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Academic Background

B.Sc., Business Administration (First Class Honors),
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
MBA, Finance, University of New Hampshire
Ph.D., Finance, University of Houston
FCA, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Sri Lanka
CFA, Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA Institute

Research Specialties

• International finance and emerging capital markets
• Asset Pricing, market efficiency, and corporate finance
• Stock returns, volatility and investor behavior

Research

• “Stock market liberalization and return volatility: Evidence from the emerging market of Sri Lanka,” with Fazeel M. Jaleel, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, 2009, Forthcoming.
• “The relation between trades of domestic and foreign investors and stock returns in Sri Lanka,” Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, 2009, Forthcoming.
• “Portfolio performance evaluation,” with Tanweer Hasan, In The Encyclopedia of Finance, C. F. Lee, Editor, Springer, pp. 617-622, 2005.
• “Efficiency of the Sri Lankan stock market,” Sri Lankan Journal of Business Economics, 1, pp. 1-22, 2004.
• “Altman’s Z-Score models of predicting corporate distress: Evidence from the emerging Sri Lankan stock market,” with Tanweer Hasan, The Journal of the Academy of Finance, 1, pp. 119-125, 2003.
• “Stock markets in the Russian Federation, transitional Europe and the United States: Profitability vs. pessimism / Optimism,” with Tanweer Hasan, and Munzoor Shaikh, Academy of Finance Proceedings, pp. 1-9, 2003.
• “Dividend announcements, firm size and dividend growth in the Sri Lankan stock market,” with D. B. P. H. Dissabandara, Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 3&4, 2002, pp. 228-245.
• “Short-term interest rates and expected stock returns in Sri Lanka,” with Tanweer Hasan, Advances in Pacific Basin Financial Markets, 6, 2000, pp. 337-348.
• “Stock price behavior in a less developed market: Evidence from Sri Lanka,” with Tanweer Hasan, and Shahriar Hasan, Journal of Applied Business Research, 16, 1999, pp. 15-23.
• “The capital structure of Sri Lankan companies,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 4, 1999, pp. 18-30.
• “The ownership structure of Sri Lankan companies,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 4, 1999, pp. 143-171.
• “A new measure of market liquidity of shares: The case of the Colombo Stock Exchange,” Proceedings of the Research Series of the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 1999, pp. 165-182.
• “The relationship between stock market returns and dividend yields in Sri Lanka,” Proceedings of the Research Series of the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 1999, pp. 153-164.
• “An Index to measure the performance of the Sri Lankan Treasury bond market,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 3, 1998, pp. 204-220.
• “Indices to measure the performance of the Sri Lankan corporate bond market,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 3, 1998, pp. 186-203.
• “Mean reversion in stock prices in an emerging market: Sri Lankan evidence,” Proceedings of the Research Series of the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 1998, pp. 301-316.
• Delivering results through acquisitions and mergers,” Proceedings of the 19th National Conference of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, 1998, pp. 89-108.
• “The cross-section of expected stock returns in Sri Lanka,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 2, 1997, pp.  233-250.
• “Stocks, bills and inflation in Sri Lanka,” Vidyodaya Journal of Social Science, 8, 1997, pp. 17-183.
• “Competitive financial strategy - Engineering the cost of capital,” Proceedings of the 18th National Conference of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, 1997, pp. 1-19.
• “Stock market returns and inflation: Sri Lankan evidence,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 1, 1996, pp. 293-311.
• “Predictability of short-horizon returns in the Sri Lankan stock market,” Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 1, 1996, pp. 207-224.
• “Credit rating factors for corporate bonds," Professional Banker's Magazine, 6, 1996, pp. 16-20.
• “Decision support systems for drilling oil wells,” with Jinoos Hosseini, Policy and Information, 13, 1989, pp. 101-110.

Books

• Equity Securities: Theory and Practice, 1st Ed., Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, 2009, Forthcoming.
• Debt Securities: Markets, Instruments and Analysis, 1st Ed., Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, 2009. Forthcoming
• The Financial Market of Sri Lanka, 1st Ed., Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, 2009.
• The Stock Market of Sri Lanka, 4th Ed., Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, 2005.
• Sri Lankan Corporate Bond Market, 1st Ed., 2000.

Significant Scholarly Honors

• Professor of Finance (Merit Basis), Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, 2000.
• Outstanding Postdoctoral Research Award for Research in Economics during 1975-1999, University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, 2000.
• Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sri Lankan Science, Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, 1998.
• Recognition as a top 10 Research Paper, Global Finance Association Conference, 1994.
• Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence, College of Business Administration, University of Houston, 1993.
• Melcher Award for Teaching Excellence by a Doctoral Candidate, College of Business Administration, University of Houston, 1991.
• Presidential Scholarship Award, Presidential Secretariat, Sri Lanka, 1987.
• First Class Honors, Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, 1984.