Business

CSE gearing to offer ample opportunities for growth and investment in 2023

Published

4 years ago

2023/01/13

By Sanath Nanayakkare

The participation of active retail investors in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is encouraging. Foreign investors have infused capital at an all-time high in 2022 despite domestic turbulences. With the planned introduction of green bonds, perpetual bonds, high-yielding bonds and flexible rules on speculative trading in the forthcoming quarters, the investor sentiment on the Colombo Stock exchange is likely to see an uptick in 2023. There is a strategy by CSE for 2023/2024 to make CSE a broad-based, seamless platform for high net-worth Individuals, foreign investors, institutional investors and retail investors alike.

This was revealed at a media briefing held by the CSE on Wednesday at Shangri La Colombo. Dilshan Wirasekara, Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange said,” Last year was quite challenging for all industries as Sri Lanka went through its worst economic crisis post-independence. However, through the crisis, despite the fact the some of the gains we had made in the previous year had reversed, we were able to perform relatively well in 2022 with some notable achievements. We saw growing confidence of foreign investors in our market. We had all-time high foreign investments in excess of Rs. 50 billion which was quite a significant achievement given that we really couldn’t attract any other foreign investments or foreign currency into the country.

CSE remains profitable along with its subsidiary, the Central Deposit System (CDS). This augurs well for the institution because we are on a solid footing in a financial perspective. This is important because we need to make significant investments into software development, human resources, infrastructure, market education etc. The market itself even though it declined by 30%, we believe that it offers a good upside in the medium term for investors because of low valuations. Our market continues to be one of the cheapest markets out there. I think we are trading at a lower than one time from price to book value and around five times in earnings. So even through these challenges our market valuations are attractive and it is something that we want to make sure the public are aware of, and all stakeholders can capitalize on.”

Rajeeva Bandaranaike. Chief Executive Officer of CSE highlighting key achievements of the organization during 2022 and laying out strategy direction for 2023 said,” We had a 30% decline in All Share Price Index (ASPI) last year. S&P SL 20 index also declined during the year by 7%. However, the good thing about trading was that the market volume was robust even though it was not at the same level as in 2021 which was an exceptional year. The market capitalization remained Rs. 8.8 trillion and the daily average turnover almost touched Rs. 3 billion last year. It was not as good as previous year but was better than most of the past years. The market capitalization as a percentage of GDP was 22% last year which was still higher than some of the previous years. In terms of capital raising, last year was not too good a year. We raised both in terms of debt and equity capital, Rs. 22 billion as against Rs.

123 billion that we raised in 2021. This was partly due to the difficulty we went through as a result of the interest rate environment. The number of new listings was not that great as we had lesser numbers than last year. Notably in 2022, domestic investors were dominating the market accounting for 95% of the volume. But there was somewhat of an increase in foreign flows in 2022- a marginal increase. Retail investors continued to be active in the market and the volumes kept going. If we take the primary market and the secondary market, we had a total net foreign inflow of Rs. 51 billion. This is encouraging news for the market and for the future as well as there are foreign investors looking at our market and are confident in our listed companies to make investments in. One of the reasons why we have a fairly large, active retail base is as a result of the end-to-end digitization process that we have achieved. The Central Counter Party System commissioned last year will help minimize settlement risks to a large extent. In terms of regulation, we completely revamped the entire set of rules of the Stock Exchange to be in conformity with the new SEC Act. In terms of expanding the market, we continued our broad-basing strategy and investor education awareness programmes .We have now conducted over 500 seminars all over the country.”

“We continued to engage with foreign investors, CSE conducted a forum in London last January mainly to engage with existing foreign investors to allay their concerns about Sri Lanka. In September-October 2022, a group of foreign investors visited Sri Lanka on the invitation of a stockbroking firm and met with the President and the governor of the Central Bank. This galvanized their confidence and encouraged them to be active in market.”

