Yenom awaiting class listing approvals

Environment Resources Investments Plc (ERIP) (formally Walker and Greig - W and G) is awaiting approval by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list classes of shares dealing in assets of a company on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

"We communicated with the SEC in January this year regarding this matter and submitted an application on February 11th to list class A and Class B shares on the CSE," G. Scott Newsome, Partner Yenom (Pvt) Ltd, which runs the investment interest of ERIP told The Sunday Times FT. He explained that Class A deals with a local company getting approval to invest in foreign assets, which needs exchange control approval whereas Class B shares deal with local investments.

"We have also submitted an application to the Exchange Control department of the Central Bank in order to list Class A shares," he added.

Newsome said that with ERIP as an investment vehicle, Yenom has advised the investors to segregate the assets of local and foreign investors. "Both Class A and Class B will be run by ERIP," he added. Official sources at SEC said the SEC team met on Tuesday to discuss the application and decided to have further discussions with the Yenom team on the matter. He said Newsome had spoken to them about the new structure seven to eight months ago, but the application was sent only in February. “The SEC wanted them to submit an application after numerous telephone discussions, which they did less than a month ago,” he said. Newsome added that when Ceylon Leather Products and People's Merchant Bank investments were done the proposed class investment structure was not approved by the SEC. "At the time our investors felt these were opportunities. That is the reason they invested," he said.

He said there are several investors who are aspiring to become investors in Sri Lanka through ERIP. "Presently they are on a wait and see policy, awaiting how ERIP will evolve as a true holding company," he added.

Newsome noted the reason to invest in W & G was because the company did not have any legal issue and was a 'clean' company for a fairly small amount of Rs.75 million. He added the proposed rights issue of ERIP will be facilitated through the classes of shares once approved by the SEC.