Singapore firm ups stake by further 40 per cent in e-Channelling

The Singapore based venture that made a mandatory offer to purchase shares in the doctor-channelling company e-Channelling has increased its existing stake by a further 40 per cent.

In the wake of the mandatory offer by Singapore based Senior Marketing Systems Asia to take over the e-Channelling company, the company made an announcement to the Colombo Stock Exchange on Wednesday stating that its period had expired.

SMS Asia had received offers amounting to 39.84 per cent of the ordinary shares of e-Channelling PLC. SMS Asia held a stake of 47.5 per cent or 58 million shares in e-Channelling prior to announcing the mandatory offer. These acquisitions were made between June 11 and July 14 during the period of the offer.

The Singapore based company increased the stake in e-Channelling by 17.5 per cent when it purchased 21, 429, 204 ordinary shares. In this respect, they have increased their share portfolio to 57, 946, 497 ordinary shares and holding 47.4 per cent of the voting ordinary shares in issue. Shares amounting to 16, 060, 003 were sold on Monday by British American Technologies at Rs.14 per share to Senior Marketing Systems Asia.

Previously, SMS Asia held 29.9 per cent of the total issued and paid shares amounting to 36, 517, 293 shares.

Currently the second largest shareholder is Trading Partners Pvt. Ltd which holds a 28 per cent stake in the company. The market would be watching the moves by this company to ascertain if they too would sell out or not, brokers said.

The mandatory offer has been made at the highest price paid within the 12 months of Rs.14 at which SMS Asia bought the last amount of shares as well.

The remaining number of ordinary shares is 64, 184, 918 amounting to 52.55 per cent of the total issued and paid up ordinary share capital of e-Channelling.

SMS Asia was established in 2012 as a subsidiary company of SMS Co. Ltd for the purpose of investing in companies and management of overseas business of the parent company, which is a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

SMS Asia has invested in many companies in Asia namely Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Australia for the purpose of business development in healthcare and IT sectors.
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SEC needs to control economic power blocs in the stock market

Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been urged to effectively deal with mergers and acquisitions that “give rise to the concentration of economic power and market control opportunities”.

In a letter to SEC authorities, governance advocate and rights activist Chandra Jayaratne has requested the SEC to make a public media announcement informing all stakeholders of the securities rules and regulations applicable and the effective enforcement processes in place within the SEC in dealing with mergers and acquisitions.

He has said that if no such regulations and enforcement processes are in place, the public has a right to know the rationale for such a lacunae to be allowed to remain within the regulatory regime, and what strategic steps are being planned by the Government and the relevant authorities in order to remedy such an unacceptable situation.

Mr. Jayaratne, a former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce who regularly raises issues of public, social and economic importance, said the concentration of economic and market control power in the hands of a few would affect the interests of consumers and businesses. It would negatively impact on the growth and prosperity of the nation and its people in the longer term, due to the inherent likelihood of such concentration leading to anticompetitive practices in an effort to obtain and maintain control, he added.

“Such fears have resulted in appropriate securities regulations being enacted and enforced with effectiveness, to combat the likely anticompetitive practices, diminished free market opportunities and limits placed thereby on individual initiative,” he said.

Therefore Mr. Jayaratne pointed out, it was deemed essential for effective market operation and growth and prosperity of nations and people that “Concentration” arising from the mergers of two or more previously independent undertakings, the acquisition of direct or indirect control (whether by purchase of securities or assets, by contract or otherwise) of the whole or parts of one or more other undertakings, or the establishment of a joint venture involving the acquisition of joint control of a full function joint venture undertaking are regulated and effectively controlled by a duly empowered regulator. The letter explained ‘control’ as: “Control” (both ‘sole control’ or ‘joint control’ in cohort with other undertakings, where the control arises from the joint initiatives of the separate undertakings in exercising decisive control) is exercised by rights, contracts or any other means, which either separately or in combination, confer the possibility of exercising decisive influence over an undertaking by a party acquiring the ability to determine an undertaking’s commercial strategy, irrespective of whether such acquisition allows majority or minority control by way of shareholding, but provides by way of the size of such shareholding, associated veto rights, rights of control over board appointments, other rights granted to shareholders explicitly or otherwise, empowering such a party to get adopted or block strategic commercial decisions including approval of annual budgets or business plans and appointments of key management.
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PLC deposit base hits Rs 41billion

People's Leasing and Finance PLC (PLC), a subsidiary of the People' Bank, is one of the leading leasing companies in Sri Lanka.

