Ravi Wijeratne appointed to Board of SMB Leasing

Business tycoon and shareholder Ravi Wijeratne has been appointed to the Board of Directors of SMB Leasing Plc.

The appointment was effective from 8 March 2013, whilst the Central Bank had approved the move in January.Ravi holds 16.35% stake in SMB (up from 11% in 2011) whilst Dr. Senthilverl is the largest shareholder with a control of 22%. For the 12 months ended on 31 December 2012, SMB reported a after tax profit of Rs. 62.4 million, up from Rs 0.1 million in the previous year. Operating profit before associate company profits amounted to Rs. 70.4 million, as against a loss of Rs. 12.6 million in 2011.

Gross income rose by 41% to Rs. 191 million as per provisional results for 2012.

Ravi is the Chairman and Managing Director of Rank Holdings and the Rank Group of Companies, with interests ranging from property, logistics, hydropower, and wind energy, solid waste management and entertainment.

He is one of the two license holders for gaming operations in Colombo and successfully operated Sri Lanka’s largest casino for 18 years. The Group also owns the largest dry port in Sri Lanka (Rank Container Terminals Ltd.), which conducts verification services for Sri Lanka Customs on 80% of import cargo volume that is imported through the Colombo Port.

Ravi studied at Royal College, Colombo and departed to the UK for higher studies, where he enrolled at the London School of Accountancy and Management and pursued a qualification as an accountant. He remained in the UK for 17 years and embarked on several entrepreneurial ventures, according to the filing to the CSE by SMB Leasing Plc.

Following the appointment, the Board of Directors of SMB Leasing Plc comprises of Umesh Gautam (Chairman), P.V. Ranasinghe (Acting CEO), M.S.I. Peiris, G.C.B. Ranasinghe, J.C. Korale, T. Senthilverl, S.N.P. Palihena and H.R.S. Wijeratne.