Public, private listings key to GDP growth: CSE CEO

CSE CEO 

Rajeeva Bandaranaike 

The capital markets are expected to play a key role in the next chapter of Sri Lanka’s growth story, the CEO of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Rajeeva Bandaranaike has said.

Speaking during an interview he gave to the global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG), Bandaranaike said that raising funds by getting both State-owned enterprises and larger capitalised private sector companies to list would be “essential” in meeting the Government’s targets for GDP growth.

The CSE is targeting $ 50 b market capitalisation as part of an ambitious development strategy. “We estimate that 25-30% of future funding requirements will come from the capital market through both debt and equity,” Bandaranaike told OBG. “We see particular potential – both for debt and equity listings – in insurance, ports, industry, infrastructure and banking.”

Bandaranaike said companies had much to gain from listing. “Over time, this will increase the accountability and transparency of these institutions, as well as make them more productive and efficient,” he commented. He also stated that should the Government decide to list public sector enterprises, using employer share option schemes, this would not amount to privatisation. 

The full interview with Rajeeva Bandaranaike will appear in The Report: Sri Lanka 2016, OBG’s first report on the country’s economy. The landmark publication will contain a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors, alongside contributions from leading representatives.

In the interview, Bandaranaike highlighted the key part that the reworking of the Securities and Exchange Commission Act will play in setting the scene for new product lines to be introduced on the CSE.  The overhaul is expected to be finalised in 2016.

“This will fill  the gaps that currently exist in the market, addressing the need for new products as well as establishing a framework for the demutualisation of the CSE and the addressing systemic risk in the market,” he told OBG.

Oxford Business Group (OBG) is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, which publishes economic intelligence on the markets of the Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Through its range of print and online products, OBG offers comprehensive and accurate analysis of macroeconomic and sectoral developments, including banking, capital markets, insurance, energy, transport, industry and telecoms. 

The critically-acclaimed economic and business reports have become the leading source of business intelligence on developing countries in the regions they cover. OBG’s online economic briefings provide up-to-date in-depth analysis on the issues that matter for tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide. OBG’s consultancy arm offers tailor-made market intelligence and advice to firms currently operating in these markets and those looking to enter them.