Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco Insurance separates general and life businesses

June 03,2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco Insurance said that it seperated it insurence business to continue as two different entities- Ceylinco Life Insurance and Ceylinco General Insurance.

The company said in a filing to CSE that this decesion was taken in keeping with section 53 of the regulation of the insurance industry (amended) act No 03 of 2011,composite insurence companies like Ceylinco Insurence Plc who were engaged in carrying on both long term and genaral business is required to segregate the two classes of insurence business into two seperate companies.

Ceylon Cold Stores says growing health concerns impact carbonated soft drink market

June 3, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Cold Stores says that the growth potential for carbonated soft drinks may be limited due to growing health concerns of the consumers, even though there has been an increase in disposable income.

“I am confident that the increase in disposable income witnessed in the last quarter will act as a catalyst for greater demand of our frozen confectionery products whilst the growth potential for carbonated soft drinks may be constrained to an extent in the medium to long term due to a growing segment of health conscious consumers,” Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman of Ceylon Cold Stores said.

The company’s beverage range was extended during the year by introducing a fruit flavour based green tea with minimal carbonation under the “twistee” sub brand, to cater the growing demand.

“These new additions to the portfolio aim to cater to the emerging trend for lifestyle Beverages in tandem with the global movement towards healthier lifestyle choices,” Ratnayake said.

“Research and Development initiatives are ongoing to facilitate the use of natural flavours and colours when re-inventing existing products and introducing new products to the market.”

The Company posted revenues of 9,768 million rupees in the year ended March 2015, representing a growth of 10 per cent over the previous financial year.

The recurring profit increased by 53 per cent during the same period where the previous years’ results included a one off gain of 366 million rupees on lease rights foregone and a gain of 72 million rupees on change in the fair value of investment property.

After excluding the aforementioned impacts, the profit after tax for the year increased by 43 per cent.

“The domestic Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD) market remained sluggish for a good part of the year, with consumers typically spending less in the first few months of the year,” the company said.

“However, the final quarter offered some respite following an upswing in consumer spending which edged up industry growth culminating in an expansion of 3 percent.”

Sri Lanka Treasuries yields flat

COLOMBO (EconomyNext) – Sri Lanka's Treasury bill yields were unchanged across maturities at Wednesday's auction, data from the debt office showed, with 17.6 billion rupees of bills being sold.

The debt office said 6.6 billion rupees of 3-month bills were sold at an average of 6.07 percent, 7.6 billion rupees f 6-month bills were sold at 6.18 percent and 6.29 percent 12-month bills were sold at 6.29 percent, unchanged from a week earlier.

This week 33.9 billion rupees were maturing. In the secondary market one year bills were quoted at 6.29/33 percent after the auction, dealers said.

Sri Lankan shares at over-5-week low on political woes, foreign selling

Sri Lankan shares ended at their lowest in over five weeks on Wednesday led by financials as concerns over political uncertainty before a parliament election dented sentiment, while foreign investors exited from risky assets.

The main stock index fell 0.64 percent to close at 7,149.46, its lowest finish since April 28. The fall, for the third straight session, was the worst single-day loss since March 30.

"Mainly it's the political uncertainty," said Dimantha Mathew, research manager at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

"Foreign selling was also seen. With the expected U.S. interest rate hike foreigners are expected to move funds out to the U.S."

Foreign investors were net sellers of 72.3 million rupees ($539,955.19) worth of shares on Wednesday, extending the net foreign selling in the last six sessions to 1.53 billion rupees. The bourse, however, has seen net inflows of 4.41 billion rupees in equities so far this year.

Despite political uncertainty, stockbrokers said better corporate earnings would help the market gain in the future despite the parliament election this year.

Turnover was 958 million rupees, below this year's daily average of about 1.13 billion rupees.

Political uncertainty due to the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government not having a majority has been a drag on the market, though the trend reversed after the central bank cut key monetary policy rates to record lows on April 15.

The index has gained 3.6 percent since the rate cut.

Shares in Sri Lanka Telecom Plc fell 1.00 percent while Lanka ORIX leasing Company Plc fell 3.7 percent, dragging the overall index.

Biggest listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc fell 1.47 percent.

President Maithripala Sirisena's government has said it would dissolve parliament once some crucial reform bills are passed. But it has not scheduled a date for the election.

