Vajira Kulatilaka, CEO of Colombo Stock Exchange interview with David Nelson at Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (NYSE)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Risk management activities
• Colombo Stock Exchange just joined the SSE
• Companies are already embracing sustainability

FULL COVERAGE

• Watch complete coverage of the UNCTAD Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS: Vajira Kulatilaka, CEO of Colombo Stock Exchange and David Nelson

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show:00:00

Welcome back. I’m David Nelson for the Traders Network Show broadcasting worldwide from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for iHeart Radio and Equities.com. We’re here for an event being hosted by the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative. I’ve gotten to speak to a range of guests today. My next guest is the Vajira Kulatilaka, Chairman of the Columbo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka. Mr. Kulatilaka, I apologize. Thanks so much for being with us, sir.

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange: 00:29

Thank you.

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show:00:31

So not only are you chairman of the exchange, but one of the things I learned last night is you’re also a director of the MDB investment bank. Is that correct sir? How do you manage to cover two roles like that? It’s a pretty big job. One job enough, I find doing one job very difficult. You managed to do two. How do you do that?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange: 00:51

Yeah, I believe in a day 24 hours and plus, but there’s a lot of similarities between the two jobs also basically the same. So I can manage, I think I’d have to know how many detectors.

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show: 01:05

You’ve obviously done it, done it very successfully. The CEO, excuse me, the CSC, which stands for Columbus and Columbus stock exchange. It’s played a pretty important role with regards to transparency and other initiatives. What do you hope to accomplish maybe over the next year?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange:01:22

A big thing that can happen or next year is that we are going to do a lot of risk management type of activities as we you know, the country went through a very bad patch of 30 years of unsettled conditions and we couldn’t implement some of these things. So we are going to put up a CCP counterparty guarantee system and it that we think that there is level that the whole country capital market will come down. 

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show: 01:51

Is that the main goal did get the wristlets?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange:01:53

If there was a down, because we could implement those things during last few years. So we are doing that. Second one is we want to make sure that the sustainable growth in the past parents here and the regulation side will improve. So we are going to have a stock and securities exchange commission is going to have a new act which will also give a lot of regulatory powers to secretary succinct commission and then we will start attracting capital. You have to do a lot of marketing. The country has to be placed in a different position itself to a different level. So we are going to have a lot of road shows around the world to attract capital. So they are also, we hope that the sustainability initiative will help us to do it.

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show: 02:38

Your exchange just joined the initiative today, is that correct? What prompted that decision? How would, how did you come upon that?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange:02:47

The two things. One is after going through their bad patches, we need capital and some of these capital providers really want these initiatives to go on and we second one is we genuinely believe that what the future’s in recent sake, we should do these things. Sustainability is a really important thing. We can go five steps forward and one step backward because of sustainable problems. It’s, it should not be the case. Sustainability should be a long term procedure and we think this will help us to do it.

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show:03:18

Part of your job I would imagine is bringing this to the companies on your exchange now and selling them on the idea. Are they embracing it? How do they feel about it? So far?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange:03:26

Some are already embraced it and in their disclosures information they do provide this initiative. But we will initially do it in mandatory basis. Encourage them to do it. They do kit and with time we will make it compulsory. It was the latter part of this.

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show:03:45

I’m short on time and I wanted to get this in. How does the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative and their activities over the next few years, how will you integrate with their w what do you think you’ll be doing?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange:03:56

As I said, trust step is to educate. Educate all the listed companies and potentially listed company. But it is a company that he would, and there are small companies that agreeing everybody has in their mind ultimately to list. So we have to go on educating why this is so important. Secondly, we will start implementing step-by-step those and make it ultimately mandatory.

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show:04:24

Education. That’s a great word. Any final thoughts or words you’d like to express to the U.N. and SSE?

Vajira Kulatilaka – CEO, Colombo Stock Exchange: 04:32

This is a great initiative and that I think countries like has, will really help us to look into these aspects because some countries I think in the past forgot about this aspect and they went ahead with development, with forgetting about sustainability and they are somebody know. So we asked, hurting our process after a bad period of time and now we are starting our growth trajectory would to start it with this theme in mind. So we will not go backward. 

David Nelson – Show Host, Traders Network Show: 05:01

Not go backward. Well said, Sir, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. That was Mr. Kulatilaka, Chairman of the Columbo Stock Exchange. By the way, a quick thank you goes out to 1-800-PublicRelations, for all the PR and media support. Thanks for joining. I’m David Nelson.