Global financial services giant Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), an Indian based company, entered into a strategic alliance with Sri Lanka’s Bartleet TransCapital with the intention of attracting international investors into the Colombo Stock Exchange.
The New Delhi-headquartered Religare Group, which serves over a million clients including corporates, institutions, high net worth families and individuals and retail investors in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, plans to establish its footprint in Sri Lanka, initially in stock broking by taking a 50 per cent stake in Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers (BMS), the group announced. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers, which is fully-owned by Bartleet TransCapital , has decided to increase its share capital to accommodate Religare Enterprises.
"The partnership will bring in best practices in non-banking financial services including broking operations to the Sri Lankan market and leverage Bartleet’s established brand reputation, client relationships and market leading stock broking presence in Sri Lanka to attract more international investors to the Colombo Stock Exchange and to facilitate an extension of services to regional markets such as Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan," Bartleet TransCapital Chairman and former Central Bank Governor A S Jayawardena said.
It will also result in Colombo being integrated into Religare’s global network of investment banking centres across emerging markets and London and bring to the attention of international fund managers the increasing opportunities in well-managed Sri Lankan companies.
For Religare, the tie-up represents a significant addition to its emerging market pan Asian vision and takes forward the Religare strategy of creating an emerging markets investment banking and stock broking leader, the group said.
Commenting on the partnership, Religare Group CEO Shachindra Nath said, "With the upsurge in economic and capital markets indicators over the last one year, Sri Lanka is a key market for Religare, especially considering its proximity both physically and culturally to India. We are delighted to bring such an impressive team into the Religare fold that would add considerable depth to our South Asia investment banking and stock broking business."
"Consistent with our view that high-growth developing markets represent an overwhelming opportunity in terms of business flows, we are quickly positioning ourselves to provide the advice and distribution capability that our global investor and corporate client base will require. Bartleet absolutely stands out for its reputation and trustworthiness in the Sri Lankan financial sector."
Eraj Wijesinghe, Chairman of the Bartleet Group said, "The post-conflict resurgence of Sri Lanka has sparked new interest in business opportunities here. In this context, integrating Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers’ presence and reach in Sri Lanka in delivering results for clients with Religare’s scale and ambition makes perfect sense. As a team we’re excited to become part of Religare’s carefully-conceived vision to create a pan-emerging markets fully-integrated financial services group with a focus on investment banking and to give our client base access to the wealth of opportunities that provides."
The Religare Group employs more than 10,000 people across multiple geographies. In India, Religare’s largest market, the group offers a wide array of products and services ranging from insurance, asset management, broking and lending solutions to investment banking and wealth management. The group also pioneered the concept of investments in alternative asset classes such as arts and films.
Bartleet TransCapital encompasses the non-banking financial services companies in the Bartleet Group led by Eraj Wijesinghe, a former Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange. Bartleet TransCapital has interests in stock broking, financial services, independent investment advisory, equity research, online trading, life insurance advisory and Asset Management. Bartleet Mallory Stock Brokers (Pvt) Limited was established in 1989 and is one of the pioneering members of Colombo Stock Exchange.
source - www.island.lk
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