CSE News Updates

Plans to strengthen investment banking operations and tap into DBS Bank’s distribution capabilities

South East Asia’s largest bank, Singapore’s DBS Bank yesterday partnered with Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank (NDB) to strengthen investment banking operations.
 NDB group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DBS Bank Singapore to work on equity and fixed income issuances, syndications, project financing and mergers and acquisitions. DBS Bank is also the largest bank in Singapore with over 200 branches across 15 markets.

“Irrespective of form, future fund raising requirements may not be able to be handled within Sri Lanka, CEO NDB Bank Russel De Mel stated. “Therefore our clients will have to resort to international markets, regional markets to fill the gap. This is why this type of partnership is important to the country.”
NDB Bank CEO Vajira Kulatilaka remarked that Sri Lanka needs capital for infrastructure development, setting up of large scale projects and for expansions. “This MOU will enable us to tap the distribution capabilities of DBS Bank while meeting the capital requirements of our clients,” he said in a press statement.

The MOU would open up new avenues for Sri Lankans to access technology and global markets through partnerships and mergers and acquisitions. DBS Bank is active in these spheres and in economic “hotspots” in Asia.
“Over the years DBS has built up significant capital markets expertise and established a broad investor base in Singapore and elsewhere in the region. With our impressive track record in Singapore and our growing Asian franchise, increasingly, DBS has been facilitating more cross-border deals in the equity, debt and syndications space. This collaboration will further create opportunities for DBS to offer seamless regional creativity to customers and to intermediate the increasing investment flows within Asia.”
NDB Group is a financial conglomerate offering project finance, corporate banking, SME lending, retail banking, investment banking, stock brokering, wealth management and insurance solutions under one roof. The group also operates in the Maldives and Bangladesh.

source - www.ft.lk