Social and relationship capital

Business partners >>

Underpinned by the principles of corporate governance and adhering to the laws of the country, industry rules, regulatory requirements, and business ethics, we conduct our business operations in a responsible manner. Our business partners play a vital role in our operations and we have forged responsible business relationships with partners who are aligned with our values and policies.

In addition, we have fostered our partnerships with financial service providers, correspondent banks, local and international financial institutions. We have discharged our debt obligations in time which have earned us the trust of these partners. This has ensured the delivery of effective, uninterrupted services to internal and external customers.

We have also maintained relationships with partners in diverse sectors like property, equipment maintenance, systems and software solutions, energy, and advertising to name a few.

Our relationships with vehicle suppliers

As at 31 March 2020, our vehicle suppliers numbered 32,406, with our payments to them amounting to Rs. 60,616 million in the year under review. This represents 70.34% of our total payments to our suppliers.

During the year, we entered in to several strategic partnerships with vehicle dealers and importers. Benefits for our customers through this partnerships include:

• Free vehicle registration
• Free revenue license
• Full services for vehicles
• Partial capital settlement
• Discounts on the original price of vehicles
• Promotional items

	2019/20
Active business partners (Number)	40,910
Vehicle suppliers (Number)	32,406
Procurement expenditure (Rs. million)	88,788.44

Our procurement policy

Guided by procurement policy, we have prepared a Procurement Manual which is a comprehensive document that contributes to sound business practices adopted by the Company. It is designed to guide all procurement undertaken within the Company. The procedures in the manual adheres to the values of transparency, accountability and equity and guides decision makers to make decisions in the best interests of the Company.

The Decision Making Unit (DMU) is responsible for and vested with the powers to act as the authority to approve the procurement of goods and services of the Company as per the approval matrix.

This Manual ensures that goods and services are procured in a timely manner, complying with all the necessary standards of quality and regulation, and that the selection of suppliers is a transparent process.

We have a Property Acquisition and Disposal Policy set up in place that outlines our approach to the acquisition, management, and disposal of land and buildings and their legal interests. Our Logistics Department conducts major procurement such as vehicles, equipment, ICT Hardware, and Software. The Technical Evaluation Committee is responsible for the selection of suppliers. The following diagram illustrates our procurement processes:

Procurement process of business continuity services

Selection of suppliers

We have in place a stringent supplier selection criteria based on the following features:

• Quality standards
• Cost-competitiveness
• On-time delivery
• Reliability
• Adaptability
• Prior industry experience
• Supplier capacity
• Compliance to applicable laws and regulations
• Compliance to relevant licenses, certifications, and standards
• Sustainable practices of sourcing raw materials
• Adherence to environmental and social regulations
• Fair labour management practices

Joining memberships and associations

We have secured memberships with different business associations that contribute to knowledge sharing as well as building relationships with other business entities. These relationships facilitate industry unity and networking, enhance industry standards, and provide opportunities for employees to benefit from activities offered by the associations. We maintain memberships with the following associations:

• The Leasing Association of Sri Lanka
• The Finance House Association of Sri Lanka
• The Financial Ombudsman Sri Lanka
• Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka
• The Association of Margin Providers
• Biodiversity Sri Lanka (Patron Member)

Future outlook

To strengthen our existing relationships with our suppliers and secure mutual benefits, we will seek more strategic partnerships in the future.

Customers >>

Our customers are the cornerstone of our success and we can boast of a diversified customer base from all classes of Sri Lankan society. Our main focus is to meet their needs and improve their financial well-being through offering a varied product portfolio as well as a superior service quality that enhances the customer experience. We strive to build strong, meaningful connections with our customers which is pivotal to our business success.

We have also created a platform where the voice of the customer can be heard and their needs are identified. One of our main strategic imperatives is Augmenting customer experience which is a testament to our efforts to put the customer at the heart of everything we do. Further, we strive to make them feel that each and every interaction with us is worthwhile and beyond their expectations.

Through a wide spread network of channels and outlets comprising own branches, service centres at People’s Bank branches, online touchpoints, we have made it possible for our customers to conveniently access our financial solutions and for the Company to network with them conveniently.

