Ajit Jayaratne: Colossus among giants

Ajit Jayaratne

By Ravi C. Peiris

It is with profound sorrow that I pen these words in tribute to the late Ajit Jayaratne, a former Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) during two tenures. Ajit, to his peers in the corporate sector and Mr. Jayaratne to all of us at the CSE, he served as Chairman of the CSE for five years from 1990-1993 and 1994-1996. 

Our paths crossed in November 1984 when I joined the Colombo Brokers’ Association Stock Market Trading Floor, a predecessor organisation of the CSE, as an Assistant to the Late Percy de Soysa the Consultant to the Board, to manage the Stock Market Trading floor which was open to the public. The birth of the Public Trading floor itself experienced ‘prolonged labour’ as every ‘who’s who’ in the corporate sector clamoured for a stake in the newly formed stock market considered a prestige in the business world. ‘Ugly’ is too mild a term to describe the ensuing battles. 

Steely resolve and clarity of thought

While we, relative newcomers to the organisation, remained helpless by standers so close to the arena, an abundance of dirty linen was washed in public with captains of industry unearthing skeletons from each other’s cupboards with great finesse. While some wanted a stock exchange without the then practicing stock brokers with long years of experience behind them, others wanted deformed versions, too hilarious to even mention, to further boost their already bloated egos! Nevertheless, sanity prevailed due to personalities of the calibre of Ajit Jayaratne, who despite his calm and peaceful demeanour, had the steely resolve and the clarity of thought, qualities no doubt he would have inherited from his illustrious father the late M.F. de S. Jayaratne, the ‘Mighty Atom’ of the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service, to establish a stock market in Sri Lanka in harmony with other such organisations the world over. 

‘Personalities do not matter when it comes to regulation’ we were told from the early days. Self-regulation was easier said than done during the early days in the absence of an oversight regulator. The embers of the ‘bygone era’ remained unextinguished beneath the surface. Old school ties and the stiff upper lip the cornerstones of the bygone era were in direct conflict with transparency and dissemination, the lubricants for informed decision making, the essential prerequisites for a properly functioning stock market to gain public confidence. With his universal acceptance as a must-have on the directorates of a large number of listed companies, Mr. Jayaratne often had to bear the brunt of our actions as regulators. Inflexible said the captains of industry. But those of us who were closer to Mr. Jayaratne knew very well that ‘Live and Let Live’ was his life’s motto!   

Challenges faced

More intricate were the other challenges he faced during his tenures at the CSE due to the substantive hat he wore as the Chairman of a broking company where the stock broking arm was heavily subsidised through the income of the produce broking arms of the company. The uncertainty of catalogue’ was a constant challenge he had to overcome during the early days. Despite his diminutive nature, Mr. Jayaratne’s sound academic and professional background coupled with the business acumen cultivated over the years enabled him to engage in the fine balancing act of conducting efficiently, his pro bono public duties while safeguarding the daily bread.

He did not belong to a tech savvy generation. But the automation of the Post Trade Documentation process with the introduction of the Central Depository System and the Trade Automation, the two most pivotal advances in the recent history of the Exchange which provided the CSE a quantum leap in its growth, were initiated and materialised during his tenure as Chairman for which we always received his encouragement, guidance and wise counsel in ample measure at every turn.   

Unstinted support

To me personally, it was an honour and a privilege to have known Mr. Jayaratne for over 40 years and worked with him very closely during my days at the CSE in our quest for a vibrant stock market for Sri Lanka, an essential component of a market based economy. I recall with gratitude the unstinted support that he extended to us at the CSE at all times without any fear or favour. The long study tour that we undertook together in January 1990 visiting five South East Asian countries to observe working depositories prior to the introduction of the Central Depository System, was an opportunity for me to build an even closer relationship with this ‘colossus among giants’. Fond memories indeed, that I would cherish for the rest of my lifetime. 

It is my fervent wish that Mr. Jayaratne’s journey through Sansara be short and that he attains the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana!