London Stock Exchange to invest here
By Chandani Jayatilleke
A high-powered business delegation from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will
meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe this week to discuss and finalise an
investment agreement.
The discussions to be held in Colombo on Wednesday will be based on the setting
up of a global IT support centre that provides IT services to stock exchanges
globally. The support centre to be set up at the TRACE Expert City in Maradana
will create high-end technology jobs for Sri Lankans which are equivalent to two
or three other similar jobs – in terms of intensity and skill level.
“The investment will create a global platform for Sri Lanka’s tech talent,” an
official connected with the deal told the Sunday Observer.
These jobs will be brought to Sri Lanka from other places where they are known
for producing high end tech products and services.
LSE already has a support centre in Bangalore, India with 1,500 employees
providing services to stock exchanges around the world. However, with the launch
of the Colombo office some of the jobs in Bangalore would be shifted to Colombo,
benefiting Sri Lankans.
The LSE group is a leading developer of high performance trading platforms and
capital markets software for customers around the world, through MillenniumIT.
MillenniumIT, the Group’s subsidiary is the developer of flexible, low cost,
high performance trading platforms and financial markets software serving both
the Group’s own businesses and third parties
The LSE Group acquired MillenniumIT, a company set up by a Sri Lankan, Tony
Weerasinghe in 2009 with 300 employees.
An IT industry analyst told the Sunday Observer that LSE’s direct presence in
Sri Lanka is a huge boost for the IT and financial sectors of the country. “LSE
is one of the biggest brands in the world operating with strict regulatory
compliance. That is also an encouragement for other major investors looking for
investment opportunities especially in the knowledge-based business sectors to
come to Sri Lanka,” he said.
“It’s a major project for Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister himself was working
on this project for a while now and this week’s discussions will lead to the
finalisation of the project.
The premier is keen on creating ‘quality’ job opportunities for the educated Sri
Lankan youth. Hence they no longer have the need to look for foreign jobs and
our talent can remain in the country,” the source said.
Official sources said LSE may also meet several other representatives in the
financial and capital market sectors. |