“In 2023, we will focus on new product development in debt and equity. We are already working to introduce new products during the course of this year and next year. Our teams are currently working on, for example, to launch green bonds, perpetual bonds, high-yielding bonds etc. and also the secondary trading of corporate debt. A lot work is being done these fronts. In terms of improving risk management, we are hoping to go live with the implementation of the Central Counter Party System. This we will do through the incorporation of another subsidiary of the CSE (CSE Clear). This will be a significant development in Risk management. Also, we will have a new grievance handling procedure to cater to investor complaints. We will form an independent panel – independent of CSE – to hear complaints and investor grievances in order to strengthen the confidence of investors and the market. We will continue to improve the timely informational quality of information disseminated by the listed companies. We are also working on a project where we are trying to standardize the templates for the release of financial results of companies which will be useful for analysts, institutional and foreign investors.”

“In terms of developing market accessibility and convenience to stakeholders, we will continue to expand our branch network and we have planned two more branches during the first half of this year. One in in Panadura (in the next month or two) and another one in Batticaloa, in order to broad base the market because we see a strong retail base. We have seen a notable increase in the number of retail investors over the last three years. A younger section of investors has come in particularly after the enhanced digitization. About 80% of accounts that are opened are by investors who are below 40 years of age. They seem to be replacing the traditional over 55-year old investor base. And with more intensity in our efforts in 2023, we will continue to focus on new listings as well as opportunities for local companies to raise funds in multi-currency or USD denominated capital.” he said.

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Business

Sri Lanka pitches Saudi investors for new investment partnerships

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

Saudi and Sri Lankan dignitaries at the National Day reception.

By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka is pitching Saudi Arabia for greater investment and deeper trade ties, seeking to attract Saudi capital into new development opportunities while aligning bilateral economic cooperation with the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 agenda, Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Anura Karunathilaka, chief guest at Saudi Arabia’s 96th National Day celebrations in Colombo, said.

Addressing the National Day reception at ITC Ratnadipa, Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka was keen to identify new areas of economic cooperation with the Kingdom and create fresh opportunities for Saudi investors and businesses.

‘We look forward to creating new opportunities for the people of both countries by working in cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its broader development initiatives, he said.

The minister said Sri Lanka wanted to move beyond its existing development cooperation with Saudi Arabia and build a broader economic partnership encompassing investment, trade and new development projects.

He noted that Saudi Arabia had already made a substantial contribution to Sri Lanka’s development. Since 1981, the Kingdom has provided concessional financing amounting to around Saudi Riyals 1.5 billion for 13 projects in Sri Lanka, supporting key sectors including energy, healthcare, education, drinking water and infrastructure.

Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka appreciated this support and was keen to build on the foundation created by those projects by opening further avenues for Saudi investment.

The minister’s investment pitch comes as Saudi Arabia advances its Vision 2030 programme, with the Kingdom seeking to diversify its economy and develop new international partnerships. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, is seeking to attract investment and expand economic opportunities through closer engagement with international partners.

Karunathilaka also highlighted the strong people-to-people links between the two countries, noting that nearly 250,000 Sri Lankans currently work and reside in Saudi Arabia.

‘They serve as an important bridge between our two countries and contribute significantly to strengthening the people-to-people ties between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, he said.

He expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s continued assistance to Sri Lanka and thanked the Saudi government for the facilities extended to Sri Lankan Muslims undertaking Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka looked forward to working more closely with Saudi Arabia to strengthen political relations, broaden investment opportunities and enhance development cooperation.

Yaser Abdulrahman Al-Hazme, Chargé d’Affaires of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka, said the embassy remained committed to strengthening bilateral relations by promoting political, economic and cultural communication between the two countries.

‘The embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Colombo has been keen during the past period to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries by playing its role in supporting political, economic, and cultural communication, Al-Hazme said.

Al-Hazme also highlighted the embassy’s role in strengthening communication between Saudi and Sri Lankan institutions and following up on the interests of Saudi citizens in Sri Lanka.