Analysts say investors are hoping for a stable government after the election coupled with strong economic measures would boost confidence. 

($1 = 133.9000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Sri Lanka to introduce capital adequacy rule for stockbrokers

COLOMBO (EconomyNext) – The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) plans to introduce a capital adequacy ratio rule for stockbrokers as part of measures to develop the market under a medium term strategic plan, its Chief Executive Rajiva Bandaranaike said.

The bourse will also introduce a clearing house and a Central Counter Party (CCP) settlement system to address the settlement risks prevalent for the equity and debt market as part of new risk management measures, he told a news conference.

“The clearing house and CCP will be the next big thing for the CSE which we will have by 2016."

Now the buyer gets the money only three days after the order while the share is transferred to the seller instantly, as a result of which there is a counterparty risk and no guarantee of payment.

“Globally that’s not a good practice,” Bandaranaike said. “That’s why we initiated the project to introduce DVP (delivery versus payment) which means shares and the money are exchanged on the same day so that when you buy the share you have to pay the money at the same time – eliminating the risk of default.”

The clearing house will be interposed between buyer and seller and guarantee settlement – delivery of shares to buyer and delivery of money to the seller.

Chairman of the CSE Vajira Kulatilaka the bourse aims to manage risks according to world standards.

“We have just assigned the task of doing the whole turnkey operation to the consultants. Their report will be out by June 15 and then we will start implementing the CCP.”

Bandaranaike said under the CSE’s three year plan, this year it plans to introduce a series of interim measures to mitigate clearing and settlement risk until the clearing house is set up.

Under the CSE’s plans for the development of infrastructure and capabilities of market intermediaries it is going to introduce a capital adequacy ratio for stock broker firms replacing the existing net capital that they have.

The capital adequacy ratio was approved by the CSE Board of Directors the week before last.

The CSE will now discuss the move with the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“It is likely that it will be implemented in the next couple of months,” Bandaranaike said.

One of the interim measures to control settlement risk includes taking a margin for large transactions of over 20 million rupees so that in the event of a default and there’s a price loss that margin can cover that loss.

“We also have implemented some internal systems where we can identify and isolate a large trade,” Bandaranaike said.

“Now if a trade were to fail, for example, as the system stands now the entire settlement in the market will fail.

As a result the CSE now has implemented a system where it can identify a particular large trade and take it out of settlement – delaying settlement on that transaction so that it can let the rest of the market continue.

”This is a global practice which unfortunately we did not have,” Bandaranaike said.

“The good news is that in the last 30 years we never had occasion to use that but we can’t ride on luck and that’s the reason why we are introducing interim measures until a clearing house comes.”

ComBank envisages 12 to 15% growth

Hiran H. Senewiratne

Commercial Bank's Managing Director and CEO Jegan Durairatnam said that the Bank will have a 12 percent to 15 percent growth in the next two to three years and was also planning expanding to international operations as well.

"Our bank had been listed with CSE from 1970 and since then we have grown with the Exchange. A platform such as this provides companies with a capacity to help enhance their visibility on the world stage. Our association with the Stock Exchange has been rewarding and positive," said Durairatnam when Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB) opened trading on Monday at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as part of Market Opening tradition where companies that are listed under the S&P SL20 index are invited to do so.

Commercial Bank is Sri Lanka's third largest company to be listed, in terms of market capitalization in the Stock Market, hovering around US$ one billion.

He said that they are also planning to set up a branch at Myanmar and at present the Bangladesh operations are performing well due to the best management practices of the bank activities.

Durairatnam said that good capital management, strong risk management, corporate governance and the continuous educating the staff has lead the bank in the right path with more skill-full persons. He also said they were also planning to penetrate into micro financing sector in the country.

Association with CSE paves the way to enhance their image in the world arena and intend to expand their operations to other countries as well and that due to excellent management practices they also have been able to reduce the non-performing loan ratio as well.

CSE Chairman, Vajira Kulatilaka said that the CSE was in the process of working to further enhance and introduce new products in line with features such as risk management and short-selling, while also striving to provide better IT systems that would attribute user-friendly features at better levels.

