Singer Finance strengthens hold on rural market opportunities

By Gayani Perera

Singer Finance (Lanka) Ltd., is a subsidiary of Singer Sri Lanka Ltd. which is an organisation backed by 123 years of exceptional service in Sri Lanka in addition to owning a 160 year renowned global reputation. Established in the year 2004 as a fully owned subsidiary of Singer Sri Lanka, Singer Finance last year complying with requirements of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka became a public quoted company. The company’s IPO became one of the most successful in the Colombo Stock Exchange becoming oversubscribed 134 times over.

At present the company has 14 branches and service centres operational throughout the country which are in addition to their service centres. The Daily FT Supplements Desk spoke to Shantha Wijeweera, Director/CEO of Singer Finance to find out more about their services and future plans.

Q: Who are your target customer segments?

A: Backed by the strength and reliability of our parent company Singer Finance today has captured the market quite successfully. We are not an organisation that mainly focused on competing in the Western Province but largely focus on servicing the outstation areas of the country which includes the North Central Province, including major towns such as Kurunegala, Thambuthegama, Anuradhapura, Medawachchiya and Dambulla etc. We have also recently extended our services to the area of Vavuniya and in the near future we hope to reach out to Ampara and Embilipitiya as well.

We feel that the rural markets which are experiencing a significant financial deepening at present  have to be  serviced well by introducing them to activities which have low-entry barriers such as poultry farming, retailing and tailoring and therefore have made it our mission to cater to these particular customer segments in the best manner possible.

Q: What kinds of products do you lease?

A: Our product range for which we provide superior financing services includes micro products such as three-wheelers, two to four wheel tractors, and harvesting machines specially catering to the agricultural sector. In addition to this we also lease out commercial vehicles such as vans and lorries.

Q: With the end of the war and new market opportunities opening up, do you foresee greener pastures for your organisation?

A: With the end of the 30 year war there has been a significant economic growth taking place in the north and east especially with regard to the agricultural sectors. Also I see a major development in the transport sector as well and for all these areas of development. We have financed out the required products, these include the financing of buses in the North and Central Provinces.

We still feel that there are ample opportunities for us to capture in the newly liberated areas with regard to business for our organisation and we at Singer Finance are focusing on providing the best services possible to meet the upcoming demands.

Q: What are the special services that you provide for customers?

A: We provide customers with monthly rental paying facilities which are interconnected to one of the most advanced IT payment systems provided by our parent organisation. This particular system allows our customers to pay their rentals at ease at any of our Singer shops. Through this unique system these payments are automatically uploaded and then regularised. Presently we have 350 outlets operational island wide for customers to make their payments where some outlets are open all 365 days of the week, for the benefit of customers.

Q: What kind of services do you provide with regard to household items?

A: Our household items which are Singer product offerings are handled through a separate service arm which mainly is involved with group or institutional sales. Through this method we finance household items of certain groups, for example a group belonging to a particular organisation and receive the necessary deductions made from their monthly salaries. At present with regard to the financing of household products we have retained the position of market leader.

Q: How successful are you with regard to collections?

A: At present we account for one of the lowest NPL (Non Performing Loan) ratios in the industry. Our collection process includes the use of efficient mobile recovery teams which are allocated to various areas of the country where each team has been assigned targets with regard to collections.

Q: In a competitive market as such as this, how do you stay ahead of the competition?

A: Singer Finance has its own cutting edge policies which have enabled it to stay ahead of the competition. This includes our operational efficiencies which help us to stay ahead of the game in a market that has very little product differences and variances. Our operational effectiveness enables us to process the payments of the lease or higher purchase supplier within 24 hours. This efficient service is crucial for service providers such as our organisation as the supplier has the ability to blacklist those organisations that do not provide speedy services. Therefore we not only provide effective and efficient services to our customers but also go the extra mile to provide quick and prompt services to our suppliers as well.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: We are looking forward to expanding our existing branch network in the future. We also have a few new products in the pipeline which we hope to launch to the market very soon.