Access Engineering in Rs 500 m IPO

To enhance capacity, broadbase ownership:

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Access Engineering Limited will float an initial public offering of 20 million new shares at Rs. 25 each amounting to a total of Rs. 500 million (at the same price private placement shares were issued) which will be a 2% stake in the post IPO stated capital. Access has already got approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission as well by from the Colombo Stock Exchange for this. The issue opens on March 6, and will close on March 9 unless already over subscribed. The company also raised Rs. 4,500 million in June 2010, with a private placement recently.

Speaking about the achievements and future prospects of the company, Chairman of Access, Sumal Perera, said, “We believe that to meet the expectations of all our stakeholders and the country at large, the engineering and construction industry has a major role to play.”

“In order to do so, it was important for the company to enhance its capacity and by broad basing its ownership with a 18% private placement (Rs. 4,500 million) and 2% IPO stake (Rs. 500 million) in addition to making its employees co-owners of the company, by gifting a 12% stake to them (Rs. 3 billion), we believe that the company has been able to create a very strong platform and now poised to benefit from the many infrastructure development, engineering and construction projects taking place in the country”.

He said that since Access is the only 100% local Engineering entity in the stock market they would keep on concentrating in this field as there is tremendous growth potential in Sri Lanka as well. “We do not want to diversify to leisure and other fields since there are many players in them,” he told Daily News Business.

To date the company has been involved in a diverse range of construction and infrastructure projects in varied sectors such as roads and highways, bridges and flyovers, water and waste management, harbours and marine work, dredging and reclamation, telecommunication, irrigation and land drainage, piling and environment and waste management.

Many of these projects have been of very high national priority in Sri Lanka’s attempt to improve its infrastructure to international standards. “We are also looking at overseas opportunities,” he said.

The company has also been involved in some of the largest infrastructure development projects in the country, funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, JBIC-Japan, SIDA-Sweden, DANIDA-Denmark and ECGD-United Kingdom, etc. Other major projects undertaken by AEL include the Dehiwela, Kelaniya and Nugegoda flyovers, the Aluthgama, Udawalawe, Beruwela, Hambantota and Batticaloa water supply projects, rising of the Unnichchai Tank, implementation of a fiber optic network and rehabilitation of the A9 Road.

Established in 2001, Access Engineering Limited has established itself as a leading construction company offering innovative value engineering solutions comprising design, procurement, construction and commissioning of numerous multi disciplinary engineering projects for both the government and private sector of Sri Lanka.