People's Leasing to import 1,000 buses

People's Leasing Company Ltd (PLC) has entered into an agreement recently in India with Ashok Leyland Ltd to import passenger transport buses to the value of US$ 26 million.

The contract is valid for one year and will bring in over 1,000 vehicles, to be released on lease terms to customers at a special price, specifically SMEs outside the Colombo metropolitan area. PLC is the premier specialised leasing company in Sri Lanka and has emerged as the market leader to encourage the regional SME sector, especially in building entrepreneurial capabilities in individuals.

PLC commenced its operations in 1996 as a fully owned subsidiary of the People's Bank.

Currently, PLC has a network of 23 branch offices and over 80 window offices in major cities across the country. In 1996 and 2001, PLC became a PCI for the Indian Line of Credit and enjoyed long term credit extended to purchase capital goods of Indian origin.

This credit line enabled PLC to become a dominant player in vehicle financing with the primary focus on the public passenger transport segment which was neglected by other financial institutions.