Aitken Spence buys 5 Star hotel in Chennai

Aitken Spence Hotel Management (South India) Private Limited has a brand new 143 roomed 5 Star hotel property in Chennai at a cost of USD 25 million.

Aitken Spence Hotel Management (South India) Private Limited is owned by Aitken Spence PLC in the ratio of 49:51.

Aitken Spence PLC owns 74 percent of the equity shares of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC.

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Dr. Senthilverl buys more Swisstek shares

Dr. T. Senthilverl has bought 1,870,400 which is 6.83 percent shares of Swisstek (Ceylon) PLC. Thus, Dr. Senthilverl has acquired approximately 16.33 percent of the issued share capital of the company.

Swisstek (Ceylon) PLC formerly known as Parquet (Ceylon) PLC was established in 1967 and is a member of Lanka Walltiles Group of Companies since 2003. The Company’s main line of business shifted from manufacture and sale of wooden flooring under the “SWISSPARKETT” brand name to the manufacture and sale of Tile Grout and Tile Mortar. 

The Company also manufactures Decorative Pebbles and continues to import and supply wooden flooring for the local market. All products are manufactured and distributed under the new brand name “SWISSTEK”.

The Company has been awarded the prestigious Presidential Export Award for excellence in the export of wooden flooring on 5 occasions.

The subsidiary of the Company Swisstek Aluminim Ltd is in the manufacture of Aluminium extrusions in Mill, Anodized and Powder Coated finishes and also supply Pre-fabricated windows all under the “Swisstek” brand.

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Sri Lanka shares close flat

June 11, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's shares closed flat on Wednesday despite strong foreign buying, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 0.28 points lower at 6,293.36. The S&P SL20 closed 7.54 points lower at 3,476.58, down 0.22 percent.

Turnover was 1.40 billion rupees, up from 886.88 million rupees a day earlier with 114 stocks closed positive against 68 negative.

John Keells Holdings closed flat at 234.50 rupees with off-market transactions of 582.07 million rupees changing hands at the same price per share contributing 41 percent of the turnover.

JKH’s W0022 warrants closed flat at 63.00 rupees and its W0023 warrants closed 90 cents lower at 72.10 rupees.

Adam Investments closed 30 cents higher at 4.30 rupees and Trade Finance and Investments closed 1.90 rupees higher at 21.00 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day.

Lanka Orix Leasing Company closed 2.30 rupees higher at 87.30 rupees and Lion Brewery Ceylon closed 7.90 rupees higher at 433.00 rupees.

John Keells Hotels closed 40 cents higher at 15.30 rupees and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings closed 1.80 rupees lower at 75.10 rupees.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed 50 cents higher at 132.00 rupees and Commercial Leasing and Finance closed 10 cents lower at 4.00 rupees.

Australia's MRL Corporation to commence graphite drilling in Sri Lanka

June 10, Colombo: MRL Corporation, an Australian mining company exploring graphite in Sri Lanka expects to start first drilling at its Pandeniya graphite project in from tomorrow, the company said in a market disclosure today.

MRL Corporation signed a contract with Sri Lanka's Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) last month for diamond drilling services at its Warakapola Pandeniya / Bopitiya graphite project.

Accordingly, a drill rig from the Geological Survey and Mining Bureau has arrived on site at the Pandeniya location and the drilling is expected to begin on or around 11 June 2014.

These will test the vein graphite potential in three locations across the Warakapola Pandeniya / Bopitiya area.

The first hole, DH-1, is expected to be drilled to a depth of between 50 meters to 125 meters, while drill holes DH2 and DH3 will be up to 300 meters deep and test the continuity of vein graphite mineralization below the historical shafts and adits, the company said .

MRL Corporation has negotiated an agreement to acquire the shares of a company that holds licenses to exercise the exclusive right to explore and mine for graphite within 45 square kilometre of land located in several provinces of Sri Lanka.

MRL holds 6,300 hectares of Exploration Licenses that could potentially produce 5,000 tpa of vein graphite and has applied for further exploration areas surrounding its granted licenses.

Lump or Vein graphite is considered to be one of the rarest, commercially valuable, and highest quality types of natural graphite.

