Sri Lanka's First Foreign Broker, India Infoline Ltd (IIFL) Receives Approval by CSE

26th July 2010, srilankastockpicks.blogspot.com

India Infoline Ltd (IIFL) has recently received provisional membership approval from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Sri Lanka for stock broking, becoming the first foreign broker to receive this.

IIFL’s Sri Lankan subsidiary is taking steps to set up systems and infrastructure for commencing stock broking services in Sri Lanka within a short time.

IIFL Ceylon will offer the entire range of financial services such as investment banking and institutional equities among others. IIFL aims to leverage upon its strengths in technology, particularly the proprietary internet trading platform, and its acclaimed research capabilities to effectively cater to domestic and foreign institutional investors in Sri Lanka.

Priyani Ratna-Gopal, Country Head, Sri Lanka for IIFL, said: “Sri Lanka has emerged as a highly promising destination for growth and investments. IIFL’s proven experience and strength will help in setting up the broking and investment banking business in Sri Lanka at a fast pace and participate in its growth.”

To commemorate this occasion, IIFL is organising the first ever Global Investors’ Conference in Sri Lanka titled ‘Discover Sri Lanka’ with more than 50 leading global investors and the top 25 Sri Lankan corporates in attendance. Also attending the conference will be senior members of the Sri Lankan Government.

This event marks an exciting time in Sri Lanka’s history. The country has already undergone a huge transformation since the end of the long-standing civil conflict just over one year ago. With a stable Government and progressive policies in place, Sri Lanka is expected to witness rapid economic growth.

Sri Lanka’s economic situation in the past was not as bad despite the heavy conflict, with average GDP growth of 4.8% over the past three decades (1980-2009). This is now expected to accelerate to a much higher sustainable level of 6-7% on increased investments from the private sector and Government spending.

The current low level of interest rates combined with growing confidence and positive outlook are good enough to kick-start the investment cycle.

The banking system also remains in relatively good shape, with unleveraged bank balance sheets, diversified loan books, reasonable asset quality and adequate capitalisation levels.

‘Discover Sri Lanka’ aims to bring together high quality global capital and the best of Sri Lankan corporates and senior members of the Government in order to fuel growth in the island nation.