LOLC Al-Falaah retains top spot

Al-Falaah, the Islamic Business Unit of LOLC Finance PLC, a subsidiary of the LOLC Group won top awards at the sixth Sri Lanka Islamic Banking and Finance Industry (SLIBFI) awards 2017 including the Gold award for being adjudged the ‘Islamic Finance Entity of the Year. LOLC Al-Falaah also clinched the Silver award for Social Upliftment in the CSR category and the Gold award for the Best Deal of the year.

The SLIBFI awards which was held for the sixth consecutive year took place in Colombo, recently. It recognises individuals and institutions that made significant contributions to the Islamic Banking and Finance Industry of Sri Lanka during 2016 and is hosted by EduConsult in conjunction with independent adjudicators, KPMG. 

The ‘Islamic Finance Entity of the Year’ Gold award was received by LOLC Group Head of Islamic Finance Krishan Thilakaratne. Speaking about the achievement, Thilakaratne said, “LOLC Al-Falaah, which is in its 10th year in operation has come a long way, not just in terms of its superior range of Shari’ah compliant financial solutions and wide spread reach, but in terms of becoming the most trusted and reliable Islamic financial service provider in Sri Lanka. By clinching the top slot for the second year, we believe that Al-Falaah has made an indelible mark in the hearts of our customers and the IBF industry.” Thilakaratne thanked the Shari’ah Supervisory Board and LOLC’s Board of Directors for their steadfast trust as well as the Staff for their commitment which he reiterated as the key reasons behind Al-Falaah’s continuous achievements and superior results. 

Speaking about winning the Gold award for the Best Deal of the year at the 2017 SLIBFI awards, LOLC Finance Al-Falaah Islamic Business Unit Deputy General Manager Shiraz Refai said, “It is a significant achievement to be recognised for the Sukuk (Alternate option for Securitisation) which we developed as a signature financial instrument that can be offered as an alternate format for the conventional securitisation product. This innovative product which has achieved both local and global recognition by winning the Deal of the Year accolades both at SLIBFI Awards, Colombo and IFN Awards, Dubai has now set a trend in the industry for raising working-capital within the IBF sector. Receiving such recognition clearly signifies our dedication and passion for innovation, industry value addition, raising local standards and international benchmarking within our core business model.”

Al-Falaah which was established in 2007, functions directly under the auspices of LOLC Finance PLC, which is one of Sri Lanka’s largest non-banking financial institutions. LOLC Finance which is a regulated finance company of the Central Bank is rated [SL] A with stable outlook by ICRA Lanka Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of ICRA Ltd. – an associate of Moody’s Investors Service.