S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), one of the world’s leading index providers, and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) today jointly announced the launch of the S&P/CSE Sector and Industry Group Indices. The comprehensive index series is designed to measure the performance of various sectors and industry groups within the Sri Lankan equity market, as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®).

The S&P/CSE Sector and Industry Group Indices were developed based on the universe of common stocks listed on the CSE. Featuring a transparent, rules-based methodology, all indices are weighted by their total market capitalization. The index family includes the following sector indices, which are further divided into industry group indices

* S&P/CSE Energy Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Materials Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Industrials Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Consumer Discretionary Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Consumer Staples Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Health Care Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Financials Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Information Technology Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Telecommunication Services Sector Index

* S&P/CSE Utilities Sector Index

“Sri Lanka is a unique economy with numerous opportunities left untapped and we have seen growing interest in Sri Lankan equities from both domestic and international investors in recent years”, said Alka Banerjee, Managing Director, Product Management at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “With the launch of the S&P/CSE Sector and Industry Group Indices, we are proud to introduce to the investment community a comprehensive set of benchmarks that effectively measure Sri Lanka’s economy.”

Mr. Vajira Kulatilaka, Chairman of CSE, commented “We are excited to elevate the visibility of the Sri Lankan equity market through the launch of this benchmark series by leveraging S&P Dow Jones Indices’ expertise in index development and governance.”

“We are confident that the launch of the S&P/CSE Sector and Industry Group Indices will further increase the sophistication of the financial market in our country,” said Mr. Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO of CSE.

S&P DJI and CSE started their collaboration in 2012 when they jointly introduced the S&P Sri Lanka 20, an investible index comprised of the 20 largest and most liquid stocks listed on CSE. The launch of this latest index series signifies the deepening relationship between the two parties and S&P DJI’s significant expansion in Sri Lanka.