Business
First Capital looks to future growth with a Performance First outlook
First Capital Holdings PLC, a Janashakthi Group Company with over 35 years of industry knowledge, recently concluded its Annual General Meeting presenting the Annual Report 2020-21 on the theme of ‘Performance First’ to its shareholders. The group recorded an exceptional year reaching new financial and non-financial performance milestones, recording Rs. 2.09 billion in Profits After Tax for the financial year 2020-21.
The Company attributed its achievements to the ‘Performance First’ brand strategy adopted throughout First Capital (the Group) to align focus on what mattered across the Group’s businesses, ensuring a consistently high performance output.
“During the last year we came together to establish a strategy to deliver ‘Performance First’. We set about digitalising processes, ramped up knowledge development, and enhanced visibility and customer support to enable a performance driven environment for growth. Moreover, we continued to set benchmarks in the non-bank financial services space with the introduction of facilities such as ‘digital onboarding’ to facilitate non-face-to-face Account Opening for Unit Trusts and Government Securities clients, a first in Sri Lanka. This performance focus helped us achieve exceptional results across all our businesses and has set us up for an exciting future trajectory,” stated Dilshan Wirasekara – Director / Chief Executive Officer, First Capital Holdings PLC.
Building on the confidence honed by its years of experience, First Capital consulted and considered stakeholders across the board in formulating the ‘Performance First’ brand promise, focused on exceeding expectations.
“As we look forward to a robust year ahead, we will be delivering on our promises with a solutions mind set, and will continue to go the extra mile for our stakeholders. As one of Sri Lanka’s premier financial solutions providers, we are committed to delivering ‘Performance First’ to our stakeholders and reaching our next phase of growth.” Dilshan Wirasekara added.
First Capital is at the forefront of digital transformation and are committed to developing digital services to provide an enhanced customer experience. The Company will also continue its efforts to educate the public of the different financial solutions accessible through the capital market.
First Capital Treasuries, the primary dealer division accounts for the highest amongst standalone primary dealers raising debt for the government, taking up as much as 9% and 6% of the total issuance of treasury bonds and treasury bills respectively in 2020. The division looks forward to leverage on its expertise to further enhance opportunities from the government securities market. The wealth management division, First Capital Asset Management more than doubled its Assets Under Management (AUM) in 2020 disrupting the financial services industry with a range of alternative financial products and services for corporate and retail customers alike. While First Capital Limited, the corporate finance division played a crucial role redirecting financial resources to corporate clients to tide over the impact of the pandemic by structuring investments and providing robust capital market access to raise funding. The Stock Brokering division, First Capital Equities, is on a drive to expand its online client base, encouraging newcomers to the stock market to benefit from the booming market. Focused on enhancing performance, it adds value to clients through the dissemination of First Capital’s coveted in-house research which enjoys wide acceptance, covering the debt and equity markets.
Business
Affairs of Sri Lankan Airlines could be turned around using local expertise – former CAA chair
The financial affairs of national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines could be turned around along with the fortunes of Mattala Airport, using local management expertise without divesting these assets, former chairman CAA and veteran travel and tourism expert Upul Dharmadasa said.
“Sri Lanka has experts and knowledgeable persons to develop Sri Lankan Airlines into a viable entity. But when it comes to the debt restructuring process the government should absorb the losses to salvage our national carrier, former chairman Civil Aviation Authority Upul Dharmadasa told The Island Financial Review.
Speaking on Mattala Airport Dharmadasa said that during the Covid 19 pandemic he spearhead the airlines’ operations to bring more than 138,000 Sri Lankans back into the country. “At that time Mattala Airport functioned as a second international airport and it assisted the government in managing Covid patients in a more systematic way, he said.
Dharmadasa added: ‘Further, Mattala Airport’s 12 anniversary falls today. It falls on the government to develop it as the second international airport. It could attract large aircraft.
“We need to deploy proper and qualified persons to streamline the entire process.
“I have been in the airline industry for more than four decades. The number of airline arrivals in the country and departures from it have come down considerably after Covid 19 pandemic.
“In this scenario, Sri Lankan Airlines should focus on launching new flights to US and Canada. Together they account for more than 1.4 million Sri Lankan diaspora members who fly to Sri Lanka.
“Sri Lankan Airlines should resume Rome flights as well, which is a lucrative market. Apart from that Sri Lankan Airlines should focus on new destinations, wherein they could sell tickets and attract huge revenue to the airline.
“The airline should have 25 aircraft to offer uninterrupted services to air travelers but at present it has only 23 aircraft.”
By Hiran H Senewiratne
LOLC Al-Falaah, Sri Lanka’s leading provider of alternate financial solutions, proudly announces the launch of ‘Al-Falaah Wakalah Future-Cash’, a pioneering Shariah-compliant alternative for Factoring, Invoice & Cheques discounting facility, designed to transform business financing. This ground-breaking financial solution empowers businesses to elevate and realize future cash flows in real-time, while maintaining adherence to ethical financial principles. Setting a new benchmark in Sri Lanka’s Islamic financial services sector, this initiative strengthens LOLC Al-Falaah’s commitment to innovation and excellence in the alternate finance arena.
Unlike conventional Factoring, which relies on interest-based returns against receivables, LOLC Al-Falaah’s ‘Wakalah Future-Cash Today’ product is structured under the ‘Wakalah-Bil-Istithmar’ concept, ensuring full compliance with Islamic economic jurisprudence. Through this model, LOLC Al-Falaah provides capital infusion into business operations in exchange for a pre-determined Anticipated Profit Return (APR), eliminating interest-based transactions. Businesses are appointed as agents to deploy these funds within their operations, with surplus earnings allocated as a performance incentive. This structure enhances financial discipline, promotes transparency, and encourages ethical business practices.
The introduction of this pioneering facility is particularly timely as Sri Lanka transitions towards economic recovery and long-term stability. Shiraz Refai, Head of Alternate Financial Services at LOLC Al-Falaah, emphasized the significance of this initiative: “As Sri Lanka embarks on a path of economic resurgence, businesses require the right financial instruments to capitalize on emerging opportunities. As a trailblazer in the alternate financial services sector, LOLC Al-Falaah has identified a critical gap in the bills-discounting and factoring industry. The launch of LOLC Al-Falaah’s ‘Wakalah Future-Cash Today’ product presents a strategic solution that enhances liquidity and working capital efficiencies while adhering to Islamic financial principles.
City Cycle Industries Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd, a leading provider of sustainable mobility solutions and renowned for its household brand Lumala, has been honored with the Best National Industry Brand award under the Large-Scale Other Industry Sector at the recent National Industry Brand Excellence Awards 2024.
Organized by the Sri Lanka Technical Development Board under the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, the award ceremony was held on 21 February at Eagle Lakeside and saw the participation of distinguished leaders from diverse industry sectors. The vent was graced by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya as the Chief Guest.
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