NDB Investment Bank (NDBIB) won the coveted ‘Best Investment Bank in Sri Lanka’ award for 2015 by the prestigious Euromoney Magazine. 

The award was presented at a gala ceremony held at the Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong recently, attended by global and regional powerhouses in banking and investment banking. 

With a legacy dating back to 1997, NDBIB has a proven history of leadership in Sri Lankan capital markets and has secured this award for four consecutive years since the introduction of Euromoney awards for investment banking in Sri Lanka.  

Euromoney in a statement highlighted: “NDBIB secures bragging rights as best investment bank in Sri Lanka for the fourth year in a row. It is the country’s largest full service investment bank and has raised US $ 140 million for clients through equity sales and debt prints over the past year.”

Vajira Kulatilaka, the CEO of NDB Capital Holdings, the holding company of capital market operations of the NDB group, stated, “We are delighted to see the full service investment banking model coming into fruition. It’s heartening to see award-winning NDBIB securing numerous new mandates to provide best-in-class advice and services to clients whilst using the entire strength of the group to support transactions organised by NDBIB.”

NDBIB recorded a commendable performance for the year 2014, despite challenging capital market conditions. The company continued  its  dominant  presence  in  both  debt  and  equity  capital  markets  in  Sri  Lanka  having  advised  several  landmark transactions  through its diverse offerings.  The total funds raised by NDBIB during the year 2014 for its clients amounted to Rs.30.2 billion.

NDBIB CEO Darshan Perera commenting on the award stated, “We are indeed honoured and privileged to be awarded the Best Investment Bank in Sri Lanka for four years in a row. Euromoney award gives us both local and global recognition for our team and showcases the quality of their talent in investment banking and the confidence our clients have in us and our capabilities.”

He reiterated that this recognition substantiates NDBIB’s consistency in maintaining a high level of excellence in providing innovative solutions as well as the benchmark it has set for the peers in the industry. 

NDBIB COO Kaushini Laksumanage stated, “We are honoured to receive the Euromoney award at this juncture. We’ve had a successful first two quarters for 2015 while maintaining market leadership for listed debentures. We’re increasingly looking at playing a regional role having already executed several cross border fund raising transactions.”

During 2014, NDBIB extended its  market  leadership  in  debt capital markets having  raised  a  total  of  approximately  Rs.21  billion,  despite  subdued  market  conditions  caused  by excess  liquidity,  availability  of  low-cost  short-term  funding  and  speculation  on  further  monetary easing, with all issues being oversubscribed within hours of opening.  

Further, NDBIB  executed  a  pioneering  Islamic  banking  product  by  successfully  structuring  and  placing  a Wakala facility for a company in the power and energy sector.  Adding to its list of achievements, last year NDBIB acted as the manager and financial advisor for the acquisition of Hemas Power PLC (later renamed as Resus Energy).

NDBIB advised the management of Resus Energy on structuring a management buyout by putting together a consortium of equity investors, raising Rs.1.7 billion. NDBIB  also arranged  debt  financing  for  the  acquisition  and  acted  as  the  financial  advisor  to  the subsequent  mandatory  offer  (as  per  Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)  regulations). NDBIB has also been mandated to raise Rs.1 billion in debt financing to facilitate a restructuring of the Resus Energy group.

Marking  a  momentous  leap  in  the  capital  markets,  NDBIB  was  instrumental  in  structuring and initiating the launch  of Sri Lanka’s largest and first PE fund with participation  of  multilateral agencies, the ‘Emerald Sri Lanka Fund 1’, jointly managed by NDB Capital and Zephyr Management  LP. The  fund  attracted  prominent  institutions  such  as  IFC,  DEG  and  FMO  as limited  partners  raising  c.US $  42.5  million. This is a rare instance in which such multilateral agencies have participated together.

NDBIB believes that the factors that supported capital raising in 2014 are likely to be sustained and be improved towards the latter part of 2015, propelling a fresh round of robust activity. Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence recognise institutions that demonstrate leadership, innovation and momentum in global financial markets. The accolades cover more than 20 global product categories and include best-in-class awards in all regions and recognitions for the best banks in close to 100 countries.