MBSL’S currency outlook seminar concludes successfully

The seminar titled ‘Currency Outlook and Forecast’ organized by Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC (MBSL) successfully concluded at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies last week.

With the intention of supporting the economic development of the country and emerging entrepreneurs MBSL initiated a programme to carry out a series of seminars to educate the stakeholders and general public.

Following the successful conclusion of the first seminar targeting the SME sector, the company conducted the second in its series of seminars on last week and the seminar was themed on the timely subject of “Currency Outlook and Forecast”. It was feature eminent economists and private sector representatives.

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Dushni Weerakoon, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies. Amal Sandaratne, CEO/ Founder of Frontier Research was also delivered an address on ‘The Rupee outlook- Long term view’. Panelists for the seminar were Dinesh De Silva- Immediate past chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (Import section), Hasitha Premaratne-group Finance Director of the Brandix Group and S. Anthony -Executive Director of Jetwing Hotels Limited.

Giving the recent volatility of the Sri Lankan rupee, the seminar was provided an opportunity for directors, senior management teams, analysts, bankers and economists among others to obtain a balanced and comprehensive overview of the drivers underlying such movements and the longer-term outlook on the rupee’s direction.

MBSL entered the Sri Lankan financial sector as the country’s pioneer merchant bank in 1982 and was quoted on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1991. Subsequently registered as a licensed finance company under the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011 under the regulatory purview of Central Bank of Sri Lanka. MBSL caters to a wide range of customers through its key business activities which include deposit mobilization, savings, leasing, loans, corporate advisory & capital market services, trade and project finance, pawning and real estate through a widespread network of 49 customer touch points. MBSL is a subsidiary of State-owned financial powerhouse Bank of Ceylon which holds a strategic stake of 74 percent.