Sunday Observer Business spoke to People's Leasing and Finance (PLC) Chief Executive Officer and General Manager D.P. Kumarage for his views on the company.

Excerpts of the interview.

The leasing industry is going through a dull period. Many of the infrastructure projects are now being completed and unless new projects are launched, there will be a lull in the market.

As a leasing company, we are one of the market leaders with 20 percent market share. We strive hard to improve our market share.

The company which was selected as one of the 'Great Places to Work' was 18th among top-25 listed companies.

It has become one of Asia's promising brands. It has a deposit base of 41 billion.The profit for the year stood at 3.1 billion and the total asset base of the company was Rs. 114 billion. It has invested Rs. 66 million on CSR initiatives and Rs. 511 million on green financing.The PLC has won many awards. It was awarded the platinum in the competition class of annual reports in the finance industry, the platinum - most inspirational worldwide special achievements accolade in the overall competition category and ranked 5th among the top 100 rankings of the competition at the 2012 Spot Light Awards - Global Communications Competition organised by League of American Communication Professionals.

The company retained the coveted Gold award for the fifth consecutive year in the leasing sector at the Annual Report Awards organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. 

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Forbes Media Agrees To Sell Majority Stake To A Group Of International Investors To Accelerate The Company's Global Growth

– Forbes Family Welcomes Significant Investment by Investor Group –

– Investors Are Committed to Forbes’ Brand, Strategy, Values and Management –

– Forbes Family Will Retain Significant Interest; Current Management Team Will Remain in Place; Steve Forbes Will Continue as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Mike Perlis as President and CEO –

– Forbes Media will remain a privately-held, independent company headquartered in the U.S.; Company’s Asian business will continue to be led by Forbes Media CEO/Asia Will Adamopoulos –

NEW YORK (July 18, 2014) – Forbes Media LLC today announced an agreement under which a group of international investors will purchase a majority stake in the company. The Forbes family will retain a significant ownership stake, will stay actively involved in Forbes Media and will work with the investor group to further increase market share of the existing Forbes Media product lines in media, digital, technology, as well as brand extensions. Upon closing, Elevation Partners will fully exit its investment in Forbes Media. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The newly formed Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media Investments (“IWM”) is composed of international investors. The group is led by Integrated Asset Management (Asia) Limited (“IAM”). IAM, which was founded by Tak Cheung Yam, is a Hong Kong-based investment company primarily engaged in public and private equity investments, with expertise in telecommunications, finance and technology. Another significant investor in IWM, Wayne Hsieh is the Co-Founder of ASUSTeK Computer Inc., one of the world’s leading PC vendors and the No.1 motherboard manufacturer in the world. He is based in Singapore.

The investor group will provide capital, as well as financial and operational expertise, and intends to leverage its international relationships to strategically enlarge Forbes Media’s reach on a global scale. In partnership with IWM, Forbes Media will build on the wide and rapidly expanding appeal of the Forbes brand that today reaches approximately 75 million people worldwide with its business message through print, digital, TV, conferences, research, social and mobile each month. The group supports Forbes Media’s ongoing transformation into a global media, branding and technology company. Forbes Media is profitable and, in 2013, achieved its best financial performance in the last six years.

Forbes Media LLC will retain its operating name and will remain a privately-held, independent company headquartered in the U.S. Steve Forbes will maintain his role as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, and current President and CEO Mike Perlis will continue to lead the company’s management team. Forbes Media’s Asian business will continue to be directed out of Singapore under Forbes Media CEO/Asia Will Adamopoulos.

“This is a major milestone for the company and our family, and we’re pleased to partner with a forward-looking investor group to further drive the evolution and growth of this exceptional company,” said Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media. “Our partners respect our brand and values, and support our longstanding mission of championing entrepreneurship and free market capitalism through quality, independent business journalism. The best evidence of their commitment to what we stand for is their insistence on the continued involvement of the Forbes family, the current management and our highly talented editorial team. I will remain deeply involved in the future of the company.”

