Asiri Hospital rings final bell for 2016 at CSE

By Charumini de Silva

The final bell ringing ceremony for 2016 was performed by Asiri Hospital Holdings Plc yesterday, when they commenced trading symbolically for December at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). 

Highlighting the benefits of listing the company on the CSE, Asiri Hospital Holdings Plc Group CEO Dr. Manjula Karunaratne said it has undoubtedly elevated the stature of the company, thereby helping to attract both local and foreign investors, and in turn improving the liquidity of shares and enhancing brand value. “Asiri Hospital was first listed on the CSE in 1986 and it has grown from a market capitalisation of Rs. 25 million to the current Rs. 30 billion, which is almost a 1,000-fold increase. This has paved the way for our shareholders to benefit from the performance and the value creation of the company,” he pointed out.

Noting that being a public limited company brings great responsibility, Dr. Karunaratne said it has made the firm a more efficient player as CSE mandates its listed companies to comply with certain rules of governance, structures and procedures such as various committees, disclosures and other best practices which disciplines companies and gives a great feeling of loyalty and ownership to its shareholders.   

He said as a group they are strongly committed to striving towards sustainable value creation with a vision to become the best healthcare provider in South Asia. While thanking CSE and its officials who have helped and guided Asiri Hospital Holdings Plc in its journey, Dr. Karunaratne assured that they would work in conjunction with the stock exchange to facilitate the growth and development of Sri Lanka’s capital market.

CSE Chairman Vajira Kulathilaka said Asiri Hospital Holdings Plc served one of the key aspects of the CSE by providing a defensive stock to portfolio managers. “Hospitals are defensive because even in good or bad conditions business performance is very minimal. Therefore hospitals are considered one of the key aspects of a stock exchange. Asiri Hospital Holdings Plc fulfils that as a giant in the hospital sector in the CSE,” he added.He also commended Asiri Hospital Holdings Plc Group Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Pathirage for giving the CSE a number of companies that provides a variety of shares while contributing to a good proportion of market capitalisation which is significant for a stock market. “I look forward to working with you (Pathirage) in the CSE for more listings in the future,” he added. Commenting on the last bell ringing ceremony for this year, Kulathilaka said: “This is the 20th bell ringing ceremony of the CSE. The purpose of it was to bring CSE to the practices that are prevailing in the leading global stock exchanges and also to show our respect and honour to the issuers, who are the most important stakeholders of the CSE. We also want to showcase them to the market.” 

Pic by Ruwan Walpola