Our customers

The public has an inherent trust in People’s Leasing, by virtue of it being 75% owned by People’s Bank (state-owned banking giant People’s Bank which knows the pulse of the people and won the trust of the citizens of Sri Lanka for the past 59 years). This has contributed to the Company having a deposit base of
Rs. 106.70 billion, the largest in the NBFI sector including savings deposits of
Rs. 6.77 billion.

Composition of our customer base

Excluding cross selling, two-thirds of our customer base consists of depositors while the rest are lending customers. In terms of the number of deposit customers, the majority of them have invested in savings deposits which augurs well for the Company since these deposits are relatively of lower cost to the Company and are less interest sensitive stable funds. Leasing is the main product lending customers were interested in which accounted for 71% of the total lending customers.

* Due to cross-selling total number of customers is lower than the summation of each product.

Geographical segregation of the customers

Province	Depositors	Lending customers	Branches	Service centres
Central	28,533	15,115	12	8
Eastern	14,374	6,059	9	11
North Central	15,855	7,222	5	9
North Western	21,450	11,728	10	10
Northern	7,177	4,125	5	11
Sabaragamuwa	19,265	8,143	9	12
Southern	32,839	19,438	15	17
Uva	23,482	9,250	6	7
Western	119,969	45,635	32	16
Total	282,944	126,715	103	101

* Cross-selling exists

Our offering

We offer personalised products and services that satisfy all needs of customers that come from different segments

of society. Following a comprehensive marketing strategy, we launched new products responding and satisfying customers’ needs and desires effectively.

The product policy of People’s Leasing is geared towards initially satisfying the identified needs of the customers and then expanding its reach to the rest of the populace while improving existing service standards, developing new products, and building relationships with those customers.

Sector contribution (Gross portfolio Rs. million)

Service standards

The service delivery model we subscribe to encompasses the Company’s aims and customer expectations. The factors that can materially affect the level of service we provide are outlined below:

Our product portfolio

Lending

Leasing Being our main product, leasing continues to do well with a gross portfolio of Rs. 85,815.37 million and 156,229 customers. Last year, we introduced variable interest lease for motor vehicles for individuals and business enterprises providing greater flexibility to customers in terms of rate and the period. Loans Different types of loan facilities are available to cater varying financial requirements of customers. Newly introduced gold loan product is showing promise with portfolio reaching Rs. 896 million. Gold loans offer customers a speedy solution to urgent financial requirements. By providing customers holding several gold loan facilities with us the option to redeem individual articles we also provide flexibility and convenience.

Deposits

Our deposit product bundle consists of a range of products that suits for the customers’ different life stages for varying requirements and catering to all age groups: Minor saving accounts for Minors, Super savings, Premier Reward Plan for youth and middle age, Senior Citizen savings accounts for elderly. Despite the pessimism prevailed in the industry, deposits achieved a remarkable growth of 20.75% and reached Rs. 106,701.03 million. Reflecting customer confidence, People’s Leasing now possesses the largest deposit base in the NBFI sector including a savings base of Rs. 6,770.64 million, which is also the largest in the industry.

Other products

Margin trading and factoring Margin trading and factoring have long been staples in our product and services portfolio. The former provides investors of equity and debt markets with the chance to obtain a facility against their investment, to build their portfolio further, and to trade in additional securities. The latter offers capital solutions, transfer of risk, and sales ledger management, providing customers with a dedicated team to manage receivables. Margin trading comprises a portfolio of Rs. 2,232.78 million with interest income of Rs. 310.70 million. For factoring, our gross portfolio reached Rs. 3,142.70 million with an interest income of Rs. 616.56 million.

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Socially and environmentally responsible products

Our products are screened through a detailed precautionary mechanism to address and mitigate negative social and environmental impacts of our operations with customers. Our credit policy clearly defines business and customer types that we can lend to. This policy is periodically reviewed by a team specialised in risk and control under the supervision of the Deputy General Manager – Risk and Control. Approved credit files are randomly scrutinised on a monthly basis, reasons for discrepancies analysed and corrective actions taken. With every new product we promote paperless processes where possible to reduce our environmental footprint.

We also undertake a number of specific procedures to mitigate and offset the impact of vehicle emissions on the environment. We promote the Leasing of green vehicles and the operation of greener businesses respectively.

Customer engagement and satisfaction

In a highly saturated market where similar products and services are being offered by competitors, we have taken tangible steps to engage our customers and give them a superior experience which ensures customer retention. Through this approach, we have built long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with our customers.

