25 July 2024 12:16 am Views - 273
From left: CMDA Board Member Mohamed Haleem Abdulla, CMDA CEO Mohamed Hussain Maniku, CMDA Chairperson Aishath Zahira, SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh, High Commissioner to Maldives Ranga Goonawardena, CSE Chairman Dilshan Wirasekara, CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike, SEC Director General Chinthaka Mendis, SEC Deputy Director General Tushara Jayaratne and CSE Senior Vice President Commercial Punyamali Saparamadu
Sri Lanka will see the listing of Maldivian entities in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), as the capital market regulators of the two countries inked an agreement to pave the way for this development.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and Capital Market Development Authority of Maldives (CMDA) signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) this week. The agreement was sealed in Malé.
The MoU lays the groundwork for the Maldivian listed companies to list their shares on the Multi-Currency Board (MCB) of the CSE. This initiative aligns with the ongoing efforts to promote trade and investment between the two countries, marking another significant milestone in Sri Lanka-Maldives relations.
In 2018, the CSE introduced an MCB, which allows international companies to list and raise capital in US dollars, expanding opportunities and fostering a deeper understanding of the Sri Lankan capital market. The MCB offers several significant benefits, including opportunities to diversify the investor base, enhance market stability, leverage the CSE’s sophisticated trading platform, reduce dependency on local economic conditions and strengthen resilience against the global market volatilities. “The Maldivian companies can benefit significantly from listing on the CSE, by embracing best practices of listed companies in Sri Lanka, access a wider pool of investors, leverage on our capital market infrastructure and achieve more accurate valuations for their stocks, given the liquidity challenges at home,” said SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh commenting on the development.
According to CMDA Chairperson Aishath Zahira, the bilateral MoU will address the specific development needs of the Maldives Capital Market.
“Under the MoU, we will explore new access to finance alternatives for local companies, harmonise regulatory frameworks and integrate systems for cross-border trading activities. Improving the governance of the listed companies is also a key area of focus,” she said.
Following the signing of the MoU, the CSE conducted a series of one-on-one meetings with several Maldivian listed companies, including Amana Takaful Maldives PLC, Centurion PLC, Maldives Islamic Bank PLC, Maldives Transport and Contracting Company PLC, Dhiraagu PLC and Maldives Tourism Development Corporation.