November 02, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank Ltd’s shareholders Thursday voted in favour of raising the bank’s authorised share capital and lifting the maximum shareholder limit to be on par with Central Bank guidelines. Sampath Bank may also be a possible takeover target once again, with a single shareholder making moves to own a bigger stake in the small bank, says CT Smith Stockbrokers. Shareholders representing 60 percent of the bank’s voting stock, attended today’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and agreed to raise the bank’s authorised share capital from 1.5 billion rupees to 5.0 billion rupees.
Those who voted in favour of the resolutions, accounted for 99.8 percent of the shareholders present.
In March, Sampath adjourned a shareholder meeting, as those present asked for more time to discuss a proposal to amend the Articles of Association, which restricts an investor from owning more than 5-percent of the bank.
Under the current Banking Act, the Central Bank restricts single ownership to 10 percent.
Sampath’s Chairman Edgar Gunatunga told shareholder that the bank has to amend its shareholder limit to stay on par with Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) listing rules and Securities & E
