Island Deal

Sept 02, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Acuity and Millennium Capital Management (MCM) Holdings of Maldives is partnering to provide investment banking services in the archipelago with deals worth 55 million US dollars in the pipeline, officials said.







Acuity, a unit of Sri Lanka's listed DFCC Bank and Hatton National Bank is working with MCM Holdings initially to finance hotel sector firms in the tourist paradise, Acuity chief Ray Abeywardena said.

But he said there was potential in healthcare and education.

MCM Holdings chairman Mohamed Jaleel, a former state minister for finance and a governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority said a fully fledged investment banking service provider was needed by businesses in the archipelago for years.

"Maldives' economy is driven by the tourism," Jaleel said.

"One of the first projects we will enter will be in tourism.



We will find other potential areas in due course."

Shehan Cooray, who heads of Acuity's corporate finance division, said the partnership was working on a 15 million US dollar debt syndication for an undisclosed leisure firm and about 40 million dollars worth other deals were being looked at.

The firm was securitizing lease receivables from an investor who had sub-leased a