Asian brokerage buys 25 % stake in CT Smith
Liquidity and good corporate governance were key factors that investors would want to identify with when investing in frontier markets like Sri Lanka, a leading international stock brokering firm official said this week.
Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA), Asia’s leading and longest-running independent brokerage and investment group’s Singapore office CLSA Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd signed up with Sri Lanka’s CT Smith Holdings in a 25 per cent equity investment and was in Colombo this week to brief the media.
During the media briefing CLSA Holdings Global Chief Operating Officer Donald Skinner said while liquidity is the main concern among investors other factors include the ability to exit, growth, bigger stocks, and noted that fund managers were extremely keen to see good corporate governance.
The closing of equity investment by the two organisations seals their own 20-year partnership and ensures that both parties would engage in sharing their economic and equity research and also join to capitalise on their combined strengths in client relationships, execution and global and local market insights on placement capability, it was stated.
Mr. Skinner noted that Sri Lanka was a much sought after market from its customer base whereas other frontier markets like Pakistan and Vietnam were considered difficult to work with.
CT Smith Holdings Consultant Marianne Page said that in 2013 their stock broking firm had brought in over 40 per cent of the foreign investors to the country.
Sri Lanka is keen to invest in consumer based stocks in view of the increasing per capita income in the country thereby resulting in an increased spending pattern among the people, she noted.
As a result of the investment by CLSA, CT Smith Holdings Ltd will change its corporate identity to CT CLSA Holdings Ltd. CT Smith Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd and CT Capital (Pvt) Ltd will change their corporate identities to CT CLSA Securities (Pvt) Ltd and CT CLSA Capital (Pvt) Ltd, respectively. Comtrust Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd will retain its current identity as a flagship unit trust management company in Sri Lanka, it was noted in a media release.