Monday Aug 10, 2026
Monday Aug 10, 2026
Friday, 7 August 2026 00:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Nearly 29% minority stake of Commercial Credit & Finance PLC traded yesterday for a staggering Rs. 9 billion.
The seller was Group Lease Holdings Pte Ltd., (in liquidation), which, as at 30 June 2026, held 95.4 million shares or 29.99% stake.
Group Lease Holdings is a Singapore-registered investment and holding company and a subsidiary of Thailand-based Group Lease PCL. The company was ordered into compulsory liquidation by a Singapore court on 4 March 2024 following a massive unpaid judgement debt owed to J Trust Asia.
Commercial Credit overall saw 93.04 million shares change hands via 2,008 trades, generating a turnover of Rs. 9.39 billion before closing at Rs. 107.50, up by Rs. 1.75. Of that, 89 million shares were done via 98 crossings at Rs. 100.50 per share. Net assets per share as at 30 June 2026 was Rs. 116.85.
In the June 2026 quarter, the highest share price of Commercial Credit was Rs. 137 and the lowest was Rs. 108.75 before closing at Rs. 120.
Deals on Commercial Credit boosted the turnover at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to Rs. 12.2 billion, the second highest since the 8 January 2026 figure of Rs. 12.33 billion.
The shareholder with ownership and management control is B.G. Investments Ltd., and related parties who have a collective stake of over 51%. Public shareholding of Commercial Credit was 19% held by 7,541 shareholders.
Buyers included Phantom Investments of electronic media baron Rayynor Silva, funds managed by Lynear Wealth and Asia Securities.
The selling broker was Asia Securities, which said the block was acquired by a consortium of investors.
“This transaction represents two major milestones for the CSE,” Asia Securities added.
It was the largest book-built trade in CSE history, setting a new benchmark for structured institutional transactions and it was also the largest single trade on the CSE in 2026, delivering a major injection of investor confidence and liquidity amid recent market volatility driven by Middle East geopolitical tensions.
Apart from investor interest on Commercial Credit, the market also remained positive, with ASPI up over 102 points or 0.49% and the active S&P SL20 by 26 points.
Separately, Asia Securities said the market’s upward momentum was supported by CFIN (+4.5%), CTHR (+3.7%), DOCK (+2.4%), KHL (+2.3%), COCR (+1.7%), COMBN (+1.2%), DIAL (+0.5%), and MELS (+0.5%). CFIN (+14 points), COMBN (+13 points), CARG (+10 points), and CTHR (+8 points) closed the session as top positive contributors to the ASPI, while market breadth remained positive with 135 positive contributors and 79 negative contributors.
First Capital said the Diversified Financials sector dominated turnover with an 82% share, followed by the Retailing and Capital Goods sectors, which collectively contributed 11%. Meanwhile, foreign investors remained net sellers, recording a net outflow of Rs. 7.9 billion.
NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Commercial Credit and Finance, Lanka Milk Foods and Dialog Axiata. Mixed interest was observed in Sampath Bank, John Keells Holdings and Sierra Cables whilst retail interest was noted in SMB Leasing, Waskaduwa Beach Resort and HNB Finance.
The share price of Mercantile Investments and Finance moved down by Rs. 1.50 (6.38%) to Rs. 22.
Retailing sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to United Motors Lanka) whilst the sector index increased by 1.32%. The share price of United Motors Lanka closed flat at Rs. 26.50.
Sampath Bank and John Keells Holdings were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Sampath Bank recorded a loss of 25 cents to Rs. 136.25. The share price of John Keells Holdings closed flat at Rs. 20.
