More promotion for SL capital markets needed in Middle East
Sri Lanka needs to do a lot more in terms of marketing and promoting its capital markets in the Middle East and be on its radar, according to a capital markets expert.
“We need to do a lot more in terms of promoting this country in the Middle East. The road show to Dubai is a good start,” Ravi Abeysuriya, CEO Candor Equities, owned by Dubai based Eagle Proprietary Investments Ltd (EPIL), told the Business Times in a telephone interview from Dubai where he was attending the “Invest Sri Lanka’ Forum organized by the Colombo Stock Exchange. He said that the forum was an encouraging one and that they made many contacts. “There is great interest from investors and fund managers in the UAE on Sri Lanka.”
Mr. Abeysuriya said that stock brokerage Heraymila Securities Ltd and asset management firm Heraymila Capital (Pvt) Ltd, which headed, have been acquired by National Industries Group Holding SAK (NIG) through its investment arm EPIL. With this acquisition the Heraymila companies will be rebranded as ‘Candor’.
He said with EPIL’s backing, Candor will have a strong presence in the Middle East.
Heraymila had been scouting for a strategic partner and was offering 15 per cent but EPIL was interested in 100 per cent.
“This is how EPIL acquired Heraymila,” Mr. Abeysuriya said. He said that under the terms of the deal, EPIL has acquired four licenses to operate in Sri Lanka, covering equity capital market brokerage, asset management, financial advisory, and outsourcing. Working alongside the current management team, as well as partners such as New York-based consulting firm Accordion Partners, EPIL plans to aggressively grow all four business areas.
Raj Dvivedi, CEO of EPIL, in a company press release, said that Sri Lanka’s capital markets have immense potential for growth being situated at the centre of global shipping routes that link international trade between East and West. He further expressed that “Sri Lanka’s proximity to rising economic powers of Asia and Middle East will also play a central role in its success story. Since mid-2009, Sri Lanka has been a politically stable nation and perhaps one of the safest places in Asia for doing business”.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus