NDB Investment Bank raises 38bn in 2011
NDB Investment Bank (NDBIB), the premier investment bank in Sri Lanka, concluded its most successful year to date, raising approximately Rs.38 billion funds and retaining its unrivalled position as the market leader in investment banking.
“We are proud to have retained our leadership as the dominant force in investment banking in Sri Lanka, having successfully met the diverse capital requirements of our valued clients, in exploiting the g rowth prospects of the economy,” Vajira Kulatilaka, Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Banking Cluster of the NDB group, commenting on this feat said.
NDBIB raised over Rs.13 billion through securitisations in 2011. These funds mainly supported the growth of finance and leasing com- panies, with approximately Rs.5 billion being raised for finance companies, over Rs.4 billion for leasing companies and the remainder being raised for ag ricultural and consumer durable companies.
In the debt arena, a further Rs.9 billion was raised via debentures, syndications and other debt instruments.
NDBIB successfully raised funds for its clients from tourism,
c o ns umer d ur abl e s, b a nki ng and agricultural sectors in addition to leasing and finance sector, whilst expanding its product portfolio with the introduction of Islamic Financing products during the year.
NDBIB raised over Rs.16 billion in equity capital for the year 2011. On the Initial Public Offering front, NDBIB managed two landmark IPOS during the year: Union Bank PLC and People's Leasing Company PLC.
The IPO of Union Bank made hi s t o r y o n t he Col o mbo S t o ck Exchange by recording an overs ubsc r i p t i o n o f 3 4 5 t i mes, t he highest ever in the history of the bourse, raising a total subscription of over Rs.129 billion.
T hi s I PO was p re c e d e d by a private placement which raised Rs.847 million by way of an innovative tender process. The IPO o f Pe o p l e 's L e a s i n g C o mpany which raised over Rs.7 billion, was the second largest IPO on the Colombo bourse, ranking after that of Dialog Axiata PLC. NDBIB acted as the manager and financial advisor to the issue of the Dialog IPO.
In addition to its dominance in the debt and equity market, the Corporate Advisory division managed three mergers and acquisition transactions in 2011, involvi ng c o mpanies i n t he t o uri s m, food and beverage and manufacturing sectors.
F u r t h e r, NDBIB c a r r i e d o u t several cor porate restructuring transactions and numerous valuation exercises for both listed and unlisted companies from a diverse rang e of i ndustries including hot e l s, manuf a c t ur i ng, p l a nt a - tions, hydro power etc.
Commenting on this stellar perfor mance, NDB Investment Bank CEO Darshan Perera stated, “We have been able to successfully for- tify our service offering by executing landmark transactions in all major areas of expertise, particularly mergers and acquisitions. There is enor mous potential in this space and we hope to build on our experience and expertise to continue to play a dominant role in executing major transactions, both debt and equity, that drive o ur c api t a l markets t o g re at e r heights, whilst making the economy more efficient.”
In 2011, the company continued to revolutionise the investment banking arena of the country with the signing of a landmark strate gic alliance between the NDB g roup and DBS Bank, Sing apore. This alliance, which focuses on investment banking activities, gives NDBIB access to a large base of clients and investors through the global network of DBS. Emboldened by this new p a r t ne r s hi p, NDBIB l o o ks fo rward to a successful year ahead, building upon its strong foundations through the NDB group and its many astounding successes in 2011.