Customer satisfaction survey

In order to understand the pulse of the customer, we conducted a customer satisfaction survey in 2019. The survey findings indicate that advertising mediums such as ATL advertisements and social media have not contributed as much as anticipated to spreading awareness about the brand. Here are the key findings of the survey conducted among new customers:

Cybersecurity and customer privacy

We consider cybersecurity to be a top priority where we have taken every measure to prevent potential cyber threats and safeguard customer privacy. We understand the consequences of a breach in data security and customer privacy. While such a violation of trust is detrimental to the customer it would also impact stakeholder confidence in our competence.

Our Information Security Management System is ISO 27001 certified which gives our customers confidence in the quality of our operating systems. Following ICT policy, we ensure that employees are aware of the importance of protecting information, with our Heads of Departments and Branch Managers taking responsibility for data security and applying industry best practices. We use robust threat and vulnerability assessments and incident tracking against breaches of customer privacy. Data security is also overseen by the Board and the CEO/GM. The DGM – ICT conducts regular evaluations to ensure the security and responsible storage of personal data, recommending system modifications, and enhancements to mitigate technology and information-security risks as needed.

In 2019/20 there were no complaints reported concerning breaches of customer privacy or losses of customer data.

Responding to the customer

New product and services are developed as a result of the deep understanding we have of our customers, their lifestyles and financing needs, and the solutions they require to secure a brighter future for themselves and their families.

Depending on institutional knowledge alone places us in danger of complacency – a risk we refuse to take.

To ensure a quick and efficient method of attending to customer complaints we have initiated the development of a customer care and complaint handling policy. Its goal is to ensure that all customer grievances receive the care and attention they deserve at the earliest convenience.

Customer complaints

Marketing and communications

Our marketing department consistently engages in brand building activities to spread awareness of People’s Leasing’s offering to the public. Here are some of the initiatives in 2019/20:

• A Corporate brand awareness and product awareness campaign – “Himi Thena Palamuthena Rata Hemathena” was conducted on 24 August 2019.
• Our key product portfolio represents automobiles mainly for income generation purpose and we launched the “Petrol Peraliya” campaign to recognise and reward our loyal and new customers to maintain their vehicles leased through us responsibly with minimal impact on environment.
• Launched PLC Premier Reward Plan (an Investment Plan) with the high returns to inculcate the savings habit among Sri Lankans.
• A novel in-house training concept was introduced to educate marketing staff and branch staff on the products and services and also the operational process which helps to improve the execution process.
• An automated system of customer complaint and grievance handling was implemented where customer complaints were directed to the Management for timely responses to any issue.

Social media strategy of the Company

Focused on more customer engagements by posting many advertising campaigns using static and videos and thereby enhancing the market penetration and actively promoting products and services using main social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and also communication applications such as WhatsApp/Viber.

Communicating within a regulated environment

We follow the Central Bank (CBSL) rules and regulations on advertising and other public announcements and ensure that all our marketing communications remain within regulations. During the reporting year, no incidents of non-compliance were reported with regards to any of our marketing communications or products and service information labelling. Further, we ensure that we disclose relevant information in terms of products and services in all three languages (English, Sinhala and Tamil) for our customers to make informed decisions.

Serving customer through digital means

We take every step to keep abreast of the latest innovations and technological developments in the business arena to stay ahead of the competition and to provide a superior customer experience. Utilising the most appropriate medium. It also allows the strategic employment of marketing and advertising based on new insights into the return on investment.

Our extensive investment on digital infrastructure and carrying out operations through digital platforms greatly facilitated our Covid-19 response. We were able to continue operations and making our customers aware through the use of digital technology. Our conduct during the lock-down period attested our digital capabilities and portrayed our agility to adapt to any crisis situation.

In addition to investing in new technology, we are also investing in new skill sets to compete with the rise of digital and data specialists in our market space. Our in-house experts will soon be responsible for the development of new product innovations and product extensions to meet rising demand and customer expectations. They will also look at ways in which to energise and optimise our business model.

Anti-corruption

Conducting business in a transparent, ethical manner is embedded in our Company values of reliability and trustworthiness. We have a Code of Ethics in place that our employees follow in all business activities and transactions including dealings with customers and Company’s other stakeholders. The Code of Ethics is a vital mechanism to safeguard our customers from unethical business practices.
To add rigor to these guidelines, we have instituted sound internal controls to prevent improper activities taking place. There exists a proper approval process based on grade and a sound reporting line. Our whistleblowing policy is another formal, internal control that facilitates the disclosure of information concerning corruption or fraud without any reprisal. Thus, ethical behaviour is inculcated in the Company culture. This culture derives from the top of the Company which includes the Chairman, Board of Directors, CEO and Corporate Management.

In addition, there are mechanisms in place and entire operational units of the Company are audited via line records against anti-corruption to investigate and take corrective action where necessary, if there are complaints or allegations of inappropriate or corrupt practices. Our stringent recruitment process is also geared to prevent future instances of corruption where we do thorough background checks before recruiting an employee. Our partners which includes agents, intermediaries, suppliers, associates, and consultants are also subjected to a similar screening process. This ensures that we work with partners who are aligned with our Company values. We value transparency above everything and we ensure transparency in all our business practices and service delivery to our customers.

The following policies and procedures are set up when dealing with third parties to prevent malpractice:

• People’s Leasing whistleblower policy
• Policy on property acquisition and disposal policy
• Policy on outsourcing of business operation
• Related party transactions guide
• Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) Policy
• Information security policy
• Policy on valuation and inspection of immovable properties
• Guidelines on cashiering process
• Customer complaints and grievances handling policy
• Procurement policy
• Tender procedure manual

Under the preview of professionally-qualified auditing team our operational units are audited via online records against anti-corruption. Further, Branches are physically audited engaging well-trained and experienced field audit staff members against any fraudulent activity. Branches are prioritised according to their grade, feedback reports provided by the respective Zonal Heads and the internal risk assessment independently performed by the Internal Audit team. Internal Audit Department also ensures that Head Office Departments and Branch network is covered at a frequency of two years or less against anti-corruption.

Future outlook

We have served customers hailing from all segments of the Sri Lankan society for the last 25 years ranging from individuals, SMEs, large corporates and offering a world class service without distinction, one value that will continue in the future.

The increase of competition in the market, customer loyalty and retention are some of the biggest challenges we face every year. Thus, our focus is on consolidating the existing customer base but also attracting new customers by offering a superior service that distinguishes People’s Leasing from the competition.

People’s Leasing will support the customers to rebuild from this current crisis. Moratoriums introduced by the Government will be given to all eligible customers.

Investment on technology proved to be crucial when facing the post-Easter Attack period and also the covid-19 pandemic. We will ensure that we make investments on the latest technology. Our research and development unit will explore the introduction of new products in the coming year.

Islamic Awards

The Sri Lanka Islamic Banking and Finance Institutions (SLIBFI) Silver Award for the “Leasing Company (On Ijarah Portfolio) of The Year”. SLIBFI Gold Award for “Social Upliftment” category being presented to PLC’s ‘Al-Safa’ Islamic Finance Unit

IFFSA Awards 2019 – Sri Lanka’s Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia Silver Award for the “Leasing Company of the Year”

Brands Annual 2020 – Ranked 21st place under Most valuable brand in all categories. Awarded the Most Valuable Consumer Brand in the financial sector and the most Loved Brand in the financial sector.

Community >>

As a responsible and inclusive financial services provider in Sri Lanka, we understand the essential role we play in the society. We empower society through our inclusive financial solutions and help people enhance their quality of life. Our island-wide touch points give us the opportunity to financial literacy and support entrepreneurs that include women and youth. Our fully-owned microfinance subsidiary is the vehicle through which we are able to offer financial solutions that assist micro business ventures. All strategic Business Units at head office and branch network ensure that our business operations are conducted in a socially responsible manner.

Further, annually we invest in community empowerment initiatives in collaboration with the staff volunteerism at branch level and the identified strategic partners in alignment with the advancement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).