"We are sure everyone involved in this sector would like to see a much more comfortable and convenient trading of debt instruments. A known fact is that interest rates go up in the market and nothing can be done other than to wait until the market settles. Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB) opened trading at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) as part of a Market Opening tradition where companies that are listed under the S&P SL20 index are invited to do so.

But, with new products such as short-selling, things can change. What we will do is bring that type of a complete range of products of this caliber to witness a complete Capital Market. Our expectation is your participation and backup on our road shows and help us take Sri Lanka into a different platform. Sri Lanka needs capital, up from the government and down to the SME who will need capital to grow, Kulatilaka said.
www.dailynews.lk

Combined forces to fuel MBSL's growth

The Quarter ending March 31, 2015 signifies Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC's (MBSL), first quarter as a consolidated and unified entity, following the successful amalgamation with MBSL Savings Bank Ltd (MSB) and MCSL Financial Services Limited (MCSL) in January 2015.

With a total post-merger balance sheet of Rs 27.3 billion, the amalgamation and the resultant conversion to a Licensed Finance Company.

The Group's branch network also extended to 49 and the expansion of our human resource consisting of experienced and talented staff has provided ample opportunity for growth, in previously untapped geographical regions and industry sectors.

Performance during the period under review was reflective of ground breaking operational changes arising during the period of transition, including systems integration, streamlining of processes, impairment requirements and management of human resource issues among others.

The Group's total income for the quarter was Rs 1.33 billion reflecting the decline in market interest rates although the Group's loan portfolio remained relatively unchanged over the corresponding period. However, a sharper decline in interest expenses by 25.17% facilitated the Group to maintain a net interest income at Rs 462.24 million.

Impairment provisions for the period increased to Rs 244.82 million from Rs 187.39 million the previous year, reflecting the consolidation of MSB and MCSL's loan portfolios, which suffered from relatively high delinquencies. The rise in impairment, together with an escalation of operating costs arising from post-merger transition issues resulted in the Group recording a net loss of Rs 153.77 million for the quarter.

The amalgamation has presented multiple opportunities for the Group, both in terms of reach and breadth of services offered as well as achieving diversification and growth in funding avenues.

Furthermore, the vision, leadership and industry experience of our new Chairman, a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Ruwan Gallage and the synergy generated by the new Board of Directors is expected to propel the Group to greater heights through differentiated business solutions.
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CSE increases revenue in 2014

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) revenue increased by 25% to Rs. 961 million in 2014 from Rs. 771 million in 2013.

This was mainly due to the increase seen in CSE and Central Depository System (CDS) fee income, sale of information income and listed company income. The group profit tax crossed Rs. 30 million during the year recording a strong growth over the previous year. The CSE increased daily turnover by over 70% which was reflected by 25% increase in revenue in the last financial year. This was reflected in the CSE 2014 annual report.

This increase resulted in an operating profit of Rs. 75.1 million. As a result the total comprehensive income increased to Rs. 30 million. Within an atmosphere of increasing operating costs and a series of anticipated capital expenditure, the CSE hotels to increase income by diversifying avenues of revenue generation and looking to more profitable areas on investments.

During the year ASPI Reached 7,500 while the Market Capitalization surpassed Rs. 3 trillion.This was 32% of the GDP. Market Capitalization surpassed Rs. 3 trillion and turnover to market capitalization was 12.3%.

One of the notable features of the last year was the Highest Foreign Purchases in history, which was at Rs 104.7 billion.

Another highlight was the S&P SL 20 Index surpassing the 4,000 mark. CSE ChairmanVajira Kulatilaka, said at a CSE event on Monday that the CSE has planned strategies to grow the current market capitalization to US$ 50 billion.

"CSE has completed 30 years of operation in 2015. The exchange steps into an era of innovation. CSE had plans to create a vibrant exchange with strong equity alternatives, very derivatives and a stable debt market offering investors a range of options to diversify their portfolios."

CSE CEO,Rajeeva Bandaranaike said that they are ready to play an even greater role in boosting the country's capital market.

"Total branch turnover accounted for 21% of Turnover of Local Individuals which clearly showed that the decision to go rural has paid backm" he said.

He also said that they will host two back to back investor forums in London and Luxembourg in September. "In addition three large road shows will be conducted in Matara, Kandy and Jaffna this year." CSE was named as the Most Sustainable Growth Exchange in Asia 2014 by CFI, UK.

