Wednesday 17 December 2014

The Finance receives funds from Central Bank

The Finance Company PLC has received Rs. 06 billion from the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance and Liquidity Support Fund as per the loan agreement signed on 15 December 2014 with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
www.adaderana.lk

Singer Sri Lanka debenture issue oversubscribed

The issue of 10 million listed, rated, unsecured, redeemable senior debentures issued by Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC at Rs. 100.00 each with an option to issue up to another further five million has been oversubscribed.

The issue has received applications in excess of an aggregate value of Rs. 1.5 billion. Accordingly the issue will close at 4.30 pm today (17 December) while entertaining the applications received till such time.
www.adaderana.lk

Seylan Bank debenture issue also oversubscribed

The initial issue of 30 million rated, unsecured, redeemable debentures issued by Seylan Bank PLC at Rs. 100.00 each with an option to issue up to another further 30 million debentures has been oversubscribed.

The issue has received applications for over Rs. 03 billion and accordingly the issue will close at 4.30 pm today (17 December) while entertaining the applications received till such time.
www.adaderana.lk

Sri Lankan stocks fall for fifth day; hit near 3-wk low

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks fell for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, hitting a near three-week low, as investors cautiously bought risky assets amid political uncertainty ahead of the Jan. 8 presidential poll.

The main stock index ended 0.33 percent lower at 7,199.73, its lowest close since Nov. 28. The fall erased 10 billion rupees of market capitalisation from the 3.06 trillion rupee ($23.34 billion)-worth bourse.

Turnover improved, hitting its highest since Dec. 8, due to increased foreign and institutional investor trading. The day's turnover stood at 1.31 billion rupees ($9.99 million), according to stock exchange data, slightly less than this year's daily average of 1.42 billion rupees.

The bourse saw a net foreign outflow of 267.5 million rupees this session, but net inflow so far this year stood at 21.7 billion rupees, exchange data showed.

"The index will move sideways until the next month's election. There could be a pre-poll rally if investors see a clear winner in the election," said Danushka Samarasignhe, chief operating officer at Softlogic Stockbrokers.

Market heavyweight John Keells Holdings fell 1.52 percent to 246.20 rupees, while top lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon edged down 0.3 percent to 169.50 rupees.

Trading is expected to be sluggish due to political uncertainty ahead of the presidential polls next month, with the index seen falling through December-end.

Political analysts see a tight race between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his former Health Minister Mithripala Sirisena, the consensus candidate of a united opposition. Both candidates are yet to announce their policies and manifestoes.

Eleven legislators from Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance, including Sirisena, defected after he announced snap elections last month. Two opposition legislators have defected to Rajapaksa's party.

Speculation over more defections at parliament level also weighed on sentiment, analysts said.

($1 = 131.1000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Sri Lanka’s HNB to establish $ 50 mn credit line with Korean Exim Bank

Dec 17,2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB), a private lender entered into an agreement with The Export-Import Bank of Korea’ (KEXIM)recently to establish a revolving credit line of 50 million US dollars to finance trade between Sri Lanka and Korea, the bank said in a media release.

“With foreign trade between Sri Lanka and Korea growing significantly, the agreement entered into with KEXIM is timely and would enable HNB to pass on the benefit of attractive interest rates to customers,” Jonathan Alles , Managing Director of HNB was quoted in the press release.

“We intend developing a long-term and strategic relationship with KEXIM to facilitate more trade between the two countries by bringing in more importers and exporters together, facilitating new trade partnerships through our alliance.”

KEXIM is an official export credit agency providing comprehensive export credit and guarantee programs to support Korean enterprises in conducting overseas business.

Sri Lanka’s Sanasa Development Bank’s right issue oversubscribed

Dec 17, 2014 (LBO) – The right issue of the Sanasa Development Bank PLC was oversubscribed raising about one billion rupees the company said in a stock exchange filling.

The company issued a 12,587,661 new ordinary shares in the ratio of one share for every two shares held by the registered holders of ordinary voting shares in the company at an issue price of 80 rupees per share to raise 1,007,012,880 rupees that would increase the total number of share in issue to 37,762,983 ordinary voting shares.

The bank said the right issue was oversubscribed attracting applications over and above the number offered under the rights.

NDB Investment Bank acted as the Managers to the Rights Issue.

NDB, Zephyr Partners launch Sri Lankan Private Equity Fund

NDB Capital Holdings PLC and Zephyr Management are pleased to announce the launch of Emerald Sri Lanka Fund, a private equity fund dedicated to Sri Lanka. The Emerald Sri Lanka Fund will invest in small and mid-sized businesses seeking expansion capital in Sri Lanka. The Fund Manager, NDB Zephyr Partners, is jointly owned by NDB Capital Holdings PLC, one of the leading investment banking services provider in Sri Lanka, and Zephyr Management LP, the New York-based global emerging markets investment firm.

NDB Zephyr believes that Sri Lanka provides excellent conditions for growth of small and mid-sized companies. These conditions include political stability, a rapidly growing economy and an educated labour force. Sri Lankan SMEs currently have limited equity raising options until an IPO. However, many SMEs are not ready for an IPO, due to their small size, lack of management depth and inadequate governance.