Highlights: Investment on local community

	2019/20	2018/19
Overall
Investment on local communities (Rs. million)	55.53	120.29
Local community based initiatives (Nos.)	79	155
Beneficiaries (Approximate No.)	33,868	62,370
Education upliftment (early childhood development, school education, entrepreneurship development)
Initiatives on early childhood development (Nos.)	38	118
Investment on early childhood development centre upgradation (Rs. million)	1.24	8.73
Initiatives on school education upliftment (Nos.)	6	8
Investment on school education upliftment (Rs. million)	3.53	8.71
Investment on scholarships (Rs. million)	7.07	17.99
Individuals benefited through scholarships (Nos.)	353	1,077
Initiatives on enterprise development (Nos.)	2	22
Entrepreneurs trained/educated (Nos.)	101	1,710
Total investment on entrepreneurship development (Rs. million)	3.05	8.15
Total investment on uplifting education (Rs. million)	14.33	11.94
Empowerment of local communities
Initiatives on empowerment of local communities (Nos.)	38	43
Investment on public infrastructure development (Rs. million)	1.65	–
Investment on public healthcare (Rs. million)	22.90	27.14
Investment on positive community engagement at religious and cultural events (Rs. million)	13.61	13.49
Total investment on empowering local community (Rs. million)	38.16	54.45

Community policy

People’s Leasing is mindful of minimising any negative impact its business operations has on the community. In response to the expectations of our stakeholders, People’s Leasing is committed to contribute to the sustainable development of the local community.

Guided by the Board of Directors, People’s Leasing assigned 2.5% of net profit as the allocation on CSR initiatives and continued to invest part of its profit and charity fund in strategic priority focus areas. The five strategic priority focus areas defined in the financial year 2013/14, were compressed to three areas encompassing education upliftment, empowerment of local communities and environment conservation to concentrate and impact more on priority areas. Accordingly, People’s Leasing continued to create value for local community as we help them to improve their entrepreneurial skills, grow their savings and build public infrastructure and services. Progress made was monitored and reported with the participation of staff, their inputs and volunteerism. During 2019/20, community and environmental investment amounted to Rs. 58.85 million.

People’s Leasing’s contribution to advancement of SDGs

Key focus area
Education upliftment - early childhood development - school education upliftment - entrepreneurship development	Investment in education is a key driver of human capital development towards a sustainable and an inclusive society. Investing in the earliest years leads to the highest rate of return to a country. Schools provide the major part of the formal education that one needs to live in society. Vocational education, financial literacy and entrepreneurship development contribute towards the progress of a nation, job creation and eradication of poverty.
Empowerment of local communities	In a context where the Government budgetary allocations are limited, corporate sector interventions such as development of essential public infrastructure/services including healthcare development are a boon to empowerment of local communities and improve the quality of life of local communities.

Staff engagement in CSR

Our staff is educated on our shared purpose of existence and true corporate social responsibility as a financial services provider during orientation sessions and corporate trainings. Updates on staff volunteered community empowerment initiatives were uploaded on intranet and posts on social media motivating other staff to follow.

Staff is also educated on responsible lending principles including social risk screening in making their lending decisions as the ambassadors of a responsible and ethical financial services provider.

Further, for the very first time, People’s Leasing recognised the CSR integrated business performance in three categories at the annual “Premier Awards – 2019”, where outstanding individual and team performance is recognised. In place of recognising the “Best Outreach CSR Initiative”, the “Most Responsible Branch” was assessed based on a comprehensive application introduced to assess the balanced performance of the branches.

“Most Responsible Branch” was recognised in two categories at the annual employee recognition event – “Premier Awards” to Maharagama and Minuwangoda branches.

Social responsibility during Covid-19

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, People’s Leasing has taken the initiative to ensure the health and safety
of our stakeholders.

We continued to serve our most valued customers by continuing our operations as an essential service in a safe workplace in accordance with the Government health regulations.

Staff and customers were educated on hand washing, respiratory hygiene and social distancing to protect oneself and others from the virus.

Arrangement of work from home facility with required ICT infrastructure and limited operations with minimal staff and digital channels were provided to prevent community spreading.

The pandemic has greatly affected the SME sector, hence we duly followed up on our customers, listened to their grievances and played our role in supporting them to restore their livelihoods to normalcy.

We have taken necessary steps to support individuals and businesses by managing the moratorium process assisting those genuinely affected, in line with the CBSL regulations. The digitalisation of the systems and processes prepared us to face the pandemic seamlessly.

Staff and customers were educated on hand washing, respiratory hygiene and social distancing to protect oneself and others from the virus.

Entrepreneurship development

		A group of youth applying for financial grant to cover their stating capital upon the completion of the business startup programme conducted at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura.
A group of youth who pursue their vocational education on Hybrid Technology during a demonstration session. People’s Leasing provided scholarships for 21 disadvancetaged youth to continue their vocational education.

