Capital Markets

After a positive second half of 2017 Sri Lanka’s capital markets experienced considerable headwinds in 2018, with a variety of external and internal factors behind the buffeting. The impacts of macroeconomic issues, increasing competition in terms of investment options, political uncertainty, turbulence in global energy prices and moves by the US Federal Reserve could be seen in both equity and bond markets. As 2019 got under way foreign outflows continued, while bond spreads widened – both signs of challenges ahead. This left many key companies undervalued and demand for long-term bonds high, as investors looked for more secure havens in the country’s debt market. As the year progresses, many see prospects for a turnaround, particularly if moves to expand and deepen the market begin to take hold, and the overall economy grows within the government’s structural reform agenda. This chapter contains an interview with Dilshan Wirasekara, CEO, First Capital Holdings.