Raj loses billions in value in Lanka over his own US arrest

Raj Rajaratnam has lost in billions in the value of his investments in Sri Lanka since his own arrest by the US authorities for alleged insider dealing.
The Colombo’s market capitalisation has lost Rs. 35 billion in value between October 16(the Friday when Raj was arrested) and yesterday. The market lost in value much higher in between and had managed to cover some lost ground in recent trading.
Lankan born top US hedge fund manager and billionaire Raj Rajaratnam was arrested for several allegations of insider dealing by the FBI. He was subsequently released on a US$ 100 million bail. Raj’s lawyers have said he will fight the charges to prove his innocence.
Premier blue chip and number one stock in terms of market capitalisation JKH has seen its value dip to Rs. 86.7 billion by yesterday, down by Rs. 7 billion, in comparison to October 16th closing. Raj owns around 8% stake in JKH as part of his personal holding.
Several other stocks such as DFCC, HNB, NDB and Commercial Bank, in which Raj has holdings via some of his Funds, too have dipped in their value.
However, analysts said that most of Raj’s original purchases were at much lower prices than at present and if he or his funds were to exit, it would be at a hefty profit. Raj’s equity investment portfolio is estimated to be well over US$ 100 million or approximately Rs. 14 billion.