London Stock Exchange Group signs MoU with Colombo Stock Exchange

• Establishes framework for LSEG and CSE to enhance domestic and international debt capital markets in Sri Lanka
• Follows $2.4 billion London listing of Sri Lanka’s off-shore bond

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) today announced the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to facilitate further collaboration between the two Groups.

The signing ceremony, held at London Stock Exchange Group’s office in London, was attended by The Right Honourable Mark Field MP, UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific; Her Excellency Manisha Gunasekara, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in the UK; Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Ranel T. Wijesinha, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka; Ray Abeywardena, Chairman, Colombo Stock Exchange; Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange; and Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange Plc and Director of International Development, LSEG, and Dee Liyanwela, Group Head of Shared Services Centres & Head of LSEG Technology Sri Lanka (LSEG).

The MoU will enable LSEG to support the CSE in the development of the domestic debt market including the market for offshore Sri Lankan rupee bonds; LSEG Technology support in upgrading capital market infrastructure and delivering technology solutions to the CSE; FTSE Russell guidance in capital market classification and index inclusion; and improving links to international Central Securities Depositaries (iCSD).

Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange Plc and Director of International Development, LSEG said: “We are honoured to host Sri Lanka’s $2.4 billion off-shore US dollar bond on London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market. The success of this issuance reflects the international investor community’s continued support for Sri Lanka. LSEG has a long-standing connection with Sri Lanka and today’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between LSEG and the Colombo Stock Exchange is an important milestone, under which we will explore opportunities to work together in ways that we believe will deepen and widen the Sri Lankan capital market and attract greater investment to the country.

Ray Abeywardena, the Chairman of CSE said: “Our two institutions share an excellent working relationship built on trust and mutual respect, which has paved the way for successful engagements in multiple initiatives over the years. The foray that we are jointly forging today is an extension of that relationship. The scope of the MoU paves the way for a number of new avenues of cooperation between the CSE and LSEG along with our respective depositories and will immensely advance CSE’s visibility and connectivity to international markets.”

The Right Honourable Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: “I’m delighted that Sri Lanka has chosen to list its US-dollar denominated bond here in London. London’s strengths as the world’s leading financial centre are of course well known. This listing and Memorandum of Understanding between London Stock Exchange Group and Colombo Stock Exchange serves both to underline that position and to highlight the strength and breadth of our relationship with Sri Lanka.”

The ceremony commenced with the observance of a minute of silence in memory of the lives lost during the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

The MoU follows the successful listing of Sri Lanka’s $2.4 billion off-shore US dollar bond on London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market in March 2019. Proceeds of the issuance will be utilised towards servicing Sri Lanka’s debt obligations and improve its foreign reserves.

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Shanaka Abeywickrama
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