RIL Property Ltd. makes CSE trading debut

RIL Property Ltd. yesterday rang the opening bell to commence trading and celebrate the listing of its shares on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

RIL is an owner, developer and manager of Grade ‘A’ commercial office space in select core markets in Colombo. 

Chairman Sunil Wijesinha, CEO/Executive Director Hiroshini Fernando and members of the Board of Directors and senior management of RIL Property were present at the ceremony, which was also attended by senior representatives of the Lead Managers to the Issue Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc and Joint Managers to the Issue NDB Investment Bank Ltd. CSE Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka, CSE Director M.R. Prelis, CSE Chief Operating Officer Renuke Wijayawardhane and the senior management of CSE were also present at the event.

CSE Chairman Kulatilaka, speaking at the event, commended RIL for growth achieved over the years and noted the listing of the company as a valued addition to the CSE, particularly considering the growing property development industry that it represents. Kulatilaka went on to note the importance of protecting the company’s minority shareholders, and urged the leadership of RIL to consider the best interests of the investors that have placed trust in the company. 

Speaking on behalf of RIL, Chairman Wijesinha expressed the company’s appreciation to the CSE, the managers of the listing, investors and all other parties involved for assisting RIL through the process. Wijesinha went on to state that the company will endeavour to work for the benefit of its shareholders through transparency and governance driven procedures and expressed the commitment of the company’s leadership towards achieving further growth in the future. 

RIL Property Ltd. focuses on offering multifaceted real estate solutions including facilities management, leasing, land acquisition, construction management services, consulting and strategic investment.

Real estate demand in excess to supply

• Current demand is 500,000 sq.ft.
• RIL Property aiming to bridge the gap

By Chathuri Dissanayake

Stressing on the growing demand for stocks in the property development sector, Colombo Stock Exchange Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka welcomed RIL Property Ltd. (RIL) to the stock market yesterday.

“We are now moving towards middle income status as a country so investors know that this is an area to look out for and there is a demand for this type of stocks,” he said.

Speaking at the bell-ringing to mark the listing of the company, RIL CEO Hiroshini Fernando said that there is high demand for real estate in the country. Property developers in the country are unable to meet the demand in the real estate sector at present, she said.

“There is high demand for A grade office buildings, at present it is around 500,000 sq.ft. Even taking into account those properties which are under construction, such as the Colombo city plaza and Shangri-la, there is still excess demand although there are lower category spaces available,” she said.

The company will cater to this demand, focusing on ready wear building to bridge the gap, Fernando explained, although land is currently underutilised in the real estate market of the country. Speaking at the event, RIL Property Chairman Sunil Wijesinha said the real estate sector in the country needed a boost. The 960 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) of RIL was oversubscribed when it was offered on 4 April 2017. The IPO was for a new share issue of 120 million ordinary voting shares at Rs. 8 each with the funds raised to be utilised to refurbish an existing building, adding approximately 60,000 sq. ft. of Grade ‘A’ office space to the company’s portfolio and to expand the operations of Foodbuzz Ltd, the fully-owned subsidiary holding the BreadTalk franchise in Sri Lanka.

Urging the company to look after all the investors in the company, Kulatilaka urged RIL to ensure the rights of minority investors were protected.