NDB Zephyr will assist its portfolio companies in areas such as strategic planning, management development, financial management, corporate governance and operational efficiencies. The Fund Manager will also help the portfolio companies in accessing international markets and optimizing their capital structures. Exits will be generated via the IPO market or through trade sales to domestic or international buyers.

The Fund will be the largest private equity fund dedicated for Sri Lanka and seeks to make investments, generally in the range of USD 2 million to USD 6 million, in equity and equity-linked securities in fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises in Sri Lanka. The fund will generally seek significant minority stakes and will target companies that are positioned to benefit from scale achieved through regional/global market penetration or increasing domestic consumption.

The investment team will draw on the capabilities and experience of the Manager's parent companies, NDB Capital and Zephyr Management, L.P. The fund's investment team will benefit from NDB Capital's deep understanding and experience in the Sri Lankan market. 


Zephyr Management will provide the Emerald investment team with expertise regarding the investment process, including deal evaluation, portfolio management and exits.

The fund size is expected to be approximately US$ 50 million. The Fund's investors include some of the most experienced investors in emerging markets including IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, DEG – Deutsche Investitions – und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company).


Rajendra Theagarajah, CEO of NDB Group said "NDB is pleased to take the leadership role in the launch of this Sri Lanka dedicated private equity fund. We believe that the launch of the Emerald Fund will help facilitate the emergence of a new industry that will serve many Sri Lankan companies in the years to come."

Thomas Barry, Founder and CEO of Zephyr Management stated "We are excited about our participation in the first institutional private equity fund in Sri Lanka. NDB's strong reputation and experience in the Sri Lanka capital markets will provide the fund's investment team with much needed local experience, knowledge and relationships'.

"Private equity funds, like the Emerald Sri Lanka Fund, provide much needed risk capital for small and medium sized businesses," said Adam Sack, IFC Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives. "The fund will support entrepreneurship, job creation and contribute to economic growth."

"IFC is excited about our partnership with NDB and Zephyr. It puts us at the forefront of developing the private equity ecosystem in Sri Lanka," said Atul Mehta, IFC Global Director for Telecom, Media, Technology, Private Equity Funds and Venture Investing.

"DEG is pleased to be investing in the Emerald Sri Lanka Fund to provide support for SMEs in Sri Lanka. The fund will improve the access to urgently required investment capital, enabling the companies to unleash their potential, thereby contributing to economic growth and job creation," said Matthias Goulnik, Vice President Asia, at DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH.

Linda Broekhuizen, Chief Investment Officer of FMO, mentioned "This first time fund is a true partnership combining the strongest skills of Sri Lankan bank NDB, international established PE house Zephyr and the Development Finance Institutions, offering Sri Lankan people many new jobs by growing with local entrepreneurs."

Emerald Fund will bridge a long felt gap for equity funding for Sri Lankan SMEs. The fund will benefit tremendously from Zephyr Management's global networks and expertise in the private equity investment process" commented Vajira Kulatilaka of NDB Capital.

Senaka Kakiriwaragodage and Karthik Bhat will be the Managing Directors of the Fund Manager. Prior to his new role, Senaka was Vice President and Head of Capital markets at NDB Investment Bank (NDBIB) and has 10 years of investment banking experience at NDBIB. Prior to joining NDBIB he worked as a software engineer at Virtusa Inc., a USA headquartered IT Services Company for 2 years. He is an Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and holds a MBA with Distinction from University of Manchester, UK and a BSc First Class Honours degree from University of Moratuwa. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Karthik Bhat is Vice President and a member of the Zephyr Peacock (Zephyr management L.P's India Funds) Investment team. Karthik has 10 years of work experience in financial services including investment research and business advisory services. Prior to joining Zephyr Peacock, he worked at Goldman Sachs investment research for more than 4 years. 


Prior to Goldman, Karthik was at Deloitte Haskins and Sells, where he was involved in engagements in assurance, taxation and business advisory services. Karthik is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business Hyderabad. He has also completed CFA Level 3 from the US CFA Institute.
www.ceylontoday.lk

AIA Lanka first to implement Life, General insurance segregation

AIA Insurance became the first insurer in Sri Lanka to take the progressive step in responding to the guidelines issued by the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) to separate life insurance and general insurance business operations.

The company announced plans to transfer its general insurance business to a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary. This would result in AIA Insurance Lanka operating exclusively in life insurance in keeping with the Regulation of Insurance Industry (Amendment) Act No. 03 of 2011.

AIA General Insurance Lanka Limited will commence operations on January 1, 2015 and will operate as a fully owned subsidiary of AIA Insurance Lanka.

Shah Rouf, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Insurance said AIA General is about to embark on a new journey with the dawn of the new year as a dynamic player in the industry with its focus on growth and profitability.

