Financial Times

Clamour for LIOC shares a sign of wealth - Amunugama
The response of investors to the Lanka Indian Oil Corporation's share issue clearly shows that the public was sitting on a lot of wealth, Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama told the recent Awards for Corporate Reporting organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL).

Amunugama, who was chief guest at the ceremony, said that Sri Lanka's stock market was one of the fastest growing in the world and that he was pleased at the response of the people towards the LIOC share issue.

He said that there had been a strong response from Galle and other outstation areas and that it was important for the public to be involved in the general investment areas in the country. Amunugama added that Sri Lankan companies were now trying to enter regional stock markets and that this would test the strengths of the big institutions.

He said good administration and good accounting was needed to make the economy grow and make Sri Lanka a model for the region. "A financial reporting system supported by strong governance, high quality standards and sound regulatory frameworks is key to economic development," said president of ICASL, Indrajith Fernando.

He added that high quality standards of financial reporting and auditing strengthen the trust that investors place in financial and non-financial information and therefore play an integral role in contributing to a country's economic growth and financial stability.

Commercial Bank won the award for the Best Annual Report for the third year in a row and the award for Best Social Responsibility Reporting 2004 went to Ceylon Tobacco Company and Best Corporate Governance Disclosures 2004 to John Keells Holdings Ltd.

Badruddin Fakri, president of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and Anne Simpson, head of the Global Corporate Governance Forum of the World Bank were present at the ceremony.

A competition conducted by SAFA for the Best Presented Accounts saw eight winners from Sri Lanka, as well as an overall winner, Hayleys Limited.

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