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Summary of Project Information (SPI)

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Project number	9293
Project name	Nations Trust Bank (formely Deshiya Bank/John Keels Holding Bank)
Country	Sri Lanka
Sector	Finance & Insurance
Department	Global Financial Markets Group
Company name	Nations Trust Bank
Environmental category	FI
Date disclosed	December 8, 1998
Status	Completed
Previous Events	Invested: March 22, 1999 Signed: February 17, 1999 Approved: February 17, 1999

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)

Project Name	Sri Lanka-Deshiya Bank

Region	Asia

Sector

Project No009293
Projected Board DateJanuary 28, 1999
Company NameDeshiya Bank
Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders

John Keells Holdings Limited and Central Finance Co. Ltd. of Sri Lanka, the two sponsors, are well-established, publicly listed companies with a wide shareholders base.

Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment

The bank will have a capital of Sri Lankan Rupees 500 million (approx US$7.35 million). IFC's proposed investment is 15% of the capital.

Location of project and Description of site

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Description of Company and Purpose of Project

IFC has been invited to invest up to a 15% equity stake in a new private sector commercial bank in Sri Lanka to be called Deshiya Bank. The Bank is sponsored by two strong groups, John Keells Holdings and Central Finance which will hold 25% and 20% respectively, the balance will be offered to select institutional investors through a private placement. Through this project IFC will help to establish and develop a strong private sector commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The country’s banking sector is dominated by two state banks which account for 60% of total commercial bank assets. The presence of an efficient private sector commercial bank is expected to increase competition and to stimulate greater efficiency, innovation and growth in Sri Lanka’s banking sector

Environmental Category and Issues

This is a category FI Tier 1 project according to IFC’s environmental review procedure. The Bank must attend IFC’s workshops on environmental management; implement an environmental management system for relevant operations to ensure that investments comply with host country requirements; and submit an annual environmental performance report briefly describing the performance of the environmental management system.

Date SPI sent to InfoShop

December 18, 1998

“This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of consideration of the proposed transaction by the Corporation’s Board of Directors. It is provided for the purpose of enhancing the transparency of IFC’s activities and should not be construed as presuming the outcome of IFC Board consideration.”
For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -
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