BEYOND BORDERS: Krishan (second left) and Kong (second right) posing with the signed agreement. Together with them are John Keells Stock Brokers CEO Tivanka Ratnayake (left) and CIMB Investment Bank Bhd regional head of research Toh Hoon Chew.
COLOMBO: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB Group) and John Keells Stock Brokers (Pvt) Ltd (JKSB) announced a strategic collaboration to promote and facilitate trading on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and provide co-branded research for CIMB’s clientele.
JKSB, a founder member of the CSE and a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC, the largest listed entity on the Colombo Stock Exchange, will be CIMB Group’s trade execution partner in Sri Lanka whilst supporting CIMB in its sales initiatives to generate trade flows to the CSE.
“CIMB is newly present in Sri Lanka since last August and we were impressed by the level of industrial and financial activity in Sri Lanka and believe in its economic growth potential.
“Asean countries and businesses are already significant trade and investment partners for the country, and as one of ASEAN’s leading financial institutions, we believe CIMB has a role to play,” said CIMB Investment Bank Bhd deputy chief executive officer, Kong Sooi Lin.
As part of an agreement signed yesterday, JKSB would also supply CIMB Group with research which would be disseminated to CIMB’s clientele globally under a CIMB/JKSB co-branded banner.
“We believe that this partnership with John Keells Stock Brokers will further facilitate trade and investments for our clients as well as between Sri Lanka and ASEAN,” she added.
This new relationship expands CIMB’s global reach and widens JKSB’s access to foreign clientele and is expected to result in JKSB and the Sri Lankan market benefiting from increased visibility, particularly in the Asean region where CIMB continued to rank as the top player.
“This new partnership between JKSB and CIMB has significant potential in attracting new foreign investors especially from the South East Asian region to the post war opportunities that Sri Lanka offers through the Colombo Stock Exchange,” said John Keells Stock Brokers president Krishan Balendra.