“We are investing in the Forbes brand, history, family involvement and a management team that is successfully transforming the company. Forbes Media is built around a brand that is synonymous with success and a mission that has tremendous respect and global appeal in established and growing markets around the world. As more market-based economies emerge globally, interest in the information that Forbes provides and the message it delivers resonates with a growing audience,” said Tak Cheung Yam, Chairman and Founder of IAM. “Given the tremendous growth of digital in the past decade, Forbes Media’s future plans will include additional internet and social media expansion projects. Together with the Forbes family and the management team, along with the appropriate strategic and financial support, we will find new ways to unlock the value of the Forbes brand.”

“We see enormous potential to extend the Forbes brand, building on its innovation and the solid foundation of a media company known for excellence in business journalism with an extensive print and digital footprint and a diverse array of branded products,” said Wayne Hsieh, Co-Founder of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

“This significant investment in the company is a strong endorsement of the global strength of our brand, as well as our progress and innovative plans for continued growth,” said Mike Perlis, President and CEO of Forbes Media. “We are combining the best of our historic legacy with an infusion of new resources, capabilities and expertise to accelerate Forbes Media’s global growth. We already work with members of IWM’s management through our existing real estate and financial services lines of business. Our partners fully appreciate the power of the Forbes brand to attract new audiences in diverse markets all over the world – a foundation we look forward to building on together.”

Forbes Media has built a diversified portfolio of assets, while maximizing the power of the Forbes brand across multiple categories, including media, digital, technology and branded products. In the U.S., Forbes magazine, the iconic front door to the Forbes brand, has increased its readership to more than 6 million. Internationally, since 2008, Forbes has expanded its publishing activities from 9 licensed local editions around the world to 36, covering 63 countries in 21 different languages. Forbes’ digital footprint has exponentially broadened as Forbes.com has transformed from a web site to a robust publishing platform. Currently, Forbes has 24 international web sites. The company’s growth has also been fueled by new brand extensions, including conferences, real estate, education, financial services and technology license agreements.

“Elevation has been a great partner with Forbes Media over the past eight years. This collaboration has enabled us to position ourselves for the next phase of growth that we see ahead with IWM,” added Steve Forbes.

Completion of the transaction is expected to take place this year and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Deutsche Bank served as financial advisor, and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP served as legal advisor to Forbes Media. Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) limited served as financial advisor, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &. Flom LLP and LKP Global Law LLP served as legal advisors. RSM Nelson Wheeler performed the financial and tax due diligence work for the investor group.

About Forbes Media

Forbes Media, publisher of Forbes, Forbes Asia and Forbes Life magazines and Forbes.com, is an authoritative source of news and information on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership and affluent lifestyles. The company has built a diversified portfolio of assets as part of its ongoing transformation into a global media, branding and technology company. The Forbes brand today reaches approximately 75 million people worldwide with its business message through Forbes and ForbesLife magazines and its 36 licensed local editions around the world, Forbes.com, TV, conferences, research, social and mobile each month. The Forbes magazine iPad app merges the power of print storytelling with social sharing and the web. Forbes Media’s brand extensions include conferences, real estate, education, financial services, and technology license agreements. The company plans to launch ForbesLife.com in September 2014.

About Integrated Whale Media Investments

Integrated Whale Media Investments (IWM) is a newly formed Hong Kong-based international investor group. Investors in IWM include Integrated Asset Management (Asia) Limited (“IAM”). IAM, which was founded and is chaired by Tak Cheung Yam, is a Hong Kong-based investment company primarily engaged in public and private equity investments, with expertise in telecommunications, finance and technology investments. Another significant investor in IWM, Wayne Hsieh is the Co-Founder of ASUSTeK Computer Inc., one of the world’s leading PC vendors and the No.1 motherboard manufacturer in the world. He is based in Singapore.

Sri Lanka stocks steady at over 33-month high

(Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks ended flat on Friday, hovering near a 33-month high struck on Wednesday as profit-taking in diversified shares was offset by gains in telecommunication shares, brokers said.

