NAMAL Unit Trust Management Company Launches IPO Fund to Capture Potential Upside and to Benefit from Preferential Allocation of 10pct

27th July 2011, print.dailymirror.lk

National Asset Management Ltd (NAMAL), the pioneer Unit Trust Management Company in Sri Lanka announced the launch of the NAMAL IPO Fund. The Fund has been launched to capture potential upside on mispriced IPOs (initial public offerings) as well as to benefit from the preferential allocation of 10% of the offered shares to the Unit Trust Investor Category.

The fund will invest at the IPO offering stage and in post-IPO securities for a period of one year.

The Fund is targeted at retail investors with a minimum investment of Rs. 10,000 and will enable retail investors to obtain a meaningful allocation without the hassle of applying for each individual IPO and obtaining bank guarantees.

Avancka Herat, Executive Director of NAMAL, stated that “Retail investors have faced a significant challenge in evaluating IPOs in recent times.

With many IPOs in the pipeline in the next few years, Investors in the Fund will benefit from the professional selection of IPO securities and portfolio management by NAMAL’s experienced fund management team”.

Unique features of the NAMAL IPO Fund are that it would invest in the post-IPO stage and in other equities in the market if the managers think that IPOs are not properly valued thus ensuring equity exposure for investors. The NAMAL IPO Fund will not charge an exit fee to investors even if they redeem within a short period of the initial investment. The NAMAL IPO Fund is licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka as an open-ended Unit Trust.

Charana Jayasuriya, Head - Sales & Structuring stated that “NAMAL IPO Fund joins the portfolio of open-ended unit trusts managed by NAMAL with different markets strategies and risk return objectives. NAMAL will continue to launch new opened ended funds to increase the range of individual investment options.”

Established in 1991, as the first Unit Trust Management Company in Sri Lanka, NAMAL has a 20-year track record of successfully investing in the Sri Lankan equity and debt markets. The flagship National Equity Fund has generated 16.9% annualised return for the last 19 years. NAMAL operates eight Unit Trusts including NAMAL Acuity Value Fund, the only listed Unit Trust, and the NAMAL Amana Fund, the only Shari’ah compliant Unit Trust.

In February 2011, Union Bank of Colombo PLC purchased 51% of NAMAL with Ennid Capital (Pvt) Ltd, an investment arm of Singapore based BP De Silva Holdings purchasing 19%. With founding shareholder DFCC Bank retaining a 30% shareholding, NAMAL is backed by the financial strength and stability of two of the leading banks in Sri Lanka. S Jeyavarman, CEO, stated that NAMAL Unit Trusts are now available from all Union Bank branches, as part of the strategy to offer new investment products to suburban and rural investors.

Related Info :

• Sri Lanka’s First Unit Trust Company NAMAL Leverages Market Position with Backing from Union Bank

• NAMAL Acuity Value Fund Declares First Dividends

• How to Investing in Unit Trusts - Introduction to Sri Lankan Unit Trust Industry

• Other Links on Funds and Unit Trusts

Union Bank Plans a Country Fund through NAMAL. Possibility of Listing is Singapore Explored

13th February 2011, www.sundaytimes.lk

Union Bank Ltd (UBL), which scored a double whammy this week by announcing its intention to go public by March end while acquiring a majority stake in Distilleries Company subsidiary, National Asset Management Ltd (NAMAL) is planning a country fund, UBL officials said.

“We will be creating a country fund for Sri Lanka and other emerging markets through NAMAL,” Alex Lovell, Deputy Chairman UBL and a high networth investor told the Business Times on the sidelines of UBL’s Initial Public Offering launch.

He added that NAMAL will shortly apply for regulatory sanctions pertaining to this fund. He said that the fund is still being structured and that they might explore twin listings here and abroad.

“We are exploring the possibility of listing this fund in a stable, highly regulated and a safe place such as Singapore,” he said. Distilleries subsidiary, Milford Holdings Pvt Ltd is selling a 70 % majority stake in pioneering unit trust firm, NAMAL for nearly Rs 455 million to two parties - UBL and Ennid Capital, the company in a statement said on Thursday.

It said a share sale agreement for UBL to purchase 51%, while Ennid Capital Pvt Ltd will buy 19% in NAMAL. Ennid Capital is Sri Lankan Jeweller, B.P. de Silva’s investment arm.

UBL IPO is slated to raise Rs. 375 million. The bank is offering 15 million shares at Rs. 25 in three categories of 1.5 million for employees, 2.25 million for customers that have maintained accounts for a minimum of 6 months as at 31 January 2011 and 11.25 million shares for investors.

Through this IPO UBL plans to carry out branch expansion and mobilisation of low cost funds, expand while leveraging of e-channels, focus on priority sectors in the economy for credit, and carry out trade financing, expand their capital market operationsand share trading, introduce banking for the bottom of the pyramid (bare-foot banking), implementation of a core banking system to increase efficiency and resource utilization and risk management system for prudent credit pricing and monitoring and focused recoveries.

Related Info :
• NAMAL Acuity Value Fund Declares First Dividends

• Sri Lanka Unit Trusts Attract Rs1.5bn New Funds in First Ten Months of 2010

• Ceylon Tourism Fund to Benefit by Sector Boom. Banking & Tourism to Top Colombo Stock Exchange in 2011