Standard and Poor to discuss funding opportunities for Lanka's issuers

Sri Lankan issuers have significant opportunities to improve the diversification of their funding sources, said an official of Standard and Poor Ratings Services. This topic and current credit trends for Sri Lankan issuers will be discussed at a seminar hosted by Standard and Poor on August 16.

Managing Director, Standard and Poor Ratings Services, Surinder Kathpalia, said that more can be done to improve capital market financing in Sri Lanka. "The corporate debt market in Sri Lanka is small relative to the government debt market and the equity market."

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has outlined a capital market development roadmap which seeks to grow the corporate debt market from $1 billion in outstanding debt at the end of 2012 to $10 billion at the end of 2016.

Kathpalia said, "Clearly a lot needs to be done to achieve the challenging goal of growing Sri Lanka's corporate debt market ten-fold in the next four years. Sri Lankan issuers, financial institutions and corporates, will also need alternate sources of funding until the local corporate debt market develops."

The seminar 'Sri Lanka's Issuers - A Global Perspective' will feature a panel discussion with industry leaders discussing financing opportunities for Sri Lanka's issuers and ideas for capital market development, for example, transparency and disclosure.

Standard and Poor's senior credit analysts will share their views on credit trends for the Sri Lankan sovereign, banks and corporates.

The keynote speaker will be Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal.

Among the presenters will be Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, Chief Executive Officer, NDB Bank, Rajendra Theagarajah, Chairman, The Finance Company, Preethi Jayawardena, CEO, HSBC, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Patrick Gallagher, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions Ratings, Standard and Poor, Ritesh Maheshwari, Senior Director, Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings, Standard and Poor, Kim Eng Tan, Director, Asia-Pacific Corporate Ratings, Standard and Poor, Mehul Sukkawala.