The island nation's share index has risen 5.39 percent so far this month as the yields in risk free treasury bills and the central bank's key monetary policy rates have fallen to multi-year lows amid continued foreign buying.

The main stock index edged up 0.33 points, to 6,722.2, near its highest close since Oct. 3, 2011 hit on Wednesday.

"Investors are positive as the interest rates have come down and the consumer demand is rising, which can have an impact on the banking sector," said Dimantha Mathew, manager research at First Capital Equities in Colombo.

The central bank on Monday kept policy rates steady at multi-year lows for a sixth straight month, as expected, despite private sector credit growth slowing to a 4-1/2-year low.

The index is in the overbought region since July 3. It has risen 13.69 percent so far this year, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Turnover was 1.3 billion rupees ($9.98 million), slightly above this year's daily average of about 1.09 billion rupees.

Foreign investors were net buyers of 62.4 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, extending net foreign inflows in stocks to 10.02 billion rupees so far this year.

Shares in Sri Lanka Telecom Plc rose 0.91 percent to 55.50 rupees, while large cap share Ceylon Tobacco Co Plc rose 0.86 percent to 1,112 rupees.

Hemas Holdings, a diversified conglomerate, fell 1.64 percent to 48.1 rupees.

Lower interest rates have prompted local investors to buy shares and shift their savings from unattractive fixed assets, analysts said, as yields on treasury bills edged down further at a weekly auction on Wednesday.

Analysts said foreigners have been buying risky assets because they see value in them, while falling yields in fixed assets gradually prompt local investors to shift to equities.

The market has been on a rising trend since late February due to continued foreign buying and lower interest rates. ($1 = 130.2000 Sri Lankan Rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Anand Basu)

Sri Lanka stocks close flat

July 18, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's stocks closed with a lackluster note on Friday amid low foreign participation, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 0.33 points higher at 6,722.20. The S&P SL20 closed 8.49 points lower at 3,738.98, down 0.23 percent.

Turnover was 1.30 billion rupees, up from 926.45 million rupees a day earlier with 108 stocks closed positive against 81 negative.

Lanka Ashok Leyland closed 2.90 rupees higher at 1,742.90 rupees with an off-market transaction of 403.47 million rupees changing hands at 1,800.00 rupees per share contributing 31 percent of the turnover.

John Keells Holdings closed flat at 245.00 rupees with market transactions of 224.23 million rupees contributing 17 percent of the turnover.

JKH’s W0022 warrants closed 1.90 rupees lower at 64.00 rupees and its W0023 warrants closed 70 cents lower at 73.00 rupees.

George Steuart Finance closed 80 cents higher at 47.70 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day.

Foreign investors bought 113.33 million rupees worth shares while selling 50.92 million rupees worth shares.

Ceylon Tobacco Company closed 9.50 rupees higher at 1,112.00 rupees and Nestle Lanka closed 9.20 rupees higher at 2,110.00 rupees.

Sri Lanka Telecom closed 50 cents higher at 55.50 rupees and Dialog Axiata closed 10 cents lower at 10.90 rupees.

Commercial Bank closed 1.00 rupee lower at 140.50 rupees and Commercial Leasing and Finance closed 10 cents lower at 4.20 rupees.

Australia's MRL Corporation finds high TGC graphite from Sri Lanka mines

July 17, Colombo: Shares of MRL Corporation, an Australian mining company exploring graphite in Sri Lanka, are expected to go up after the company revealed that the graphite found in its mines in Sri Lanka are of high-grade with up to 97.8% TGC (Total Graphitic Carbon).

MRL Corporation started coring activities at the first drill hole of its Pandeniya graphite project last month.

The graphite vein intersected last month in just the first diamond hole at interval 97.0m to 97.9m averaged 97% TGC with results TGC as high as 97.8% , the company said in a release.

Assays are from the Pandeniya - Priority 1 Area within the Warakopola Project Area in central Sri Lanka.

The significance of the results is that they confirm the presence of high-grade vein graphite within the first license to be systematically drill tested.

"The results confirm the presence of extremely high grade vein graphite within the Bopitiya / Pandeniya Priority 1 license,"Craig McGuckin, managing director said.

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.

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

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. 

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