PCH Holdings PLC appoints new Chairman and Directors

PCH Holdings PLC has appointed three new directors to its board: Ajita Mahes Pasqual as Executive Chairman, Dr. Ali Gulamhusein as

Executive Director and s as Non-Executive Director.

“As recognised figures of the financial sector, both Mr, Pasqual and Mr, Renganathan can benefit PCH Holdings with their expertise and insight,” a company spokesperson said in a media release.

The Board of Directors amended the Articles of Association to increase the maximum number of directors from seven to 10, to allow for a greater diversity of professionals on the board.

Mr. Pasqual has 31 years’ experience in the banking sector with 22½ years in senior management positions with HSBC in Corporate Banking, Trade Finance & Treasury. He held the positions of Director, General Manager, and CEO in Seylan Bank PLC from January 2004 to December 2012.

Mr Renganathan is a career banker with over 40 years of experience, including 25 years of management experience with one of the top 25 banks in the world, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. Now retired, he continues to be retained by the bank in a consultative capacity.

Dr. Gulamhusein is the chairman of Adam Investments PLC, the holding company of PCH Holdings PLC. He holds a PhD from Tokyo, Japan and a Degree from King’s College London, UK.

In a further disclosure, PCHH said the company, under the existing provisions of the Central Bank, has resolved to incorporate a fully owned subsidiary for the purpose of operating a micro finance business in Sri Lanka Also, the company has resolved to act as a placement agent for foreign funds, looking to invest in the Sri Lankan Government and Corporate Debt market.
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CSE to finalise Central Counterparty model by end May

By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera

Progressive partnerships with regional exchange

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will finalise its financial transaction facilitator mechanism, the Central Counterparty’s (CCP) model and the final structure by month end, officials said.

Rajeeva Bandaranayake, CSE CEO told the Business Times that once this is done, they intend to consult all stakeholders and obtain their consensus and implement it. “This is the first time this has progressed this far,” he said. “The new CDS will have better features enabling us to give better service to its customers,” he said.

The CCP inserts itself between counterparties to financial contracts traded in one or more markets (becoming the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer) and this will fast-track the demutualisation (the process through which a member-owned company becomes shareholder-owned) of the CSE. “A CCP has the potential to reduce significant risks to market participants by imposing more robust risk controls on all participants and to enhance the liquidity of the markets it serves, because it tends to reduce risks to participants and, in many cases, because it facilitates anonymous trading,” Mr. Bandaranayake added. He said that the South Asian Investment Conference (SAIC) organised by the CSE in association with the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) on Monday saw many bilateral ties formed between regional exchanges.

“There was a lot of networking by participating exchanges,” he said, adding that CSE’s Central Depository System (CDS) had an undertaking with its Indian counterpart on related areas. “We are also getting into a similar partnership with the Maldives,” he said, adding that that SAFE is encouraging a regional index and they are mooting an idea of a regional fund. An SEC source said that an IT-BPO board that was under discussion by stockholders and the regulators is making progress. “Some of us are discussing on how to value the IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms which plan to go public,” the source told the Business Times.

He said that the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Service Companies (SLAASCOM) is in talks with CSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to the best options for taking IT companies public.

Analysts say that the broader market is trading at an overall market Price to Earnings of 14.9 times four quarterly earnings while corporate earnings denote strong growth potential.

They say that the easing of interest rates, improving external sector performance coupled with reductions in fuel and electricity pricing witnessed during 2H 2014 are likely to stand as a steady platform for improving performances of listed corporates.
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Gestetner gears up for the future

Total documents solutions provider Gestetner, which last year celebrated 50 years as a public quoted company since 1964, is gearing up for the future by repositioning itself, the company said in a news release.

With a rapidly-growing dealer network, which has risen from three to 21 to date, the company has also increased its market share and is now among the top three solutions providers in the industry.

Gestetner of Ceylon PLC unveiled its new image at an event held at Cinnamon Grand on April 29. The new corporate logo sports a cutting-edge look in vibrant shades of red and blue.

The clean circular ‘G’ signifies the flow of end-to-end solutions offered by the company, culminating in a smart arrow indicating the growth envisioned.

``A force to reckon with, Gestetner is now more vibrant than ever before. With a new and regenerated team on board to guide the company forward, in the backdrop of several experienced personnel joining it recently, Gestetner provides a significantly more caring and customer-oriented service,’’ the release said.

``Be it owned, outsourced or IT-based, Gestetner manages companies’ day-to-day document reproduction needs cost-effectively by providing innovative hardware and software management utility that guarantees workflow and profits."

A trusted and respected company in Sri Lanka for over 70 years and industry pioneer in Sri Lanka, Gestetner’s portfolio includes the world’s leading office automation brands, providing confidence, reliability and value for money. Its ever-expanding product portfolio includes Ricoh, BenQ, Fujitsu and Lenovo, in addition to services provided by Nashua Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. (Gestetner Offset) and Gestetner Printing Services (Pvt) Ltd. (Gestetner Outsource), under parent company Gestetner of Ceylon PLC.

Gestetner’s core business products are of Japanese origin. While Ricoh retains the number one position in global market share, Fujitsu occupies the top laptop brand slot in Japan and BenQ projectors are within the top three in terms of global market share. The company also sells and rents equipment in addition to undertaking high quality digital printing and offset printing.
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