Fresh Lease

Oct 03, 2011 (LBO) - People's Leasing Company, Sri Lanka's largest leasing firm which plans to raise 70 million US dollars in an initial public offer, is seeing strong growth in lease volumes on the back of a post-war economic revival.

People's Leasing Company group posted profits of 2.

6 billion rupees in the year to March 2011 on revenues of 10.6 billion rupees. It had gross assets of 63.8 billion rupees and equity of 8.







4 billion rupees. People's Leasing Company chief executive D P Kumarage said the firm almost doubled the volume of disbursements last year and expects at least another 50 percent growth this year.

The company, a subsidiary of state-owned People's Bank, had total grantings of 41.8 billion rupees in the financial year ended March 31, 2011, exceeding the budgeted figure of 26.

4 billion.

"The leasing industry is growing fast," Kumarage told LBO in an interview.

"The north and east has untapped potential. So there will be demand, especially for agricultural-type of vehicles.

We see that demand now."

Demand is also growing strongly from the fisheries sector, especially from the northern and eastern coasts, which bore the brunt of the war and is now recovering.

People's Leasing Company is plannin