Central and Wayamba Province entrepreneurs consider listing on CSE
View(s):Members of the business community within the Central and Wayamba Province showed an interest in the possibility of raising capital through listing on Sri Lanka’s capital market, at a forum held recently to inform entrepreneurs on the benefits of going public.
The issuer relations forum, held on April 5 at the Earl’s Regency in Kandy, was jointly organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) in association with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and saw the participation of over 50 businessmen from the region. This was the 2nd Issuer forum organised by the SEC and CSE in regions outside Colombo. The 1st was held in Jaffna recently, according to a media release issued by the SEC. The programme began with a clear elucidation on the benefits of listing both equity and debt through presentations made by the CEO of the CSE Rajeeva Bandaranaike and a presentation on “Debt Finance via Debentures as an alternative to Bank Finance” presented by Chairman of Wealth Lanka Management (Pvt) Ltd Mangala Boyagoda.
“A lively panel discussion which followed these presentations illuminated those present on the vital areas of the listing process while falsifying a number of myths and fears that participants had about the listing process,” the release said. The panel comprised the Legal Officer at the Department of Registrar of Companies Heshan Mathugamage; CEO (CSE) Rajeeva Bandaranaike; Director Corporate Affairs (SEC) Harshana Suriyapperuma; Head of Listings and Corporate Affairs (CSE) Ms. Priyana Gunesekera; Director Finance (Central Finance Plc) G.S.N. Peries and Chairman (Wealth Lanka Management (Pvt) Ltd) Mangala Boyagoda. “There are a number of myths about the drawbacks of listing; chief among them is the idea that being a listed entity will result in the loss of control. However this is certainly not the case because as a listed company on the Diri Savi Board you need to list only 10 per cent of your total shares and on the Main Board the percentage is only 25 per cent. It is also vital to remember that there is no loss of confidentiality or competitive advantage by listing,” Officer-in-Charge of the SEC Mr. Dhammika Perera said in his opening remarks.
Expanding on the benefits of listing, through the experience of Central Finance, incidentally the first company to list from the Central Province, Director Finance of Central Finance Plc G.S.N. Peries explained that “When Central Finance decided to list nearly 40 years ago one of the primary reasons for this decision was the guarantee that being a listed company would ensure good corporate governance. As a company that was doing business with other people’s funds, it was felt that this element of good governance and transparency was vital for the business to grow and expand”.