PLC gets nod to merge with People’s Merchant Finance

The board of Sri Lanka’s largest nonbanking financial institution, People’s Leasing and Finance Company PLC (PLC) has finally given the go ahead for the amalgamation with its associate company People’s Merchant Finance PLC (PMB) this week. The merger is subjected to all required approvals and the sale of PMB’s property off Nawam Mawatha, Colombo 02.

“The proposed amalgamation is in pursuance of a direction issued by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the modality thereof is yet to be finalized,” a PLC statement to the Colombo Stock Exchange said. The Central Bank had last year issued a directive placing PLC in charge of managing PMB, following which the consortium of shareholders who controlled PMB sold their shares to PLC and its parent, the state-run People’s Bank.

PLC Managing Director D. P. Kumarage had told MirrorBusiness recently that there was no sense in having two leasing companies within the group, and a merger would create better synergies in the group. He had said that the board has been rebuilding PMB to the group’s standard ever since they took over the management.PLC, for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 had had an asset base of Rs. 137.24 billion, with Rs. 116.48 billion in loans and receivables, while PMB had had Rs. 3.66 billion and Rs. 1.71 billion respectively according to its latest financial records available for March 31, 2016. People’s Bank and PMB own 87.22 percent of the shares in PMB, while the state owns 84.28 percent of the shares in PLC through People’s Bank and other state agencies. (CW)