Banking

Orient Finance PLC (OFP) is a company licensed by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka under the Business Finance Act no: 42 of 2011 and is an entity listed on the DiriSavi Board of the Colombo Stock Exchange. This venture has grown by enhancing its product portfolio and expanding its branch network, rallying more and more customers around it, along its journey of ten years. Following are the excerpts of an interview held with OPF Asst. general Manager Geethika Wickramasinghe about Fixed Deposits and company plans.

Q: Having introduced Fixed Deposits in August 2012, Orient Finance already has a strong deposit base. What do you think contributed to this success, despite the intense competition observed in the industry?
Orient Finance has been in operation for over ten years, predominantly in the leasing and hire purchase industry. We have established ourselves as an entity which offers high security and customer service, which more often than not, exceeds the expectations of our customers. Without reinventing the wheel, Fixed Deposits was launched on the same principles that have guided us over the last decade, – integrity, performance, teamwork and accountability.

In a industry that is highly competitive, our strong reputation, financial stability and diversified product portfolio has to an extent laid the basic foundation through which we can approach potential deposit customer. At the same time, Orient FDs do offer very attractive and competitive interest rates that have certainly helped us tap into the potential deposit base of the country. In addition, our investment grade rating has also helped enhance customer confidence. I’m rather pleased to say that our deposit base has already surpassed what we expected to achieve during this calendar year and we are optimistic that the momentum will continue into the future. At the same time, mobilizing deposits has had a positive impact on our bottom line of the business as we re-invest the funds into our leasing, hire purchase, factoring and gold loan services.

Q:What are the main products you offer to attract deposits?

Well, fixed & savings deposits are our key focus. We have fixed deposits targeting professionals, special scheme for senior citizens and a generic product catering to the needs of a ordinary saver . Some of the collective benefits of these products are competitive interest rates, the option of collecting interest monthly or at maturity, deposits starting from Rs.5,000/-, and personalised services to meet the diverse financing needs of the clients. An additional interest of 1 per cent per annum is also given for senior citizens, over 55 years of age.

Q:Being an emerging stronghold in the non-bank finance sector, what are the other areas OFP is operating?

We have an excellent track record being a pioneer in providing commendable services to large number clients in the country with value added and innovative products in leasing, hire purchase, debt factoring, and gold loans.

Q:Are you looking at expanding into other parts of the country?

Yes, 2013 will be a turning point for us. We already have a expanding branch network with our Head Office in Borella and branches in Matara, Kurunegala, Ampara, Kochchikade & Welisara. Two more branches were added to this during this month in Auradhapura and Gampaha

The company has 9 Customer Services Centers Awissawella, Kalutara, Galle, Kegalle, Kandy, Batticaloa, Killinochchi, Vavuniya and Jaffna. We are exploring the possibility of upgrading these customer service centres into fully fledged branches.

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