"Two or three firms may come through that route this year," Cader said.
The local firm will be the beneficial owner of the foreign assets and will be subject to Sri Lanka accounting and other laws.
Cader said firms with leisure assets in the Maldives have expressed interest and are likely to be among the first to be listed.
The firm could then be cross listed in Maldives if necessary he said.
Sri Lanka's market has more liquidity than the Maldives's fledging bourse at the moment.Sri Lanka itself is chasing and alliance with the London Stock Exchange through its 'international board' project.
6 Senses may be one of the candidates, with a private placement ongoing as per press reports.
But the hotel sector has been an under-performer on the Colombo Stock Exchange the past year, with valuations having previously risen to arguably unrealistic levels that priced in a lot of future good news. Look at Keells Hotels for example, which has a mix of local and Maldivian properties, with its share price performance being very poor since early 2010.