ComBank receives US $ 50mn equity from IFC

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon today announced the completion of all formalities relating to the private placement of shares with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the receipt of US$ 50 million (Rs.9.215 billion) from the latter for 115,197,186 ordinary voting shares in the Bank.

This is the first foreign equity placement by Commercial Bank, the first post-pandemic equity placement by the IFC and is one of the largest foreign investments into Sri Lanka since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank said.

The investment collectively makes the IFC, the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund LP (FIG Fund) and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund LP (EA Fund) the largest shareholder of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon and further strengthens the Bank’s shareholder composition by increasing its foreign shareholding up to 30 percent, enhancing credibility and confidence, especially among foreign investors.

The completed share allotment announced by Commercial Bank to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) indicates the IFC receiving 34,559,156 shares and the IFC FIG Fund and the IFC EA Fund receiving 40,319,015 each.