Business

Sri Lanka seeking to boost economic ties with Saudi Arabia

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/2

State Minister of Regional Cooperation, Tharaka Balasuriya, addressing the corporate and industry leaders at the Ministry of Investments of Saudi Arabia accompanied by Ambassador P.M. Amza and Additional Secretary of the Ministry.

The State Minister of Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya, and State Minister of Foreign Employment and Market Diversification, Priyankara Jayarathna, and Delegation undertook an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to promote economic and commercial activity and to attract foreign direct investments to Sri Lanka as well as to boost and enhance employment for Sri Lanka nationals in Saudi Arabia, amongst others. The primary objectives of the State Ministry of Regional Cooperation are to aggrandise and to boost trade, particularly exports, attract investments and expand economic activity with other countries, thus encompassing the sphere of Economic Diplomacy.

During the High-level visit to Saudi Arabia, State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya and Delegation had discussions, meetings, calls and engagements with both the political leadership and with the corporate captains of Industry, amongst others. State Minister Balasuriya had meetings and engagements with the Minister of Investments; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Chairman and CEOs of large diversified conglomerates and with leading Business Chambers based in Riyadh, amongst others. Both the Minister of Investments, Khalid Al-Falih, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al- Jubeir, expressed and voiced interest to look at Sri Lanka at this critical juncture with great interest and keenness, given the strategic location of the country, the thrust areas that Sri Lanka projects for foreign investors, educated and highly trainable workforce of Sri Lanka and access to a mega market consisting of over 1.8 billion people in South Asia since Sri Lanka has FTAs and multilateral trade arrangements, amongst others. Minister of Investment, whom State Minister Balasuriya met first, immediately scheduled and coordinated a high-profile meeting with corporate and industry leaders of the level of Chairmen and CEOs of some of the largest Business Houses in the KSA. This meeting was attended by nearly 25 top most executives of companies in Saudi Arabia having a combined net market capitalization of well over USD 1.4 trillion. Most of them were keen and eager to consider Sri Lanka as an investment destination and to conduct commercial activity.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia articulated that the large Sri Lankan migrant populace in Saudi Arabia has markedly and manifestly contributed to the advancement and augmentation of the Kingdom, over the years, during the Luncheon hosted by him in the honour of State Minister Balasuriya and Delegation. State Minister Balasuriya placed on record the sincere appreciation and gratitude of the Government and the peoples of Sri Lanka for assistance, cooperation and facilitation as well as aid and grants extended to Sri Lanka, during the last four decades, which have significantly and pointedly contributed in elevating the socio-economic landscape of the country. He further added that Sri Lanka was most grateful and obliged to Saudi Arabia for supporting Sri Lanka in multilateral forums, during the past, mainly at the Human Rights Council.

State Minister Balasuriya met with Ali Al Hazmi, Group CEO, and Board of Directors of a highly diversified and global corporate, Ajlan & Bros Holdings Group. During this meeting, each of the Directors of the Ajlan Group expounded and illustrated their myriad of expertise in realms of power, environment, oil and gas, tourism, logistics, healthcare, education and technology, amongst others. They conveyed their interest to engage, pro-actively, with Sri Lanka, at this critical and seminal cross road of geo-economic and geo-strategic transformation of international business and commerce in the region. State Minister Balasuriya was accompanied by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia P. M. Amza, Additional Secretary of the Ministry Prof. A. Saj U. Mendis and Minster (Commercial) of the Embassy, Sanjeewa Pattiwila, during all engagements and meetings in Riyadh. State Minister Balasuriya and delegation met with LUCID Corporate, which has specialized in manufacture of Electric Vehicles. The Head Office of LUCID is based in California and State Minister Balasuriya discussed the proposition of sourcing graphene from Sri Lanka, since it is a material imperative for batteries for Electric Vehicles, amongst others. Sri Lanka has the purest graphene in the world. Obviously, LUCID expressed palpable interest in this business solicitation.

State Minister Balasuriya had a high-level Forum at the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, which was attended by a number of prominent and elite industry and corporate leaders. Both State Minister Balasuriya and Ambassador Amza addressed the Forum by accentuating the six thrust areas of Sri Lanka, which were tourism, ICT, pharma, logistics, textiles and minerals, amongst others. State Minister Balasuriya and Delegation had a highly focused meeting with the Chairman and Board of Directors ACWA Power, one of the largest power-generating companies in the world with a value of over USD 65 billion. The Company generates over 40,000 MW of power on an annual basis and is present in over 15 countries. They have already expressed interest in Sri Lanka to construct six solar power projects and two wind power projects at an estimated cost of USD 800 million. Each of these eight projects would generate approximately 100 MW of power and the Company is 50% owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, amongst the five largest Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) in the world. The senior executives of ACWA Power were met in Sri Lanka in order to strategize the most efficacious courses of action to execute the project before State Minister Balasuriya left to Saudi Arabia for the two-day visit. During all meetings, calls and engagements, State Minister Balasuriya emphasised and enunciated that this was the best time to establish a business and/or investment presence in Sri Lanka when many other countries, both in the region as well as in Europe and the US, are already present in the country.

