Dihan Dedigama: Life in the fast lane
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Dihan Dedigama
This week the Business Times talks to veteran stockbroker and CEO Softlogic Stockbrokers, Dihan Dedigama on life on the trading floor, 30 years ago:
1)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â When and what made you join the capital market?
I joined in 1987. John Keells Holdings offered me employment and I was assigned to John Keells Stock Brokers. Being straight out of school, this was an opportunity which I grabbed.
2)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What was different
then from now?
The market players then were active during good times and bad – high interest rates, war and whatever that came their way, they still played the market. Now we’re exposed to more serious stuff like global trends, what other markets do and so on. When foreign sellers sell frontier markets they sell across all markets, so trends and patterns that we now have are so much different from the early years.
3)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Do you prefer the CSE
then to now?
Well it has evolved and we all moved on. Things have improved technology-wise and CSE is one of the most advance exchanges in the region.
4) What memorable
experience can you recall?
For sure it was in 1989 during the JVP uprising when during one of their curfews we were all told to stop work by 12 noon and go home. There was no transport and all of us had to walk.
5)What is the lifestyle
difference between a
stockbroker then and now?
Those days there was a more human angle and it was not business at any cost. At the time we had competition and it was aggressive, but at the end of the day we all did business and it was like live and let live.
6)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What advise could you give newcomers today?
Work hard, learn the entire process. There are no short cuts to the top and don’t look for easy money.
7)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What changes would you like to see in the next 5 years?
To see the capital markets grow in line with peers internationally. As an industry we haven’t moved forward over the years and that’s the sad thing. We feel the increase in market capitalization, etc are just not enough to make this a market for large international investors to take proper notice. Much more has to be done. From 1987 the usual stocks like JKH, Commercial and HNB have been the stocks we all have been recommending to clients due to their size with the exception of Dialog which was a new listing. In that sense we still are at square one.