The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) retains an unmistakable presence in its home country, but besides owning the London Stock Exchange, it also oversees organisations including Refinitiv, LSEG Technology and FTSE Russell while holding majority stakes in LCH and Tradeweb.

Today, LSEG stands as more than just a diversified global financial markets infrastructure (FMI) and data business – it continues to reinforce financial stability and the growth of communities and economies globally with experience spanning over 300 years.

The London Stock Exchange Group Foundation is a charitable trust set up through the Charities Aid Foundation and is the single channel for London Stock Exchange Group’s charitable pursuits. The Foundation is responsible for funding significant endeavours while making investments across the communities in which it operates including countries such as Australia, France, Italy, the US, UK and Sri Lanka.

From left: Bismarck Swangin, Chief of Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships, UNICEF; Christian Skoog, Representative of UNICEF Sri Lanka; Keheliya Rambukwella, Minister of Health; Arjuna Nanayakkara, Director, Cloud Operations, LSEG; Harsha Muthukumarana, Head of Engineering, LSEG Technology; Shanaka Abeywickrama, Head of Internal and Site Communications, APAC, LSEG; and Sara Sadoon, Associate Manager, CSR & Sustainability, LSEG

Sri Lanka is where LSEG’s work was most recently recognised. LSEG Technology received accolades for placing among the top 10 best export brands in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance and LMD. The organisation made its appearance on this list for the sixth consecutive year, bolstering LSEG Technology as a highly coveted name both locally and abroad.

Solid record of performance

LSEG Technology has continued to deliver exceptional results for more than two decades as one of the world’s pre-eminent developers of Capital Market solutions. It’s this breadth of experience which allows the organisation to offer world-class solutions through its entire suite of high-performance products, which ensure the smooth running of financial markets across five continents.

Feroz Cader, Co-Head of LSEG Technology in Sri Lanka, understands where its greatest strengths reside.

“It is a testament to our engineering skill that the intellectual property we have built into our products provides the technology that drives global financial markets today. We are committed to be the best-in-class product company in the FMI space.”

“Our product suite has ensured that we are the most trusted name in FMI the world over, a name that is synonymous with speed, scalability, security and reliability.”

LSEG Technology’s high-performance services today are robust and scalable. They cover:

• Broker exchange
• Market data
• Risk management
• Surveillance
• Clearing and settlement products for global clients

These market-leading trading and post-trade products backed by key patented technology have helped improve operational efficiencies for more than 40 FMI and financial services firms. More importantly, they have been proven through London Stock Exchange Group’s own markets (London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and Turquoise), HKEX, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange and other markets worldwide.

Giving back beyond business

While delivering success and performance is at the heart of LSEG’s wider operations, the LSEG Foundation is its dedicated philanthropic arm responsible for giving back to the community and supporting critical world initiatives wherever possible.

In its latest initiative, the LSEG Foundation extended its COVID-19 support with the donation of essential lifesaving medical equipment. This equipment was delivered to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Sri Lanka and amounted to approximately LKR18 million (€80,000).

Facilitated by UNICEF Sri Lanka, the funds were utilised to procure and supply oxygen-related equipment and supplies such as oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders and high-flow oxygen units to hospitals and frontline COVID-19 treatment centres, which were identified as crucial equipment required by health authorities to assist those infected with the virus.

The reasoning behind this move is simple: LSEG is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates around the world. It has already partnered with non-governmental organisations along with both global and local charitable organisations to further support those impacted by the pandemic.

In 2020 alone, LSEG donated LKR15.6 million (€68,000) towards the purchase of essential medical equipment for the MoH, including an ICU ventilator for adult and paediatric use, the conversion of the Kattankudy Base Hospital into a COVID-19 Isolation Unit and the purchase of hand sanitiser and surgical face masks for frontline health workers.

In addition to this, LSEG conducted an internal fundraising program with the support of staff donations and partnered with World Vision Lanka to provide essential items to 1,872 families in the country.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread in Sri Lanka, it is important that the private sector continues supporting the Government of Sri Lanka and health authorities to curb the effects of this pandemic,” explained Shanaka Abeywickrama, LSEG’s Head of Internal and Site Communications – APAC.

“We are once again pleased to partner with UNICEF Sri Lanka as we work to provide urgently required oxygen-related equipment to in-need treatment facilities and hopefully save lives.”