(SS)
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Sri Lanka Tourism to launch Rs. 200 m brand building strategy

* Recruiting global communication partner after 6 years

Sri Lanka Tourism will launch a Rs. 200 million brand building strategy and recruit a top global communication partner after a lapse of six years, stated Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Rohantha Athukorala on Monday.

Addressing the APOT.Asia (Asia Pacific On-board Travel) Forum at the Hilton Colombo, he said that this was in line with the marketing plan launched across key strategic markets globally in partnership with SLAITO and THASL.

This decision was taken on the direction of Minister of Sports and Tourism Naveen Dissanayake and with the approval of the Ministry and the Board of Directors of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau.

“I thank all who have worked tirelessly in the last four months to launch the search for the new global communication partner,” added Athukorala.

Asserting that successful places focus on delivering emotional and social benefits and are concerned by how they make people feel rather than relying on lists, facts and details, he added: “We as destination marketers haven’t been using all the tools available to us in today’s world because we assume that consumers make decisions rationally.”

“While the rational, or ‘thinking’ part of the brain does play a role, it’s most often there to simply validate, or put into words a decision that our subconscious mind has already made for us. In order to reach the ‘thinking’ brain, our messages need to first pass the older parts of our brain, the parts that are far more primal and emotionally-oriented,” said Athukorala outlining the thinking behind the DNA charting of tourism in Sri Lanka and the challenge for the communication partner as the country targets a new wave of tourists globally.

“Many places still try to promote themselves by using uninteresting lists of local attractions, businesses and services, whilst the new strategy will be more on the heritage and culture of the country, which is strongly linked to the people of the country. Let’s see how things pan out. We want the new strategy to in place within three months, which includes production time,” he noted.
www.ft.lk

Tourism earnings rise 13.6% in 1Q

* Overall income for first 4 months hits $ 956m: CB

* Remittances rise by 6.6% to $ 644 m, gross official reserves reach $ 7.5 b boosted by currency swap with India

Sri Lanka’s lucrative post-war tourism boom continued to prosper in the first quarter of 2015 with earnings increasing by 13.6% year-on-year to $ 762.3 million, latest data from the Central Bank showed, pushing overall income to nearly $ 1 billion by end-April. 

Tourist arrivals grew at a rate of 18%, year-on-year, to 157,051 in March 2015. Accordingly, tourist arrivals during the first quarter of the year amounted to 478,838, recording a year-on-year growth of 13.6%. 

Earnings from tourism are estimated to have recorded year-on-year growth of 13.6% to $ 762.3 million during the first three months of 2015, compared to the cumulative earning of $ 671 million during the corresponding period of 2014.

The top five sources of tourist arrivals in March 2015 were India, UK, Germany, China and France, accounting for 49.3% of total tourist arrivals during the month. Tourist arrivals recorded a growth of 8.5% year-on-year in April 2015, with 122,217 tourists arriving during the month. Consequently, the cumulative tourist arrivals in the first four months in 2015 increased by 12.5% to 601,055 compared to the corresponding period of 2014.

“The cumulative earnings from tourism increased to $ 956.8 million during the first four months of 2015 compared to $ 850.3 million recorded during the same period in 2014,” the Central Bank report added.

Inflows continued to be strengthened by workers’ remittances that increased by 6.3%, year-on-year, to $ 644.3 million in March 2015 from $ 605.9 million recorded in March 2014. The cumulative inflow from workers’ remittances increased marginally by 1% to $ 1,679.4 million during the first quarter of 2015 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2014.

“Foreign investments in the Government securities market, which recorded a net outflow of $ 15.4 million during the first quarter of 2015, recorded a net outflow of $ 41.6 million by 28 May 2015.”

Meanwhile, foreign investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) up to the end March 2015 recorded a net inflow of $ 38.6 million, including net inflows to the secondary market amounting to $ 21.9 million and inflows to the primary market amounting to $ 16.7 million. Net inflows to the CSE by 28 May amounted to $ 51.6 million including primary market inflows up to end April 2015. During the first quarter of 2015, long-term loans obtained by the Government amounted to $ 222.6 million.

During the first quarter of 2015, the overall Balance of Payments (BOP) is estimated to have recorded a deficit of $ 1,016.8 million, compared to a surplus of $ 828.3 million recorded during the corresponding period of 2014.

Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves as at end March 2015 are estimated to be $ 6.8 billion, equivalent to 4.2 months of imports while total foreign assets amounted to $ 8.6 billion, equivalent to 5.3 months of imports.

The gross official reserves increased to $ 7.5 billion by end April 2015, which included proceeds of $ 400 million from the currency swap arrangement between Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Reserve Bank of India.

With the proceeds of the international sovereign bond, SLDBs and the expected proceeds of the balance portion of $ 1.1 billion from the currency swap agreement between Sri Lanka and India together with other regular investment inflows, gross official reserves are expected to increase further during the next few months, the report noted.



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LOLC surpasses PBT growth of 84%

LOLC Group recorded Rs. 8.1 b as Profit Before Tax (PBT) for 2014/15, with LOLC’s financial services sector dominating the growth in profits compared with 2013/14 of Rs. 4.4 b. 

LOLC’s main financial services entities comprising of the flagship finance company, Lanka ORIX Finance PLC (LOFC), Commercial Leasing and Finance PLC (CLC) and LOLC Micro Credit Ltd. (LOMC), led the financial services sector to PBT growth of 73%, an increase from Rs. 4.1 b last year to Rs. 7.1 b in the current year. The trading sector too contributed Rs. 577Mn in PBT, recording moderate growth over last year.

The financial services sector increased its interest income by 15% from higher revenues from top line growth, following aggressive growth in the lending portfolio. This growth is commendable given the declining interest rates in the market.

The overall lending book expended by Rs. 48 b taking the lending portfolio to Rs. 140 b from Rs. 91 b in 2013/14. The Group was geared for higher growth with growth in the lending book amidst reducing interest rates commensurate with even lower borrowing from both foreign funding partners and local banks further reducing borrowing costs, a 17% drop in absolute terms compared with last year. This drop is despite the overall growth in the borrowing book by Rs. 47 b.

LOFC recorded Rs. 2.2 b as PBT for the current year, a 54% growth compared with Rs. 11.4 b recorded in 2013/14. CLC grew its PBT signature by 34% ending the year with Rs. 1.7 b PBT compared with Rs.1.3 b recorded in the previous year. LOLC’s micro lending arm LOMC too saw an excellent year with PBT reaching Rs. 1.6 b, a 53% growth compared with last year.

During the year, while progress was made on aggressive portfolio growth, focused efforts were also channelled into collection of dues, improving the cash position and the portfolio quality. Conservative provisions were made for bad and doubtful debts and these were well above the regulatory requirements, strengthening the portfolios for the years to come.

LOLC’s financial services sector becomes even stronger with PBT contribution from the two foreign investments in Cambodia in PRASAC and TPC, together adding Rs. 1.8 b to the bottom line and LOLC’s stake in Seylan Bank which derived a profit contribution of Rs. 1.1 b.

LOLC owns 22.25% in PRASAC, the largest micro finance company in Cambodia. PRASAC grew its profits by 65% compared with the previous year. LOLC acquired the controlling stake of TPC, the fifth largest micro finance institution in Cambodia in 2014 and the company grew its profits by 59% during the year. LOLC’s green field lending operation in Myanmar has made promising progress with solid expansion in portfolio growth and is expected to breakeven in the near future.

The trading business of the Group led by Brown & Co. PLC too made operational profits this year of Rs. 520 m compared with the operational loss recorded in the previous year of Rs. 761 m. Completion of the restructuring process at Browns together with implementation of strong business strategies has resulted in the company turning around to make operational profits.

Browns Investments PLC (BI) the company focusing on the future investments of the Group, made several investments during the year with a view of consolidating its long term business strategy of investments into sectors with strong growth potential in the longer term.

The leisure sector which comes under BI, recorded losses of Rs. 560 m as the Group continues with the expansion of the sector with several development projects nearing completion in the coming months/years.

While The Eden Resort and Spa, Dikwella Resort and Spa and The Paradise Resort & Spa contributed to the turnover of the Group, The Calm Resort and Spa in Pasikuddah was commissioned for business and is about to receive its external guests in the coming weeks. The Samudra Beach Resort is nearing completion and the 363 key property in Beruwala, Riverina Resorts is progressing in line with the plans.

