Little Peep

Pan Asia Banking Corp., a small Sri Lankan bank that returned to profitability last year, plans to list on the Colombo bourse by the end of next month, taking advantage of positive market sentiment.







Pan Asia Banking Corp., a small Sri Lankan bank that returned to profitability last year, plans to list on the Colombo bourse by the end of next month, taking advantage of positive market sentiment. PABC Bank expects to list 55 million shares at Rs.



10 per share, on the secondary board of the stock exchange, Bradley Emerson, the bank's deputy chief executive, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.

The small listing won't involve a public issue of shares, but it's likely to attract local institutional investors through a private placement, analysts said.

The bank had accumulated losses worth Rs. 220 mn in 2003, and made a profit of Rs.

30 million in the nine months to September 2004, its first profit in four years after recording a net loss of Rs. 95 million in 2003.

The company hasn't announced full-year earnings for 2004 yet.

"There won't be a public issue of shares.

(The sale) will be done to allow shareholders who have been supporting the bank to get some return on