Amana Takaful Life’s IPO full

Demonstrating strong investor confidence in its vibrant prospects and high growth potential, the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Amana Takaful Life Limited – via an Offer for Sale of LKR 75 million – was oversubscribed at its opening yesterday.

The company offered 50 million ordinary voting shares at LKR 1.50 per share on Diri Savi Board of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) – which represents 10% of its total stake – at the successful IPO.

“Amana Takaful Life takes great pride in the strong confidence placed by the investors in the potential and prospects of the company – reflected in the oversubscription of the IPO within several hours,” Chairman – Tyeab Akbarally said. “Amana Takaful Life will continue to innovate and carry out its strategic initiatives, which have the potential to further enhance its growth trajectory.”
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Mackwoods Chairman challenges SEC directive

Mackwoods Plantations Chairman Dr Chrishantha Nonis has challenged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directive in withholding payments on the sale of Dr Nonis’ shares in the company. In a strongly worded response to the directive issued by the Securities and Exchanges Commission on July 20, regarding the sale of 60.8% shares of Agalawatte Plantations, Nonis says that the transaction was carried out with due authorisation and instructions being issued to the stock broker.

“The action by the SEC in issuing a directive on a complaint made by non-shareholders, without making any formal inquiries into the matter, is highly questionable.The sale of Agalawatte shares was completed on July 14, 2016 and six days after the share transaction was concluded, the SEC on July 20 issued a directive stating that shareholder approval had not been obtained.

“The stock broking firm has informed the SEC that the contents in the directive are incorrect in that the instructions received were not only from Dr. Chris Nonis but also from Mrs. Shelendra Ranaweera and Mr. Lalith Fonseka, which information was available to the SEC,”Dr Nonis said in a letter to the SEC.

The letter further states that the SEC should not interfere with the internal affairs of Mackwoods Plantations (Private) Ltd, and has requested that the SEC withdraw its allegations.
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Com Bank ranked among World’s Top 1000 Banks for sixth year

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 Banks of the World for the sixth year setting a benchmark for consistency.

This ranking is published annually by of the UK’s ‘The Banker’ magazine.The 2016 list is based on the Bank’s key performance indicators for FY 2015.

The Top 1000 Banks of the World are ranked on the basis of Tier I capital, assets, capital assets ratio, pre-tax profits, return on capital, return on assets, BIS (Basel) Capital ratio, NPL to total loans, loans to assets ratio, risk weighted assets (RWA) to total assets (TA) ratio and cost income ratio.

“In banking, size does matter, but the stringent evaluation for this ranking looks at many other mission-critical key performance indicators as well,” Commercial Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Jegan Durairatnam said. “In that context, just being among the Top 1000 is a significant achievement for a Sri Lankan bank, and staying there for six years consecutively is a great demonstration of consistency for which the entire team of Commercial Bank must be given credit.” He also added that the Bank wishes to thank all its stakeholders for their support in achieving this feat.

The Top 1000 World Banks ranking is compiled from a database of over 5,000 of the world’s biggest banks and is acknowledged by the global financial community as the definitive guide to bank rankings and analysis.

Commenting on its latest ranking, The Banker magazine said: “The 2016 Top 1000 results are indicative of the challenging environment banks found themselves operating in during 2015. Even the Chinese banking industry’s meteoric growth shows signs of slowing down for the first time in a decade.

For the last few years, China’s banks have dominated the ranking based on Tier 1 capital. This year Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) remains number 1 and China Construction Bank number 2, with 4 out of the top 5 places held by Chinese banks.”

The Banker is published by Financial Times Business, which is the specialist publishing and conferences arm of the FT Group.

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 18 outlets and Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon.

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Ritz Carlton enters Lanka with Krrish partnership

Ritz Carlton will be entering the Sri Lanka leisure market.The US based company will partner the Krrish group for the Krrish Tower project which has started piling.

International Economic Affairs State Minister Suejeeva Senasinghe confirmed to Daily News Business that the Krrish tower construction has begun. “They will partner with Ritz Carlton and will build a 70 storied tower. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is the parent company to the luxury hotel chain, The Ritz-Carlton Hotels.

Ritz-Carlton operates 87 luxury hotels and resorts in major cities and resorts in 29 countries and territories. The hotel company is today a subsidiary of Marriott International.

Senasinghe said that there are still some payments to be made to the government by the Indian based Krrish management. “This I think is for 80 perches in the front portion of the land where there is a colonial building.”

It was earlier stated by the Board of Investment that land titles have not been cleared for this 80 perch block.“Irrespective of this they have started construction in the other area where they had paid the government,” Minister Senasinghe said.

He also said that Thatta Cement of Pakistan is once again looking at investing in the Hambantota Port Economic zone.

“They have an environmental issue since they wanted to generate power through coal. However they have now shifted to other methods of generating power which the government is in favour.”

He also said that in addition a sugar refinery with an investor from Singapore and several other industries are set to open in Hambantota. “Many Chinese investors too are eagerly looking at investing in Hambantota in a special zone exclusively created for them.”

