The 3rd edition of the South Asia Investor Conference jointly organized by Capital Alliance Securities (Pvt) Ltd, AKD Securities and Lanka Bangla Asset Management Co. Ltd kicked off on 8th September 2020. Despite the current climate surrounding the spread of Covid-19, round-the-clock meetings were held virtually, attracting over 100 participants among 16 international funds, domestic funds and companies representing Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan in this remote forum. The companies representing Sri Lanka included the likes of John Keells Holdings PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Hemas Holdings PLC, Sampath Bank PLC, Hatton National Bank PLC, Dialog Axiata PL, Teejay Lanka PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC which account for 24% of the Colombo Stock Exchange’s market cap. 

Speaking on the event, CAL’s Managing Director, Global Markets - Deshan Pushparajah said, “In light of the current circumstances surrounding Covid-19, the perceived risk profile of emerging and frontier markets has increased significantly. Therefore, it is imperative to showcase to investors that a more nuanced approach is needed to assess CoVid's impact and response in different markets. In this light, SAIC 2020 serves an important function for companies in South Asia to communicate how they have dealt with the crisis of the past few months and their vision for the future."

CAL’s partner in Bangladesh, Rehan Muhammad - Head of Institutional & Foreign Trade at LankaBangla Securities LTD said, “The liquidity situation has improved significantly in our equity markets, about three folds compared to how it was at the beginning of 2020. With that, FIIs have been getting more active and seeking corporate access, which has been very limited this year mainly due to COVID restrictions. With our collaborated effort- SAIC VIRTUCON, we are aiming to provide FIIs the best possible market insights and corporate access to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lankan markets”.