‘On this precious national occasion, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the government and people of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for the attention and care given to relations between our two countries, and for the constructive cooperation that has contributed to strengthening the bonds of friendship and partnership between the Kingdom and Sri Lanka, he said.

Business

Sonali Rodrigo earns national recognition from Australia’s finance industry

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sonali Rodrigo receiving the prestigious AFG Women on the Move Scholarship at the awarding ceremony held in Melbourne.

Australian finance professional Sonali Rodrigo has been recognised with the prestigious AFG Women on the Move Scholarship, presented by Australian Finance Group (AFG), in recognition of her leadership, industry contribution and impact spanning more than two decades in Australia’s finance industry.

The AFG Women on the Move program is dedicated to supporting and advancing women in the finance and mortgage broking industry, recognising individuals who demonstrate leadership, professional contribution, growth, impact and a commitment to empowering other women. The scholarship is supported by leading industry partners, including HSBC and Thinktank.

Sonali’s career spans more than 20 years in Australia’s finance industry, encompassing senior leadership, financial advisory and governance roles. Alongside her professional responsibilities, she has actively mentored and supported women in their career development, contributed to financial literacy, and helped individuals make more informed financial decisions. Her recognition reflects both her professional achievements and the broader impact of her leadership, particularly in creating opportunities and empowering the next generation of women in finance.

Business

Beyond the crisis: Sectoral paths to durable growth

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS)

Continued From last Friday

Regional infrastructure improvements beyond the Western Province are essential to close market-access gaps and improve efficiency. The Western Province alone generates 42% of Sri Lanka’s GDP, but the dynamics of such agglomeration may also be highly underestimated. Officially, barely a fifth is deemed ‘urban’ in the province, but IPS re-estimates from the 2024 census using population density and infrastructure access, place the true figure at nearly 61%. The absence of strong secondary cities and industrial clusters outside the province reduces the potential gains from this agglomeration, thereby weakening incentives for firms to locate elsewhere or decentralise operations.

Fiscal incentives can promote decentralised corporate operations by offering tax rebates, lower property taxes, and land access in secondary cities like Kalutara and Gampaha, leveraging the connectivity of Southern and Colombo-Katunayake Expressways. The Hambantota seaport and airport, along with Koggala and Mirijjawela Export Processing Zones, can help develop the Southern Province through geography-based tax concessions.

Immediate measures, such as pricing vehicle entry into Colombo city will support regional agglomeration while tackling the acute problem of city congestion. Adopting a low-cost, technology-anchored free-flow method, similar to the Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) currently used in commercial parking facilities for vehicles entering the city, is one such means. Installing high-mounted overhead ANPR gantries at key arterial entry points can operationalise congestion pricing without disrupting traffic speed. Fee collection can use a system like E-Tags electronic toll collection on expressways, integrated with digital payment gateways like GovPay and LankaQR for dynamic, time-of-day variable pricing.

The renewable energy transition is vital to drive competitiveness, external shock resilience, and green growth. Sri Lanka’s transition to renewable energy (RE) has advanced from a mere aspiration to tangible progress. Yet, the evidence suggests the transition is advancing faster on the generation side than the system built to absorb it. Transmission capacity, market design, financing channels, and digital infrastructure have not kept pace with capacity additions, and this gap is what will determine the pace of the transition through 2030.

Capital spending on transmission must be ring-fenced by legally, operationally, and financially separating the electricity grid (the transmission network) from the rest of the energy sector or by the broader government budget as a protected public investment within the medium-term budget framework. Funding should shift from general budget support to dedicated multilateral facilities, reinforced by sovereign guarantees for eligible borrowing. To safeguard public funds, this must be paired with a clear tariff pass-through mechanism that effectively limits open-ended Treasury exposure.

To build market trust, domestic budget funding should be earmarked for market-design technical assistance, signalling strong policy ownership rather than relying on external donors. Transparency too should be strengthened by publishing a firm implementation timeline in the Budget statement and fully disclosing long-term fiscal commitments from Power Purchase Agreements, capacity arrangements, and ancillary services.

(Concluded)