State Ministry of Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombo

All News Advertisement

Business

SEC Sri Lanka eases Minimum Public Holding Rules for listings via introductions to boost market flexibility

Published

15 hours ago

2026/01/1

Thilina Walpola

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) has approved amendments to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Listing Rules to provide greater flexibility regarding the Minimum Public Holding (MPH) requirement for companies listing through the Introduction method.

These revisions were proposed and deliberated under Project 6 – New Listings (Public and Private), one of 12 key strategic initiatives launched by the SEC to strengthen Sri Lanka’s capital market framework. Project 6 aims to drive national capital formation, promote listings by highlighting benefits and opportunities for listed entities, and attract large-scale corporates to enhance market depth, liquidity, and investor confidence.

The amendments reflect a joint effort by the SEC and CSE, underscoring strong collaboration between the regulator and the Exchange to address evolving market needs while maintaining market integrity, transparency, and investor protection.

The salient features of the amendments to the CSE listing Rules are as follows;

Entities seeking listing by way of an Introduction on the Main Board or Diri Savi Board that are unable to meet the MPH requirement at the time of submitting the initial listing application, may now be granted a listing, subject to certain conditions on compliance.

Non-public shareholders who have held their shares for a minimum period of eighteen months prior to the date of the initial listing application may divest up to a maximum 2% of their shares each month during the six months commencing from the date of listing, and simultaneously, be subject to a lock-in requirement of 30% of their respective shareholdings as at the date of listing, until MPH compliance or 18 months from the date of listing, whichever occurs first.

A phased MPH compliance framework has been introduced requiring a minimum 50% compliance with MPH requirement within 12 months and full compliance within 18 months from the date of listing.

Entities should include clear disclosures in the Introductory Document confirming their obligation to meet MPH requirements within the prescribed timelines.

In the event of non-compliance with the MPH requirement, certain enforcement actions have also been introduced.

The revised framework is expected to encourage more companies to consider listing via Introduction, thereby broadening market participation, improving liquidity, and contributing to the overall development of Sri Lanka’s capital market. Issuers, investors, and market intermediaries will benefit from a more enabling yet well-regulated listing environment.

Business

Manufacturing counters propel share market to positive territory

Published

15 hours ago

2026/01/1

Thilina Walpola

Stock market activities were positive yesterday, mainly driven by manufacturing sector counters, especially Sierra Cables, Royal Ceramics and ACL Cables. Further, there was some investor confidence in construction sector counters as well.

Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 150.54 points, while the S and P SL20 rose by 41.5 points. Turnover stood at Rs 4.65 billion with six crossings.

Those crossings were reported in Royal Ceramics which crossed 3.8 million shares to the tune of Rs 174.3 million; its share s traded at Rs 45.20, VallibelOne 1.4 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 138.6 million; its shares traded at Rs 99, Melstacorp 500,000 shares crossed for Rs 87.24 million; its shares traded at Rs 174.50, Sierra Cables two million shares crossed for Rs 68.2 million, its shares sold at Rs 34.30, Kingsbury 1.5 million shares crossed for Rs 31.8 million; its shares traded at Rs 21.20.

In the retail market companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Sierra Cables Rs 418 million (20 million shares traded), Royal Ceramics Rs 363 million (eight million shares traded), Colombo Dockyards Rs 323 million (1.7 million shares traded), ACL Rs 311 million (3.5 million shares traded), Renuka Agri Rs 149 million (12.3 million shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs 94.7 million (648,000 shares traded) and Bogala Graphite Rs 86.4 million (529,000 shares traded). During the day 122.8 million shares volumes changed hands in 34453 transactions.

Yesterday the rupee opened at Rs 310.00/25 to the US dollar in the spot market, weaker from Rs 310.00/310.20 the previous day, dealers said, while bond yields were broadly steady.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

Business

Atlas ‘Paata Lowak Dinana Hetak’ celebrates emerging artists nationwide

Published

15 hours ago

2026/01/1

Thilina Walpola

Atlas, Sri Lanka’s leading learning brand, reaffirmed its purpose of making learning fun and enjoyable through the Atlas All-Island Art Competition 2025, which concluded with a gifting ceremony held recently at Arcade Independence Square under the theme ‘Atlas paata lowak dinana hetak’. Students from Preschool to Grade 11 showcased their talents across five categories, with all island winners receiving cash prizes, certificates, and gift packs. Additionally, merit winners in each category were also recognized. The event brought together students, parents, and educators, highlighting Sri Lanka’s cultural diversity, nurturing young talent, and reinforcing Atlas’s long-standing commitment to education, creativity, and building confidence among schoolchildren. The event concluded with the ‘Atlas Art Carnival’, which brought children and parents together through games and creative art activities in a fun and lively atmosphere.