Bank of Ceylon opens subscription for Rs.8bn debenture in October
28 Sep 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Bank of Ceylon (BOC) is opening the subscription list of its Rupee debenture issue 2015 on October 01, 2015.
“Launching of this seventh listed debenture issue has been arranged while BOC retaining its position as the largest debenture issuer in the country, having issued debentures with par value of Rs 37 billion so far,” said S.M.S.C. Jayasuriya, Deputy General Manager -Investment, Treasury and International.
The debenture issue is for an offering of Rs. 5 billion with an option to increase it up to Rs. 8 billion in the event of an oversubscription. The Unsecured, Subordinated, Redeemable Debentures rated AA by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. are to be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in accordance with the provisional approval obtained.
The debentures have 5-year and 8-year maturities with fixed and floating coupon rates. Fixed coupon rates range from 8.24 percent to 9.5 percent while the floating coupon rate is 1.25 percent over and above the gross Treasury Bill Rate.
Debentures are offered at par value of Rs. 100 in five types to meet diverse investor requirements. The minimum subscription per application is Rs. 10,000 (or 100 debentures). Applications in excess of the minimum subscription shall be in multiples of Rs. 10,000 (100 debentures). Applications and prospectus containing further details of the debenture issue are now available at all trading members and members (stock brokers) of the Colombo Stock Exchange and websites www.cse.lk and www.boc.lk.
As per existing tax regulations investments in the debentures are entitled for tax exemptions, including withholding tax on interest income and capital gains (if any in case of premature disposal)
The 7th public debenture issue of BOC is also structured by the bank’s Investment Banking Division as in the previous issues.
Bank of Ceylon acts as the Managers, Registrars, Bankers & Lawyers to the proposed debenture issue while Deutsche Bank AG, Colombo branch is acting as the Trustee to the issue.
The debenture issue is priced considering the high credit worthiness indicated by the issue rating of AA affirmed by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd., minimal risk involved in the investment and the strong franchise enjoyed by Bank of Ceylon.
The funds raised through this debenture issue will be utilized for long term lending in development projects which in turn contribute to the Economic & Social Development of
Sri Lanka.
With 76 years of success, Bank of Ceylon is firmly established as Sri Lanka’s premier financial services organization. As Bankers to the Nation, Bank of Ceylon reaches out to every Sri Lankan through its branch network of 622 all of which offer online access and 547 ATM service points. Bank of Ceylon leads in the local banking industry as the biggest in terms of profit, assets, deposits, advances and foreignacurrency remittances. BOC now owns the biggest worldwide network with over 859 overseas correspondent banks and exchange companies. The Bank has three overseas branches located in Chennai, Male and Seychelles and wholly owned subsidiary in London.The Bank has passed exceptional milestones in recent years such as becoming the first to gain over Rs.1.0 trillion assets. BOC has over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of Sri Lanka. Focusing on the Banks achievement, Fitch Rating Lanka ranked the Bank of Ceylon at AA+ (lka) which is the highest rating awarded to a local commercial bank and ICRA (lk) awarded AAA rating which is the highest credit quality rating issued by
ICRA Lanka.