will be ceremonially launched by Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard
Cabraal today.
Commenting on this initiative, NDB Capital Holdings, CEO Vajira
Kulatilaka said local government Bonds and the Treasury Bill market has
grown over a period of time.“On top of that liquidity market has
improved and grown by 21% during the period 2003-2011,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there were no Indices up to now to show the movement
of the market. With the government allowing foreign participation in
rupee dominated treasury securities, there has been a significantly high
demand from foreign investors for treasury securities and hence the need
for measurement of performance of the government securities.
This market is 1.5 times more liquid and size wise it is bigger than
the share market and the benefits of the government bond and government
treasury bill market goes down to real grassroot level.
There is a real need to launch these Indices and the government from
the last budget has expressed its preferences to create the capital
market with a vibrant corporate bond market. Indices are a fundamental
base for creation of asset allocation and the vibrant capital market
growth.
NDB Bank Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya said the government security
market has emerged as the largest and most liquid market for fixed
income securities in Sri Lanka with total outstanding treasuries
amounting to approximately Rs 3.2 trillion.
These newly introduced Indices will measure the performance of the
government securities of selected maturities wile representing the
performance of risk-free benchmark securities. The Indices will help
carry out the performance evaluation of funds with a fixed income
orientation.
They are also expected to provide value in terms of being indicators
of aggregate performance of the government securities market in Sri
Lanka.
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