People’s Leasing to merge with People’s Merchant next month
View(s):The People’s Leasing Company (PLC) is gearing to absorb its subsidiary People’s Merchant under the current financial sector consolidation process, officials said.
“By next month this will be wrapped up,” a People’s Merchant official told the Business Times. He said a voluntary retirement scheme is likely to be given.
During August 2014, many banks and finance and leasing companies (NBFI) were actively involved in the consolidation process, the Central Bank (CB) said.
In a media release it said that Asian Finance Ltd with TKS Finance Ltd, Capital Alliance Finance PLC with Cargills Bank Ltd, Commercial Credit and Finance PLC with Trade Finance and Investments PLC, Bartleet Finance PLC with Orient Finance PLC, Prime Grameen Micro Finance Ltd with Hatton National Bank PLC, and Senkadagala Finance PLC with Newest Capital Ltd, made public announcements of agreed consolidation arrangements.
The Monetary Board approved, another 10 consolidation proposals submitted by banks and NBFIs, and the respective entities were proceeding with the merger/acquisition processes. Hitherto, 29 proposals of seven banks and 22 NBFI have been approved by the CB. “Further consolidation plans of seven NBFIs and one bank are being finalized and will be announced in the coming days,” the release said.
Mergers of DFCC Bank, DFCC Vardhana Bank PLC and the National Development Bank PLC, as well as Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC, MBSL Savings Bank Ltd., and MCSL Finance Services Ltd., continued to progress during the month with a view to completing the transactions by last quarter of this year, the release further said.
“The Panel of Audit Firms continued to assist in Transaction management, by advising Banks and NBFIs on transactions as well as on the smooth transition. The Central Bank has met the professional fees on account of the services rendered by these firms to ensure consistency and independence of the work carried out. In the meantime, banks and NBFIS continued to engage local and international experts to assist in their endeavours to effectively merge and ensure smooth transition after the consolidation.”
The Guidelines on Taxation in terms of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 8 of 2014 and Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act No. 7 of 2014 on the tax incentives to support the consolidation process are being finalized through stakeholder engagement, it added.