“We are glad we had the opportunity to collaborate with People’s Leasing as our technical assistance partner in empowering deserving youth.”

SMEs are the engines which accelerate the socio-economic development of a country. They have to be guided, in order to foster a resilient and thriving SME sector. They should also be encouraged to seek out opportunities, take calculated risks, and innovatively create products and services that can add value.

We are happy to say that People’s Leasing took the initiative to collaborate with the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, of the Department of Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura as their capacity building partner in empowering the deserving youth. People’s Leasing invested Rs. 1.7 million in developing youth skills and providing them with the required funding to start and expand small businesses. Skills development training was provided to entrepreneurs, covering areas such as financial planning, marketing strategies, business management, business plan development, and other related skills. The university was also able to support some of the youth with the necessary infrastructure by providing office space free of charge within the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Marking the success of our collaboration, 80 prospective entrepreneurs received the opportunity to acquire necessary skills, while 21 of them received funding to cover their start-up capital or to expand their businesses.

We strongly believe that People’s Leasing is a trustworthy partner for our entrepreneurship development endeavours, and we extend our sincere gratitude to People’s Leasing for initiating such a fruitful collaboration.

Dr Rukmal Weerasinghe

Senior Lecturer, Department of Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura/Chairman, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

School education upliftment

School education upliftment (Contd.)

“I am very grateful for the scholarship offered to my son, and for the support given to develop my small business.”

My son is a recipient of an educational scholarship from the “PLC Senehasa” Educational Scholarship Scheme inaugurated in October 2017, to mark the 20th anniversary of People’s Leasing. My son was selected for this scholarship based on the application we submitted in response to a public announcement we saw in the Wijeya children’s newspaper. The information submitted by us was verified by an independent panel, and we were also visited by representatives of the People’s Leasing Matara branch as we reside in Pitabaddera, Matara. My husband passed away 10 years ago due to heart failure. I was a housewife, and it was indeed a challenge for me to raise my two children amidst many hardships. Yet I was determined to give my children a good education, and to help them stand on their own feet. I started supplying string hoppers to several shops in our neighbourhood. Thanks to People’s Leasing, my son is being supported with Rs. 3,500.00 a month as an educational scholarship until he completes his school education. My son’s progress is monitored periodically through a progress card, by the branch officials. My son passed the GCE (O/L) exam in 2018 with 9A’s. He started his Advanced Levels in the Maths stream. As I suffer from a nerve disorder, I have been carrying out my business with great difficulty. People’s Leasing has also supported my livelihood by offering me a free course on entrepreneurship. They also helped me to buy an industrial string hopper maker to upgrade my business. Despite my health limitations, I was able to scale up my business with this support. I am very grateful to People’s Leasing for the scholarship offered to my son, and for the support given to continue and expand my small business.

Mother of a scholarship beneficiary

(Name withheld from disclosure to protect identity)

Early childhood development

“During field visits we saw how teachers applied the new knowledge gained through the training”

We thank People’s Leasing for providing us with the opportunity to enhance the knowledge of preschool teachers on their role in the holistic development of a child through activity based lesson planning. It is indeed a rare opportunity for preschool teachers from remote areas to gain knowledge from national level resource persons specialised in early childhood development. We received really good feedback from the teachers. During field visits we saw how teachers applied the new knowledge gained through the training. The effort was ably coordinated by the manageress and staff of People’s Leasing Kamburupitiya branch, and the participants were very appreciative of the arrangements provided. We were also supported by the branch team in hosting an event on the World Children’s Day 2018. Research has revealed that 80% of brain development takes place before the age of 5 years, and this type of corporate sector interventions helps early childhood service providers to contribute more meaningfully towards the development of our Nation’s human capital.

Himali Kuruppu

Early Childhood Development Officer,
Divisional Secretariat – Kamburupitiya

Empowerment of local communities

State-of-the-art echo cardiographic machine presented to Cardiothoracic Unit of National Hospital, Colombo to perform surgeries with more accuracy and higher success rate in June 2020.

Curtaining of Ward 5 of De Soysa Hospital to improve patient friendliness and privacy of expecting mothers in April 2020.

Paediatric Ward of the Base Hospital Elpitiya was refurbished to create a child friendly environment and upgrade the quality of paediatric care in November 2019.

