Commercial Bank to raise Rs 1 b through debenture issue

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has received the Colombo Stock Exchange approval to list its debt securities on the Main Board of the CSE.

Commercial Bank will raise Rs 1 billion through 500,000 unsecured, subordinated , redeemable debentures at an issue price of Rs 1,000 each ,with an option to issue up to a further 500,000 debentures in the event the initial 500,000 is oversubscribed.

The funds will be used for Tier II Capital Adequacy in expectation of the large credit growth which is anticipated , a Commercial Bank senior official told Daily News Business. The date of opening of the subscription list is March 27, 2012. The prospectus would be delivered to member firms /trading members on March 16, 2012.

The bank has also spelled out plans to new markets such as Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia in a bid to be a regional player.

ComBank also posted a profit after tax of Rs. 8 billion during 2011 and already has made its presence felt in Bangladesh with 17 delivery points.

The ATM network of the Commercial Bank connected its 500th terminal, further consolidating its status as the largest electronic cash dispensing system owned by a single bank in Sri Lanka.

The annual report of the Commercial Bank has been adjudged the best among the financial sector companies in the SAARC region every year since 2001,while its 2004 annual report was selected as the best among all categories in the region, making the bank the most consistent winner of these awards in South Asia. IH