The Colombo Stock Exchange’s (CSE) All Share Price Index (ASPI) crossed the 7000 mark today (21) closing at 7,004.75 points. This is the first instance after 3 years the ASPI crossed 7000 points since closing on 7,030.85 points on August 18th, 2011.

Within the course of 2014, there have been five Equity IPOs, an Equity introduction and five Debt IPOs. The capital raised through Equity IPOs has been the highest since 2011, with Rs. 2,693.8 Mn, being raised in the first eight months of this year and the market has seen a total of Rs.12 Bn of debt and equity capital raised through primary and secondary offerings.

Investor confidence and sentiment in the Capital Market has also improved in the past year due to market development and market regulatory activities, supported by a low interest rate regime making the Capital Market a more attractive investment opportunity.

Local retail investor participation in the market has grown to 37.9 per-cent from 33.5 percent in 2013 while foreigners remained net buyers during 2014 with a net foreign inflow of Rs. 8 Bn.