Thatta Cement Company Limited was incorporated in 1980 as a public limited company. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the State Cement Corporation of Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited. The manufacturing facility was commissioned in 1982. The plant based on dry process technology, had a total installed capacity of 1,000 tons per day of clinker. www.dailynews.lk

Sri Lankan shares end at one-month closing high

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares rose for a second straight session on Friday and posted its highest close in a month, helped by gains in large-cap beverage shares, while investors awaited directions on the macro economy.

The benchmark Colombo stock index ended up 0.18 percent, or 11.31 points, at 6,428.77, its highest close since June 21. The bourse rose 0.09 percent during the week recording a third weekly gain.

"Investors seems to be picking their stocks. Bargain hunting has been happening," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

"Slowly, the interest is growing in the market, but with a note of caution, until the policy statement is out."

Analysts said investors are waiting for a direction on the country's economic policies, which is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe next month.

The investor sentiment also got a boost after Sri Lanka raised $1.5 billion in its first sale of dual-tranche eurobonds last week.

The more-than $5.5 billion in offers for the issue showed that global investors were bullish about the prospects of the $82-billion economy.

Yields on local T-bills fell at an auction on Wednesday for the second time since April 15, following the strong response to the bond deal.

Turnover stood at 619.98 million rupees ($4.26 million), less than this year's daily average of around 734.9 million rupees.

Overseas investors, were net sellers of 1.15 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, first net selling in five sessions, extending the year-to-date net selling to 4.86 billion rupees worth of equities.

Among the index heavyweights, shares in food and beverage maker Nestle Lanka Plc climbed 3.70 percent, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Plc rose 1.64 percent, while Central Finance Company Plc ended up 3.80 percent.

($1 = 145.5000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Sri Lankan shares steady; led by large-cap consumer stocks

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares ended little changed on Thursday as gains helped by foreign buying and led by financials were offset by some large-cap consumer staples, while the market awaited directions on the macro economy.

The benchmark Colombo stock index ended up 0.05 percent, or 2.97 points, at 6,417.46 in thin trade.

"Things were a bit slow. But investors were looking at more blue chip counters rather than retail stocks," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

Analysts said investors are waiting for a direction on the country's economic policies, which is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe next month.

The index touched a three-week high on Friday as investor sentiment got a boost after Sri Lanka raised $1.5 billion in its first sale of dual-tranche eurobonds last week.

The more-than $5.5 billion in offers for the issue showed that global investors were bullish about the prospects of the $82-billion economy.

Yields on local T-bills fell at an auction on Wednesday for the second time since April 15, following the strong response to the bond deal.

Turnover stood at 585.7 million rupees ($4.02 million), well below this year's daily average of around 735.9 million rupees.

Overseas investors, who were net sellers of shares worth 4.86 billion rupees so far this year, were net buyers worth 41.8 million rupees of equities on Thursday.

Among the index heavyweights, shares in beverage maker Distillers Company of Sri Lanka Plc rose 2.65 percent, while Cargills (Ceylon) Plc gained 4.16 percent and Hatton National Bank Plc climbed 1.88 percent.

Among the losers, Nestle Lanka Plc slipped 2.9 percent while Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc lost 1.41 percent. 

($1 = 145.7500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

BOC among world’s top 1000 banks, ranked no.1 in Sri Lanka

UK’s ‘The Banker’ Magazine has once again named The Bank of Ceylon as the No. 1 Bank in Sri Lanka among the world’s top 1000 banks in its July 2016 issue.

BOC has won many accolades in the recent past including the title as the ‘Strongest Bank’ in the country given by the ‘Asian Banker’ for the strength of its 2015 balance sheet, the Gold Award as the winner of the National Business Excellence Awards Ceremony and being named the No.1 Brand in the country for the eighth consecutive time. It was able to reach its second trillion by gaining Rs. one trillion deposits in 2016.

The first trillion in assets was achieved in 2012 BOC is set to reach its third trillion in the near future. Breaking its own record set by its 2014 profit before tax of Rs.20.3 billion, it earned the highest ever profit made by a single Sri Lankan business entity which is Rs. 25.3 billion PBT in 2015. This was a 25% growth over the previous year.

“Being able to hold the title as the leading Sri Lankan bank in the World’s Top 1000 banks list is truly a privilege and an honor. As always we have moved forward on a steadfast track as the exemplarily bank in the country’s financial industry. It is my duty to thank all our stakeholders including our Customers and the Government of Sri Lanka at this juncture for encouraging us throughout these years to reach such heights.” Chairman Ronald C. Perera said.

“We have been always driven by the motive of bringing the best out through every task we carry out as the leading bank in the country. It is my duty to thank my committed staff for all their hard work that was put in to get achievements such as this.” General Manager D.M. Gunasekera said.

“The Banker” Magazine UK, is one of the premier banking and finance magazines in the world and has been so since its inception in 1926. The Benchmark top 1000 bank list has been compiled by the “The Banker” since 1970. The Banker database holds comprehensive financial data, news feeds and executive contact data on the leading banks in every country and its ranking sets in the industry standard for measuring bank performance and strength.

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