Category: Companies

April 17, 2008 (LBO) “Global Telecommunication Holdings (GTH), a Netherlands incorporated unit through which Malaysia’s UT group is trying to acquire control of Sri Lanka Telecom, has raised its stake in the telco, brokers said Thursday. GTH bought over 6.7 million shares of SLT at 49 rupees per share Thursday, CT Smith Stockbrokers, which bought […]

March 5, 2008 (LBO) – Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank has won a deal to raise up to 300 million dollars for Sri Lanka, priced 259 to 370 basis points above London benchmark rates, the government’s debt office said. . Standard Chartered has been mandated to raise 150 million dollars and go up to a […]

Feb 25, 2008 (LBO) – Credit rating agency Lanka Ratings was re-branded as RAM Ratings (Lanka) Limited following a reorganization of its Malaysian parent company RAM Holdings Berhad, Monday. RAM Holdings, an affiliate of the world’s largest ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P), plans to expand regionally following the re-branding process. Suresh Menon, executive director […]

Oct 09, 2007 (LBO) – Standard and Poor’s has confirmed Sri Lanka’s B+ sovereign rating on the eve of a maiden global bond offer, but warned that excessive commercial borrowing could reduce support for the rating. Fitch Ratings had given the bond a BB- rating, a notch higher than S&P but with a negative outlook. […]

May 16, 2007 (LBO) – Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, a subsidiary of Bank of Ceylon, is considering diversifying into property development to boost its profitability and revenue composition.MBSL also commenced granting personal loans apart from its leasing and hire purchase portfolio, the bank said in a statement on its debenture issue that opened last […]

April 20, 2007 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom’s five billion rupee preference share issue had been rated AA+ (lka), a notch below the telco’s senior debt rating of AAA (lka), Fitch Ratings said Friday. The company is 87.67 percent owned by Telekom Malaysia Berhad. “The one-notch difference between the issuer and preference shares’ ratings reflects the […]

January 8, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon plans to tap the international capital markets early this year to raise 100 million dollars via a three-year syndication loan, a senior official said. The deal, arranged with sole bookrunner HSBC, was earlier scheduled for late last year.Bank of Ceylon was forced to pull […]

January 4, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank Thursday secured a A+(lka) rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka for its upcoming four year 300 million rupee debenture issue. The rating reflects Sampath’s relatively good profitability, improving asset quality, enhanced provision coverage and resulting good solvency, Fitch said. Sampath’s capitalisation levels have decreased due to loan […]

December 21, 2006 (LBO) – International rating agency Standard & Poor’s Thursday retained Sri Lanka’s B+ rating, but warned the island needs to make headway to tackle reforms and make a tangible progress in settling its long running separatists conflict. In April S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s credit outlook to negative from stable, amidst an escalation […]

December 18, 2006 (LBO) – Consumer goods giant Singer (Sri Lanka) is issuing a 300 million rupee debenture to support its growing hire purchase business. The unsecured four-year issue will not be listed but will carry a A+(lka) rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd, Singer’s Company Secretary, Asoka Pieris said Monday. Earlier in the year, […]

November 29, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon is coming out with a debt issue to meet Central Bank’s new capital requirement and fund ongoing credit expansions, officials said Wednesday. The island’s biggest private bank in terms of assets, is issuing a 1.5 billion rupee debenture with tenures ranging from 5-10 years. […]

November 13, 2006 (LBO) – HDFC Bank, Sri Lanka’s largest housing bank, retained its ‘AA-(lka)’ rating for their home loan securitization trust series, Fitch Ratings Lanka said Monday. The rating is for the timely interest payment and the ultimate payment of principal. The pass-through certificates or PTCs are backed by a pool of residential mortgage […]