NDB Investment Bank (NDBIB) continued to execute milestone transactions in 2019, reiterating its position as the unrivalled leader in investment banking in the country recording approximately Rs 62 billion in fund raisings.
All business segments, namely, equity raisings, debt capital markets and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) witnessed heightened levels of activity, despite macro-economic headwinds faced during the year. The shift towards equity and M&A transactions boosted fee income for the year whilst NDBIB’s footprint in overseas capital markets, particularly in the Maldives, helped sustain business volumes despite challenging market conditions in Sri Lanka.
NDBIB’s formidable performance included capital raising of approximately Rs 51.4 billion in debt, Rs 6.6 billion in equity and hybrid products and transactions valued at approximately R 4 billion via four M&A transactions. Being crowned the “Best Investment Bank in Sri Lanka” by the prestigious Euromoney Magazine for the eight consecutive year is another testament to NDBIB’s continued dominance in the investment banking space.
NDBIB enjoyed continued success in its regional transaction pipeline in 2019 with debt and equity capital raisings for Maldivian clients. This included the Rs 2.9 billion IPO of Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) and a USD 12.0 million syndicated revolving loan facility for a large fuel distributor in the Maldives. The IPO of MIB is the second such transaction managed by NDBIB in the Maldives subsequent to that of Ooredoo Maldives PLC, subsidiary of the Qatar based global telco. MIB’s IPO was oversubscribed by 1.5 times whilst pricing the shares at a significant premium to its only listed peer. NDBIB remains to date the only investment bank in Sri Lanka to undertake IPOs on foreign soil.
Darshan Perera, CEO of NDBIB, commenting on the 2019 performance stated, “Notwithstanding the sluggish macro-economic fundamentals that ensued during the year, we have once again showcased our adeptness across the region and all major segments of capital market activity. A case in point is, our role in the financial services industry, where we have been raising equity, debt, convertibles and involved in a series of M&A transactions” NDBIB also played a pivotal role in fostering business confidence in the market during the year, especially in real estate and healthcare industries. The joint structuring of a USD 25 million syndicated loan facility for an iconic residential real estate development in Colombo and raising Rs 2 billion via a loan facility securitizing future credit and debit card receivables for a leading healthcare operator illustrated NDBIB’s efforts to support key sectors of the economy. Kaushini Laksumanage, Chief Operating Officer of NDBIB, stated “Our ability to find innovative solutions to meet our clients’ needs has been the main ingredient of our success. We have been raising capital across currencies, fixed and floating rate structures, long tenures and from investors both local and foreign to achieve this result”.
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