Multi Finance consolidates core business offerings with elevated service excellence

Multi Finance PLC (MFPLC), one of Sri Lanka’s time-honoured frontrunners in the financial service landscape is setting a benchmark for market adaptability through some rapid transformations scheduled for the latter half of 2018.

Drawing from this long-established heritage of trust and stability, MFPLC has been a source of strength to Sri Lankan businesses, entrepreneurs, investors and individuals, playing a pivotal role in stabilising and advancing the Sri Lankan economy. This position was further consolidated in June 2017 with the company’s acquisition by fast-expanding conglomerate Fairway Holdings. 

Having established their name as a leading property developer in luxury vertical solutions, Fairway Holdings also extended into highly diverse ventures during the past few years in leisure, aviation, trading, netraceuticals, biotechnology, renewable energy, aquatic resources and financial services. A key feature of this diversification has been Fairway’s ability to sustain expertise from multiple industries, which also paved way for MFPLC to be steered by a strong new leadership.

President’s Counsel of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Kuvera de Zoysa spearheads this eminent and diverse Board of Directors at MFPLC, supported by Pushpike Jayasundera, the Executive Director/CEO of the company. Champika Attapattu has taken on the role of Executive Director-Legal. Serving as Independent Non-Executive Directors are Dr. Ravi Ajith Fernando, Imal Fonseka, Shelton Pieris, K.D.P.C. Abeysekera, and W.A. Lakshaman. Collectively, the board has many decades of experience in leading multinational corporations across a wide range of industries and disciplines, inclusive of legal, finance, strategy and eco-friendly operations. The Board is supported by a vibrant, energetic and equally diverse management team, driving change and transformation across the company. 

Backed by the benchmarked corporate excellence of Fairway, MFPLC has begun rolling out several new initiatives in 2018, to inculcate a novel outlook in its products and processes, with the overarching objective to revolutionise the financial services landscape in Sri Lanka. Aligned with this vision is the company’s promise to introduce a future-ready FinTech solution, meeting the demand of the dynamic lifestyles of clients and offering virtual services through digital platforms that are effective and efficient to all stakeholders involved. The company has also partnered with Sri Lanka’s national mobile services provider Mobitel to offer a highly seamless and integrated backend for digital transactions with their mobile financial services platform mCash.

Adding on a more customised and personal approach to its product offering, MFPLC has recruited over 50 young brand representatives who are currently being groomed and trained as Relationship Executives to offer more customised and highly personalised solutions to customers by investing in building and nurturing relationships, elevating the company’s service excellence offering to benchmark standards. For over four decades, the company’s legacy was built upon its strict adherence and compliance to the governing regulations of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the regulatory body of the Colombo Stock Exchange, and to date continues strict credit evaluations to ensure healthy lending and meticulous monitoring of recoveries, further strengthening the trust-based relationship with clients.

Furthermore, 2018 saw the launch of the company’s national level nationwide five-year reforestation campaign ‘Each One Plant One’, where MFPLC has pledged to plant 10 trees for every transaction carried out. The unprecedented and inclusive approach is aimed at both delivering healthy financial returns to clients, whilst encouraging and educating them to make a more sustainable impact through their investments. 

The campaign has already launched two projects; planting 1000 saplings along the Kottawa Highway that was successfully completed, and the second – a reforestation campaign across a seven-acre, landslide prone area in Ilukpathakanda, Ratnapura within a targeted timespan of one and a half years. All projects are carried out in partnership with Reforest Sri Lanka and Rainforest Protectors of Sri Lanka, the country’s leading forest conservators, to ensure the company’s adherence to the best and most eco-friendly environmental practices. 

At this milestone juncture, MFPLC promises clients with the launch of a number of innovative products and services to advance the company’s portfolio to global standards. The new corporate brand image will be launched in the coming weeks along with the company’s new website and the Auto Centre – an innovative online concept for the customers. At the same time, the company is investing in changing the mindset and outlook of the Sri Lankan public towards financial solution providers, ensuring that each and every stakeholder realises the benefits and advantages of a higher return by investing with MFPLC, for a financially safe, stable and sustainable future, vouched by trust and stability. 

Multi Finance to raise Rs. 200 m from Fairway via private placement

Multi Finance Plc has decided to make a private placement of shares worth Rs. 200 million to its major shareholder Fairway Holdings Ltd.

The new shares to be issued amount to 15/384 million at Rs. 13 each. The stated capital of the company is Rs. 898.37 million. Fairway Holdings has 65% stake in Multi Finance Plc at present. The company’s share price closed at Rs. 12.90 on Friday. 

The proceeds from the private placement will be utilised to meet the core capital requirement of Rs. 1 billion in terms of Section 3.2 of Finance Companies Direction No. 1 of 2013 and to comply with the Finance Companies Minimum Core Capital Direction No. 2 of 2017 by the Central Bank. 

The placement is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.