"The two business operations will have a clear segregated identity and focus on their respective class of business, adding and creating value for all stakeholders. We are confident that the segregation would bring greater flexibility, dynamism and enhanced business opportunities to both life and general entities and is a progressive and much needed move for the insurance industry as a whole,"he said.
www.dailynews.lk

NDB Investment Bank facilitates Hemas Power acquisition

NDB Investment Bank Ltd., (NDBIB), the premier investment bank in the country, was instrumental in the acquisition of Hemas Power PLC (HPWR) by a consortium comprising of NDB Capital Holdings PLC (NCAP),ACL Cables PLC (ACL) and Trydan Partners (Private) Limited (Trydan) in a deal worth approximately Rs. 1.7 billion. The consortium purchased the 75% stake of Hemas Power PLC (renamed as Resus Energy PLC) at a price ofRs. 17.90 per share recently from Hemas Holdings PLC. The management team of HPWR represented by Trydan, initiated the whole acquisition process.

In a statement NDBIB said it played a significant part in the transaction starting from the non-binding offer submission, the valuation of HPWR, structuring the acquisition and facilitating the negotiations amongst the consortium parties adding value to the whole process assuming an independent role in the same. In addition to its key role in the acquisition, NDBIB has been appointed as the Manager for the Mandatory Offer to be made to the minority shareholders of HPWR. NDBIB also managed the debt fund raising for 

Trydan to finance its commitment of the acquisition.

ACL who is expected to add in much sought after expertise and relationships in the energy sector is eager to begin its journey in power generation. Suren Madanayake, Managing Director, ACL, commenting on the acquisition stated, “Hemas Power would be the perfect complement to our existing range of energy sector offerings. We are looking forward to work hand in hand with the Management Team and NCAP and use our synergies to maximize the potential in green energy, which we have been evaluating for a while”. He further added, “NDBIB together with NCAP group has been vital in this whole process in catering to each and every consortium party’s requirements”.

Commenting on the successful transaction with HHL,NCAP CEO Vajira Kulatilaka had this to say “NCAP is working towards developing a high quality portfolio with superior returns. Such a portfolio would ensure sustainable growth for the company in the years to come, with attractive returns to our shareholders. The investment in Hemas Power adds on to the existing investment made in green energy, a sector which aligns with the group strategy enabling NCAP group to focus on sustainable growth.” Stating on the important role played by NDBIB, he added “I am proud to say that, NDBIB being in the forefront of the capital markets in Sri Lanka, advised the consortium on the entire transaction and concluded the transaction with the participation of NDB Securities, demonstrating the synergies within the group”.

The Management Team of HPWR has been the principal driver of the acquisition. They have been able to contribute to the success of HPWR since its inception. Having been with the company since its incorporation, HPWR Managing Director, Kishan Nanayakara shared his thoughts, “With all the knowledge we have on Hemas Power, we firmly believe this is a positive prospect for all the investors as we look to grow in the near future. Green energy is essential for any economy as it does power the sustainable growth”, He continued on his investors, “I would like to convey my appreciation to Hemas Group for the support rendered over the years and excited to work with the new set of investors who are equally committed to uphold sound business values, ethics and governance and ensure the best value proposition to public shareholders.”
www.ft.lk

Siyapatha Finance announces Rs. 500 m debenture issue

Siyapatha Finance, the finance and leasing arm of Sampath Bank PLC has announced the issue of 5,000,000 listed, unsecured, redeemable and rated debentures at a par value of Rs. 100 each, amounting to Rs. 500 million.

The debenture issue will open on 18 December and applications can be collected from NDBIB, Registrar to the issue, Sampath Bank branches and the member firms/trading members of the Colombo Stock Exchange. The minimum subscription is Rs. 10,000 or 100 debentures and applications in excess of the minimum subscription should be in multiples of Rs. 10,000 or 100 debentures.

The company reserves the right to issue a further 5,000,000 debentures, totalling up to a maximum of 10,000,000 debentures worth Rs. 1 billion in the event of an oversubscription.

The debentures will mature in December 2019. The five year (60 month) debenture offers a fixed interest rate of 8.90% per annum, payable annually. More details can be found in the prospectus.

The Managers of the issue are NDB Investment Bank Ltd. Fitch Ratings Lanka has assigned a national long term rating of A-(lka) to these debentures.

Chairman Channa Palansuriya stated that one of the objectives of the Issue is for the company to “use the entirety of the funds raised through this Issue to expand and strengthen its capital base”. He added that the proposed issue would reinforce the company’s Tier II capital, and facilitate further operational and asset base expansion.

“The flow of these debenture funds which carry a fixed rate of interest would cushion off the effects of any interest rate volatility expected in the future,” said Siyapatha Finance Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Roshan Nanayakkara.

By gaining access to additional sources of funds from non-deposit sources, Siyapatha Finance believes that it will help to open up capital market funding for the company and provide access to a wider investor base. The Chairman pointed out that the company’s ratings “reflect our high credit quality and stability and we are confident that this attractive debenture issue will be received with enthusiasm by investors looking for a long term, secure investment with a sustainable business partner”.
www.ft.lk