Seylan Bank raises $75 mln for biz development, SME growth
View(s):Seylan Bank has secured a long term funding facility of US$75 million from five separate financial institutions which would be used for general business development and improvement of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka.
The amount has been raised through three Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in Europe, a European based Investment Fund and a regional bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the bank said in a media release.
“It is the first time that we have partnered with three globally recognized and respected DFIs, an Investment Fund and a Regional Bank. Our partners have pledged commitment to support our loan growth and vision, with a specialized focus on the growth of Small & Medium Enterprises in Sri Lanka. This transaction is also significant as we have been able to secure five-year USD funding for this purpose,” said Ramesh Jayasekara, Chief Risk Officer of Seylan Bank.
The transaction entailed raising funds from five separate counterparts with $15 million from the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah of UAE. A second long term facility of $15 million was provided by Symbiotics – a Switzerland-based investment fund dedicated to providing inclusive and sustainable finance to small and medium enterprises in emerging markets.
The final facility of $45 million was provided by three European Development Financial Institutions – Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), Germany, OeEB – the Development Bank of Austria (OeEB) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) of Austria.
SME growth is a pivotal part of the economic development of the country and is also in line with Seylan’s SME business pillar, which is a key area of focus in the bank’s 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. The association of these three reputed DFI’s not only provides the bank access to long term funds – it also paves the way for technical assistance to augment our products and processes in order to be more productive and competitive in the SME sector, the release said.