In the first five months of 2014 the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has outperformed its major indicators from 2013, with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) closing at 6,263.46 on the 30th of May, presenting a 5.9 per-cent increase and the S&P SL 20 closing at 3,454.61 on the same day, with a 5.8 per-cent increase. 

The bourse has also proved to be an attractive avenue of investment, considering the prevailing Fixed Deposit interest rates of 5 to 6 per-cent. Nearly 46 per-cent of stocks have performed outstandingly, where 137, of the 293 listed, companies have given returns above 5 per-cent; including 49 companies providing an increase in returns over 20 per-cent, 51 companies appreciating by price between 10 and 20 per-cent and 37 companies increasing in value by 5 and 10 per-cent.

The listing of new companies on the Exchange is also gathering momentum within the business community, with seven (7) companies listing and increasing the total number of listed companies to 293. In the first five months of the year, the CSE saw three (3) equity IPO’s raising Rs. 2,584 Mn, four (4) debt IPO’s raising Rs. 5,500 Mn and one (1) equity introduction. The Rs. 2,584 Mn raised through equity IPO’s is the highest since 2011.

The CSE under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 10 point market development plan is targeting more new companies in varied industry sectors to list and looks forward to adding more new listings in the second half of the year.