Business

ComBank, one of 10 ‘Most Admired Companies’ in Sri Lanka for 4th consecutive year

Published

2 years ago

2021/10/13

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has once again been included among the 10 ‘Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka’ in the annual list compiled by the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

This is the fourth consecutive year that Sri Lanka’s biggest private sector bank has been ranked among the top 10 companies in this list, which was launched in 2018.

Commenting on this prestigious accolade, Commercial Bank Managing Director S. Renganathan said: “The past year has been adverse for companies in general, but we believe it is how we have responded to the challenges of the pandemic and its impacts on our customers, that has earned us the admiration of the people. Our performance was achieved with an extremely balanced approach that considered the interests of all stakeholder groups, with an emphasis on those most vulnerable.”

Open to both listed and unlisted companies, the ICCSL-CIMA Most Admired Company Awards recognise entities that are a cut above the rest in terms of not just their financial performance but also the value they create for their shareholders, customers, employees, and the wider community in general. Commercial Bank was recognised as a company that inspires other organisations and entrepreneurs by proving its mettle with consistency, authority and sustainable growth, creating excellent business performance.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s Strongest Bank Brand in 2021 by Brand Finance, Commercial Bank of Ceylon ended 2020 with total assets of Rs 1.763 trillion, gross income of Rs 151.966 billion, net profit of Rs 16.373 billion, a deposits base of Rs 1.287 trillion and a loan book of Rs 961.859 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, the Bank had the distinction of becoming the first private bank in the country to have three key balance sheet indicators exceeding Rs 1 trillion, with total assets of Rs 1.935 trillion, total deposits of Rs 1.4 trillion and a loan book of Rs 1.034 trillion as at 30th June 2020.

One of the highlights of the Bank’s performance in 2020 was the confirmation by the Ministry of Finance that it was the biggest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector among all state-owned, private and specialised banks in the country, accounting for more than a fifth of all loans in terms of value and number. Commercial Bank lent Rs 163.98 billion or 21.57% of the Rs 759.7 billion in loans provided to SMEs by 19 institutions, while the 58,584 loans provided by the Bank represented 23.82% of the total of 245,883 loans granted in the pandemic-impacted year.

Commercial Bank was also the leader in providing financial relief, especially to SMEs, under the Government stimulus package during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.

Another noteworthy recent milestone was the Bank’s achievement of carbon-neutral status, becoming the first Bank in Sri Lanka to have completely balance its environmental footprint.

The first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 931 automated machines in Sri Lanka. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.

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Business

Cabinet approves rationalization of VAT exemptions and abolition of SVAT System

Published

11 hours ago

2023/06/6

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers granted concurrence to the resolution forwarded by the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies to remove most of the releases from Value Added Tax (VAT), further retaining releases that ease the pressure on low – income families to secure the fundamental sectors of the economy as well as the releases for sectors such as education, health and agriculture, as well as to revise the provisions applicable for the Value Added Tax (VAT) act so that the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) methodology can be canceled with effect from 01.01.2024 by introducing a more formal methodology for repaying the Value Added Tax (VAT) and to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a draft bill for the purpose.

Business

Venora Lanka Power Panels to set up assembly plant in Australia

Published

16 hours ago

2023/06/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sagara Gunawardene

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

Sri Lanka- based, export- oriented manufacturer, Venora Lanka Power Panels (Pvt) Ltd, with a state of the art electric panel factory at the Export Processing Zone, Biyagama, will set up an assembly plant in Australia.

“Once we set up the electric panel assembly plant in Australia, we will export all our panels from Sri Lanka and that plant will do 30 percent value addition to the product to supply that market, the company’s chairman/ Managing Director, engineer Sagara Gunawardena told The Island Financial Review.

Gunawardena said that the company is a value- addition assembly plant and he would be investing AUS $ 2 million for the project to be set up in Melbourne and hire 100 engineers and other professionals. He explained that the venture has enormous potential.

Venora Lanka provides power panels to mega projects in Sri Lanka and exports to Bangladesh, Maldives, Kenya, Ethiopia, Seychelles and Myanmar. Panel assembling is strictly in compliance with IEC 61439 standards, it was explained.

Gunawardena added: ‘I firmly believe that, being a truly customer focused organization, every employee and every process in the organization has to be aligned behind delighting customers. Therefore, at a time when the country is facing a major dollar crisis, my company would be aiming at bringing dollars into the country, while providing employment for local professionals, especially engineers.

‘At Venora Lanka we do not try to change customers’ mindsets. Instead, we take time to understand what they really want and focus our brand on delivering that. Venora is values- driven first and cost- driven second – creating a unique brand proposition.

‘Since the US dollar rate has come down, it is our concern that importers and suppliers do not change their prices, which is really affecting the manufacturing sector.

Company sources added: ‘The company has several wings of operation, such as local and overseas projects, switch board assembling, telecommunication infrastructure installations, earthing, lighting and surge protection, incorporating world renowned brands.

‘Venora Lanka Power Panels is the first Sri Lankan company to receive the licence, in accordance with the UK Trade Mark Act 1994, to use the trade mark “Best Enterprise”. It won a global award at the event, ‘Golden Awards for Quality and Business Prestige’, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.

‘Within a short span of time, with the perfect blend of progressive thinking and expertise, Venora Group has expanded to consist of, Venora International Projects, Venora Telecom, Venora Industrial Solutions and Venora Lanka Power Panels (BOI approved). Further, Venora has established its overseas presence through Venora Engineering Kenya and Venora Engineering Myanmar.’

Business

Share market moves into positive territory; indices up

Published

16 hours ago

2023/06/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

CSE trading got off to a positive note yesterday but during the last session of the day the momentum slowed. However, the market is now moving towards positive territory following the Central Bank announcement of a downward trend in interest rates, market analysts said.

Amid those developments the market witnesses improvements in both indices and in the turnover.

The All- Share Price Index up by 12.8 points and S and P SL 20 rose by 6.97 points. Turnover stood at Rs 710 million with one crossing. The crossing was reported in JKH which crossed 430,000 shares to the tune of Rs 60.2 million; its shares traded at Rs 140.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; JKH Rs 212 million (1.5 million shares traded), Access Engineering Rs 44.7 million ( three million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 34.5 million (264,000 shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 28.6 million (5.3 million shares traded), LOLC Finance Rs 23.8 million (4.7 million shares traded), Capital Alliance Rs 22.9 million (615,000 shares traded) and First Capital Holdings Rs 19.2 million (574,000 shares traded). During the day the 31.4 million shares volumes changed hands in 9000 transactions.

Yesterday, the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 285.16 and the selling rate Rs 298.85.