India and Sri Lanka eye dual listing to build ‘financial bridge’ between capital markets

From left : NSE IX Managing Director and CEO V. Balasubramaniam, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Harshana Suriyapperuma and India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha

Pic by Waruna Wanniarachchi 

• Move would allow Sri Lankan firms to raise USD capital via India’s GIFT City for global expansion
• Initiative designed as a two-way partnership, with Sri Lanka also inviting Indian companies to list on the CSE

By Nishel Fernando

In a significant move to deepen economic ties, India and Sri Lanka are actively exploring a dual listing framework between India’s NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

The initiative, strongly backed by both governments, aims to create a “civil financial bridge,” allowing Sri Lankan companies with global ambitions to raise US dollar-denominated capital from international investors through India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

The proposal was a key focus at a high-profile event in Colombo last Friday (June 6), themed ‘Credit and Capital: Building Trust through Rating and Regulations,’ organised by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the event, India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, positioned the initiative as a natural progression of the strengthening bilateral relationship.

“This comes on the positive momentum of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visits to Sri Lanka,” he said. “What better time than now to build on that and take concrete steps towards integrating our capital markets and creating a civil financial bridge between our countries.”

High Commissioner Jha championed India’s GIFT City as the ideal gateway for this integration, describing it as “the environment of New India, ambitious and globally connected.” He highlighted its world-class infrastructure, tax incentives, and regulatory clarity. “GIFT City is not just a reform; it is a transformation of how finance, innovation, and enterprise can tie together,” Jha added, quoting Prime Minister Modi’s call for “reform, perform, transform.”

NSE IX Managing Director and CEO V. Balasubramaniam detailed the operational advantages of the proposed partnership. He explained that recent discussions with the Colombo Stock Exchange have been positive and collaborative.

“We have actually proposed a dual listing,” Balasubramaniam announced. “We always want to collaborate because that is sustainable. It has to be a win-win partnership.”

The core of the proposal is to provide Sri Lankan businesses access to a deep pool of global capital. “We can actually create a dollar market for you because right now everything which is traded, cleared, and settled in the NSE International Exchange is in US dollars,” he explained. “This is going to enable Sri Lankan companies which have bigger ambitions to go global to raise capital.” Balasubramaniam likened the exchange to a “port for capital” and pointed to the NSE IX’s nearly 22-hour trading day, designed to cater to investors from Japan to San Francisco. He also noted the potential for Indian companies in sectors such as hospitality and renewable energy to invest in Sri Lanka, fostering a two-way economic corridor.

Representing the Sri Lankan government, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Harshana Suriyapperuma welcomed the initiative, affirming Sri Lanka’s readiness. He pointed to the nation’s economic resilience and the strong performance of its own market.

“Our platforms are ready and waiting. The regulator is ready and facilitating,” Suriperuma stated. “There are many Sri Lankan entities who have reached a particular level now to consider those listings. It will be for the strength and benefit of the country.”

Stressing the importance of reciprocity, the Deputy Minister extended an invitation for Indian companies to seek a secondary listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange. “We want to offer the reciprocity. I’m sure together we will be able to achieve more as two nations that are working very closely. The business community will continue that journey to achieve greater heights and to take Sri Lanka to a greater level.”