December 11, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 6, 1423

KARACHI, Dec 10: JCR-VIS credit rating company has placed the medium to long term rating of triple B minus and short term rating of A-3 assigned to Bank of Ceylon Karachi branch on rating watch.

“This action has been taken due to the fact that BoC is going to meet the State Bank of Pakistan’s minimum capital requirement of Rs1 billion by the deadline of January 1, 2003. Consequently, the management has decided to consider either a sale of its business within the SBP’s stipulated procedures or winding up its operations in Pakistan.”

JCR-VIS does not foresee any major hitches in the winding up process as the liquidity position of the bank is very strong and it should be easily able to satisfy the depositors, says a press release.