📈 Sri Lanka’s Recipe for Capital Market Growth

A strategic shift toward deepening the capital market is essential to secure fast-moving foreign inflows and reduce reliance on slow-moving FDI. • The Scale Gap Sri Lanka’s market cap is currently only ~US$ 27 Bn (approx. 20-25% of GDP), significantly lagging behind regional peers like India (139% of GDP) and Japan (180% of GDP). This low depth prevents large institutional investors from deploying capital without distorting prices. • The Valuation Paradox Despite a low Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of ~10 (compared to India’s ~25), global funds remain sidelined due to poor liquidity and a lack of investable companies. • Strategic Recommendations SOE Listings: Partially listing state-owned enterprises in banking, utilities, insurance, and infrastructure to increase market depth and transparency while maintaining state control. Aviation Reform: Restructuring SriLankan Airlines by cleaning its balance sheet to transform it from a debt burden into an investable growth story. Port City Colombo: Leveraging its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to host an international stock exchange, mimicking Hong Kong’s model to attract global listings and capital. • Economic Outlook With current P/E advantages and the strategic positioning of Port City, Sri Lanka has a window to capture diversifying global capital if it implements bold reforms in governance and liquidity.