Business

LOLC expands international footprint with entry into Zambia

Published

3 years ago

2020/10/25

The LOLC Group began its operations in Zambia recently with the official launch of its inaugural branch in Lusaka.

The company, which will operate as LOLC Finance Zambia Limited, is a deposit-taking, non-banking financial institution and will provide finance products such as home loans, motor vehicle finance, business loans, and consumer loans, among other products, thus helping to narrow the access to financial services gap in Zambia.

The branch at Lusaka Cairo Road was ceremonially opened by Ms. Freda Tamba, Director, Non-Bank Supervision, Bank of Zambia. Plans are also underway to open branches in the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces of Zambia in the near future.

LOLC Zambia is LOLC’s ninth overseas finance operation. LOLC has already launched operations in Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines and Nigeria.

LOLC reigns as Sri Lanka’s most profitable listed entity for two consecutive years, emerging as a “Sri Lankan global player” in a short span of time.

With its financial strength and the perfected microfinance business model in the region, the Group is well-positioned to expand its operations beyond Asia, serving a large Bottom of the Pyramid population.

LOLC, which is looking at establishing its breakthrough impact finance lending model across Africa, replicating its success in Asia, made its debut to Africa in 2019 by acquiring a microfinance bank in Nigeria and by starting LOLC Finance Zambia as a green field project. Today, with promising strategic investments, LOLC looks to increase its presence throughout the African region in the years to come.

LOLC Group Managing Director/CEO, Kapila Jayawardena said, “Zambia is a very important market to us as it is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. There is enormous opportunity and potential for micro-entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and for enhanced economic development. As the only Sri Lankan financial institution operating in this market, we hope to export our Global expertise to Zambia as done in all other nations we are present in, to benefit mainly the MSME segment to uplift their lives through responsible lending. We hope to use our technological innovations to effectively penetrate the Zambian market”.

Excelling on a national level, LOLC has now established itself as a leading microfinance institution in the countries in which it operates. Today, LOLC has successfully established itself as a strong global financial conglomerate and with this standing, the Group is poised to be a global financial catalyst with a multi-currency, multi-geographic microfinance and SME platform in the future.

All News Advertisement

Business

Cabinet approves rationalization of VAT exemptions and abolition of SVAT System

Published

3 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

9 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

9 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.