Sri Lanka is known as the only major producer of crystalline vein Graphite (or lump Graphite) - the highest quality of naturally occurring material in the world. The purity level of vein Graphite produced in Sri Lanka is in excess of 90% carbon and hence requiring very little upgrading and processing to produce a high quality saleable product, leading to low operating costs and high profit margins.

http://www.colombopage.com/

Middle East investors see Sri Lanka as "fertile" for entry - MTI

‘The challenge is to now convert these into projects’

According to MTI’s ‘Market Pulse’, Middle East investors (particularly in the 6 Gulf States) are increasingly positive about entering and investing in Sri Lanka. MTI’s ‘Market Pulse’ is a qualitative research initiative that ‘senses’ corporate, HNI and investor perceptions about investing in emerging markets, a press release said.

"The last 2 years has seen increasing leisure travel into Sri Lanka by Arab and Expat Corporate Executives which has triggered interest in considering Sri Lanka for business investments and setting up operations.  Rewind 4 to 5 years and this same group would not even have considered such pursuits, but today they are certainly open and positive about Sri Lanka as an attractive emerging market destination" says Hilmy Cader, CEO of Bahrain-based MTI Consulting, with a network of associates that span the MENA region.

‘There have been several high profile Heads of State visits (which has certainly improved optimism about Sri Lanka) and trade delegations between the Gulf States, however investment inflows into Sri Lanka is yet to pick up.

‘According to MTI Consulting the reason for this could be two-fold i.e. Gulf Investors need a lot more ‘hand-holding’ in the initial market entry process (particularly in entering non-Arabic speaking emerging markets) and their inability (perception) to find suitable projects outside tourism.  Taking a cue from Gulf investments into Lebanon after the war, the appeal of capital markets has been low, instead what they look for is ‘green field’ and ‘brown field’ projects to invest in.

‘Gulf Investors, unlike their Western European counterparts, are much more adaptable to the challenges of dealing in emerging markets. Gulf investments into Sudan, Tunisia, Jordon and Pakistan prove the point. Sri Lanka could also take some learning from the success of Gulf investments into Malaysia vs. Indonesia, despite the untapped potential and much larger size of the latter.

‘MTI cautions that Sri Lanka is currently at a ‘Fertile for entry’ stage but a lot needs to be done before this is converted to tangible investments, the release added.
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Commercial Credit growth continues as profits reach Rs. 1 b

Commercial Credit and Finance PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s leading finance companies announced a growth of 48 % as its net profits for the financial year ended 31 March reached Rs. 1 billion. This marks an increase from Rs. 0.7 billion in 2012/13.

“The year under review will go down in the annals of the history of our company as the year during which we first recorded Rs. 1 billion in profits. This is a significant achievement by itself, but particularly so, considering the challenging year faced by the sector,” said Commercial Credit CEO Roshan Egodage. He added that the company’s total assets also expanded during the year under review by 73.1 % to reach Rs. 31.6 billion, and its interest income by 74.5% to reach Rs. 6.9 billion.

“This growth coming on the back of good performances over the last several years, and the fact that it was mainly led by growth in the lending portfolio, is indeed very creditworthy,” he added.

Commercial Credit Chairman Cecil Perera said that the company had expanded its service network substantially to reach all districts of the country. “With this extended service network, Commercial Credit was well positioned to further develop its business activities. In the financial year 2013/14 the company extended it service network from 60 to 75 locations. In selecting the locations for expansion, the company not only considered current and future business potential, but also the needs of the population in such areas. 

Our deposit base grew by 73.7% indicating the immense trust and confidence the public has in the Commercial Credit brand and what it stands for,” he added.

He added: “The success of any organisation is founded on the trust and confidence of its customers, and we believe that this is particularly so in the case of our company as we are in the financial services industry.”

During the first quarter of 2014 there were certain parameters related to the local economy which indicated a performance below expectations. However, the authorities are confident that Sri Lanka’s aspiring growth plans are on track in its thrust towards reaching per capita GDP of $ 4,000 by 2016, and financial institutions such as Commercial Credit that are characterised by innovation, speedy growth and expansion would be presented with many opportunities to contribute significantly to this development.

“With our fast growing service network and large and loyal customer base, our company would be uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that would certainly arise,” Perera added.

Confirming the company’s excellent track record and potential, the leading frontier markets private equity investor, Creation Investments Capital Management LLC, Chicago, USA earlier this year agreed to invest Rs. 1.68 billion into Commercial Credit through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Creation Investments Sri Lanka LLC. This was the largest investment by an international private equity fund into a publicly listed Sri Lankan licensed finance company and is a strong validation of the success of Commercial Credit.

“We believe that the association the company established through this transaction would be beneficial to spur a high level of interest in the financial services sector of Sri Lanka among international investors looking for investments in developing markets in the region. 

We are confident that the company’s relationship with Creation Investments would result in a true win-win for both parties in the coming years,” says its Chairman.
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