Singer Sri Lanka debenture issue successfully concluded by Agora Securities and NDBIB

The Singer (Sri Lanka) Plc debenture issue of Rs. 3 billion concluded successfully recently. Agora Securities Ltd. and NDB Investment Bank Ltd. acted as Joint Financial Advisors and Managers to the issue.

The issue was oversubscribed and was closed on the same day. Singer decided to exercise the option to accept a further 10 million debentures (Rs. 1,000 million) in addition to the initial issue of 20 million debentures (Rs. 2,000 million) as there was strong demand for the issue, mostly from institutional investors.

Singer issued two types of Rated Unsecured Redeemable Senior Debentures with the option of a fixed or floating interest rate payable semi-annually over a tenure of three years. The debentures are rated ‘A- (lka)’ by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. and will be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.

The company proposes to utilise the entire proceeds of the debenture issue to finance its working capital requirements, to finance a three-year senior, listed, unsecured, rated, redeemable debenture issue due in May 2015, and to finance the senior, unlisted, unsecured, rated, redeemable debentures maturing in May, July and September. The proceeds from the debenture will also be utilised to finance a US dollar loan of the company maturing in 2015.

Singer Group Chief Executive Officer Asoka Pieris, commenting on the very successful debenture issue, stated: “We are very happy with the continued trust placed in Singer both by the public and the investor community. This is the second debenture issue within a span of five months, and both issues were oversubscribed on the opening day itself.”

Agora Securities Ltd. is a debt capital market specialist with a solid track-record of fundraising for a range of premier Sri Lankan corporates.

NDB Investment Bank Ltd. is a fully-owned subsidiary of NDB Capital Holdings Plc, which is a subsidiary of National Development Bank Plc, providing full-service investment banking services to its diverse clientele.