“People’s Leasing helped us to save the lives of critically ill neonates, using state-of-the-art lifesaving equipment.”

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the De Soysa Hospital for Women is a tertiary level referral centre that serves babies who need specialised care with meticulous monitoring for survival. We receive our little patients from all over the country. This includes babies of high risk pregnant mothers requiring specialised care. Upon delivery, most high risk new-borns are admitted to the NICU for life support. We also treat extreme pre-term babies born from 23 weeks of gestation onwards. On average, we receive 950-1,000 admissions per year to our neonatal units (both the NICU and the Special Baby Care Unit) for specialised care. There is often a waiting list for babies, as we cannot disconnect a baby from the lifesaving machinery until that baby fully recovers. Despite high demand, we operate this unit with very limited resources, and some of the existing equipment needs to be upgraded with the latest advancements to enable us to improve our care at the unit. We are very thankful to People’s Leasing for helping us to save the lives of critically ill neonates by providing state-of-the-art lifesaving equipment worth Rs. 5.9 million.

Dr Nalin Gamaathige

Neonatal Paediatrician, De Soysa Hospital for Women

Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2019 presented by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

– One of the Top Ten Best Corporate Citizens of Sri Lanka (7th time)

– Winner of the Community relations category

Ian Dian Abeysinghe Memorial JASTECA CSR – Sustainability Awards 2019 presented by (Japan Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association)* – Winner of the best Ten CSR/Sustainability projects

Corporate Accountability rating for People’s Leasing & Finance PLC has been found to the standard of “Gold” as issued by STING Consultants

STING Corporate Accountability Index’ by STING Consultants – Gold rating – (since 2011)

* The Award Ceremony has been postponed due to COVID-19

Updates on staff volunteered community empowerment initiatives were uploaded on intranet and posts on social media motivating other staff to follow.

A glimpse of community based CSR initiatives implemented in 2019/20

Name of the initiative		Expenditure in 2019/20 Rs. million
Presentation of critically-required medical instruments including a neonatal incubator, multipara monitor and neonatal and paediatric ventilator to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and improvement of patient friendliness of Ward No. 5 and 15 of De Soyza Hospital with curtaining and presentation of an air conditioner for labour room		5.94
Presentation of an echo cardiographic machine to Cardiothoracic Unit of National Hospital, Colombo		13.57
Provided monthly scholarships for 21 students of Wayamba Technical College to continue their vocational education on Hybrid Technology		1.16
Conducted workshop series on entrepreneurship skill development in partnership with Department of Entrepreneurship, University of Sri Jayawardenepura for 80 potential entrepreneurs and granted financial assistance for 21 entrepreneurs to start and improve their businesses upon review of their business plans		1.88
Maternal healthcare programme, People’s Leasing Anuradhapura Branch		0.30
Elpitiya Hospital Paediatric Ward refurbishment, People’s Leasing Elpitiya Branch		0.43
Completed refurbishment of the Accident and Emergency Service and Auditorium of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children		0.83
Presentation of the critically required medical equipment to Diyathalawa Base Hospital, People’s Leasing Bandarawela Branch		0.14
Refurbishment of the Female Ward in Saithamarathu Divisional Hospital, People’s Leasing Kalmunai Branch		0.24
Continued “Little Steps” preschool upgradation project with the engagement of the nearest People’s Leasing branch island-wide		1.07
Offered educational scholarships for 353 deserving students with periodic follow up through nearest People’s Leasing Branch		7.07
Conducted preschool teacher programmes on holistic development of preschoolers and activity based lesson planning		2.07
Improved sanitary facilities at Badi Ud-Din Mahmud Vidyalaya, Union Place by People’s Leasing Union Place Branch		0.71
Presentation of traffic cones to Military Police		0.25

Planned initiatives

In the ensuing years we plan to implement the following:

• Continue to support small businesses with financial literacy and provide access to resources they need to become viable and sustainable entrepreneurs.
• Commit to more employee education on embedding responsible citizenship within People’s Leasing culture.
• Promote ethical and responsible business practices among customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in doing their businesses ethically.
• Embed principles of responsible lending where People’s Leasing guards against the occurrence of unethical anti-social activity that could have a negative impact on society.
• Continue to invest in our strategic CSR priorities in line with country priorities towards the advancement of SDGs.
• Collaborate with more strategic partners to pool resources and make more scalable impact on society.