SEC halts UDA debenture, calls for audited accounts
View(s):The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted the Urban Development Authority’s (UDA) Rs. 10 billion debenture issue and called for its audited accounts of 2012 and 2013, officials said.
The state entity was gearing to launch the bond for low-cost housing before last year end, but owing to the political changes it was put off. “When they had made a fresh application, we saw that they hadn’t audited their accounts for the past two years. Earlier they had approval to launch the debenture as they had got a state backed guarantee. Now they haven’t got it as the Treasury hasn’t done so,” a Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) official told the Business Times. This was also confirmed by a SEC official.
Last week the UDA sent the 2012 accounts to the CSE but the exchange is awaiting the 2013 accounts.
“We’re waiting to close our financials and then we will announce the debenture,” a UDA official told the Business Times.
He said the UDA had got calls daily from interested parties on this debenture last year as the earlier budget proposed an exemption on the interest or discount accruing from the investment in any Corporate Debt Security issued by on or after 1 January 2015. This is not the case now.