Ceylon Financial Sector Fund Invests in Banking & Insurance Sector which Outperformed Share Market in Sri Lanka

30th October 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

A new Sri Lankan investment fund that opened for subscription Friday is targeting the banking sector which is seen doing well given the need for funding to fuel an economic boom, officials said.

Deutsche Bank and Ceylon Asset Management (CAM) Company have set up the Ceylon Financial Sector Fund to invest in banking, finance and insurance companies which have outperformed the share market this year.

The sector is forecast to grow strongly given accelerating economic growth after the end of the island's 30-year ethnic war in May 2009, officials said.

Fund units are offered at 10 rupees each with a minimum investment of 10,000 rupees.

"The banking sector has outperformed the All Share Price Index," Dulindra Fernando, managing director of CAM told a news conference.

"We've created this fund that enables investors to capture part of this booming industry. It is an open-ended fund, fully tax exempt and money can be withdrawn anytime."

CAM Company is a joint venture between Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation which has a 25 percent stake and Ceylon Capital Trust which has 75 percent.

The fund will minimise risk by eliminating speculative trading and daily valuations and the fund's portfolio content will be disclosed on the company website daily.

The 10 companies the fund will initially invest in are Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank, Lanka Orix Leasing Company, DFCC Bank, Sampath Bank, National Development Bank, Nations Trust Bank, Central Finance, Seylan Bank and Aviva NDB Insurance.

The fund's maximum exposure limit to one company is 15 percent.

"The sector is in very good shape particularly with non-performing loans in the range of five percent with the exception of Seylan Bank," Fernando said.

"In current economic scenario we see banking sector growth being driven by low interest rates,, excess liquidity in the financial sector and hopefully a VAT (value added tax) reduction for the financial sector in the next budget," he said.

"We expect many new projects to need financing in the fast growing sectors of the economy."

Related Info:
Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tourism Fund by CAM with Deutsche Bank to Invest 0.5bn in 10 Key Leisure Companies

Deutsche Bank to provide Mobile Authorisation in Sri Lanka for the International Air Transport Association (IATA)

24th October 2009, www.dailymirror.lk

Deutsche Bank announced that it is the first provider to successfully implement mobile authorisation for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Sri Lanka, a global trade organisation for airlines and airline agents.

Leveraging on the latest mobile push technology, this advanced web-based mobile authorisation feature allows corporate users to benefit from mobility in electronic-transactional authorization via easy access to transactional information with their smart-phone without the constraints of geography and time. The authorisers, in turn, will benefit from real-time access to information on pending transactions and responses on authorisation results.

First to be launched in Sri Lanka, Deutsche Bank’s mobile authorisation is the only authorisation option in the market with a non-repudiation support feature. Stringent security measures are in place to ensure the secure delivery and confirmation of transaction authorisations. This integrated mobile technology is available via db-direct internet, the bank’s web-based platform, which is part of db channel and information solutions. This is an addition to db direct internet’s two existing modes of authorisation, online and remote token authorisation.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is Deutsche Bank’s first client in Sri Lanka to experience the mobile authorisation solution. As an intermediary between airlines and cargo and airline agents, IATA is responsible for the Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) in Sri Lanka. Deutsche Bank has been the local BSP Clearing and Settlement Bank for IATA since 2005.

Asanka Ranhotty, head of cash management corporates for Deutsche Bank in Sri Lanka said, “We understand that corporate executives responsible for authorising payments need to access electronic transactional information while on the move. Mobile authorisation allows our clients access to electronic transactional information at their convenience. This is key in today’s business environment where optimising working capital and managing liquidity efficiently take precedence. As pioneers in mobile authorisation, we expect more clients to upgrade to this enhanced value-added feature.”

Deutsche Bank was recently named Best Transaction Bank and Best Cash Management Bank in Sri Lanka, and Best Transaction Bank and Best Cash Management Specialist for Corporates in Asia Pacific, in The Asset Triple A Transaction Banking Awards 2009.