The Group invested into two properties in Maldives, expanding its leisure sector footprint and these properties are to commence construction in the coming months.

During the financial year, BI acquired the balance 50% stake in Free Lanka Joint Venture Ltd., securing the 100% holding of the company which owns the plantation companies, Maturata Plantations and Pussellawa Plantations along with affiliate companies in the plantation sector. BI has commenced the restructuring process in these companies aligning them to the overall long-term business and growth strategies of LOLC.

“Looking at the overall profit, growth and the business expansion, we are very happy with the results achieved in the year 2014/15 which is remarkable considering the challenging and turbulent business environment that prevailed throughout the year. Our financial services sector has performed exceptionally well while the other businesses are being geared up, aligning to the long term business strategy of the Group,” said Group Managing Director Kapila Jayawardena, explaining the strong profit growth of the Group. 
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CSE sets out new strategic vision, targets $ 50 b market cap in 3 years

* Central Counter-Party to be introduced by 2016E

* Consultations for new listing rules underway

* Secondary trading on Government securities by 2016

* Stock borrowing and lending, regulated short selling by 2017

* Net foreign inflows expected to continue in 2015

By Channa Fernandopulle

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) announced a new strategic vision for the local Bourse, targeting a market capitalisation of $ 50 billion within the next three years.

Speaking at the launch of the CSE’s Annual Report 2014 on Monday, CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike described several initiatives that the Bourse would be implementing in order to expand its market size, diversify product offerings – through the introduction of strong markets for derivatives and equity alternatives – and improve its risk management framework.

He further announced the CSE would be introducing secondary trading on Government securities in 2016 and regulated short-selling and stock borrowing and lending in 2017.

“Our vision is to push ourselves to become an active and liquid market with multiple asset classes that is home to vibrant and fully-fledged companies. By focusing on issuers and market intermediaries, innovation, investors, capabilities and infrastructure, we hope to move from being classified as a frontier market to an emerging market,” Bandaranaike stated.

In that context, he explained that steps were already underway to completely revise CSE Listing Rules with a view to streamlining the process in order to encourage more companies to list.

“We are also working to re-brand both boards of the CSE in order to give better opportunities to SMEs and BOI companies. Consultations with the investment banks and listed companies have already been carried out and we are now speaking to other stakeholders and will soon be seeking regulator approval,” Bandaranaike said.

Addressing the issue of balancing the Bourse’s requirement to generate more listings against its need to bring in quality companies to list, CSE Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka stated that venture capitalists and private equity funds would have an increasingly important role to play.

“We’ve always discouraged weaker companies from coming to the market but at the same time we firmly believe that bad companies can be made into good companies through knowledge sharing and education on good governance.

“In the United States this happens more naturally because venture capitalists will seek out viable companies and help instil those values before linking them to private equity. 

These are crucial ingredients and we can see that these have started to happen in Sri Lanka as well and I’m sure that they will help find and polish these diamonds and bring them to the market,” Kulatilaka stated.

Meanwhile, commenting on the status of efforts to implement a Central Counter Party (CCP), Bandaranaike announced that a clearing house that could act as a guarantor on all transactions was expected to be established by the end of 2016; a move which would pave the way for the establishment of a Delivery Versus Payment (DVP) settlement system.
Elaborating on plans to increase market liquidity, Bandaranaike stated that recent educational and awareness programs initiated by the CSE would be continued while stockbrokers would also be encouraged to travel to regions outside Colombo with a view to improving accessibility and improve retail investor participation.

He added that unit trusts would be an excellent vehicle to with which to introduce inexperienced retail investors into the Bourse and stated that Matara, Kandy and Jaffna had already been earmarked for promotional activities in this regard.

Commenting on the status of foreign funds into Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike noted that the CSE recorded three consecutive years of foreign inflows up to 2014 and further noted that figures for the first five months of 2015 remained promising.

“Where we had a net foreign outflow from January to April 2014, we saw net foreign inflows during the same period, so foreigners have been getting into this market and that is a very positive sign,” he stated.

Bandaranaike added that the CSE’s international road shows in New York, Singapore and London had garnered significant interest from foreign investors, leading to a marked improvement in investment from those regions and announced that this year the CSE would be carrying out further road shows in London and Luxemburg. 
www.cse.lk