Al-Falaah, the Islamic Business Unit (IBU) of Lanka ORIX Finance PLC (LOFC), has scored double Gold at popular International Annual Report Competitions, the ARC International Awards (ARC) and the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards.

Al-Falaah won the accolades for its Annual Review for 2011/2012 tilted “Choice”. In addition to the 2 Gold Awards at ARC and LACP respectively, Al-Falaah also took home a Silver accolade at ARC and was placed amongst Top 10 Sri Lankan Annual Reports at LACP.

Metals won by Al-Falaah were Gold for “Printing and Production” category and Silver for “Written Text in the Financial Services” category (ARC Awards) and Gold for “Financial Services” category (LACP Vision Awards).

The ARC Awards are popularly known as the “Academy Awards” of Annual Reports. It was said that Sri Lanka has won a record number of 77 awards at this year’s competition in which 2,260 entries from 34 countries have been made. Both ARC and LACP Awards felicitate excellence in Annual Reports produced worldwide, and are renowned globally.

Commenting, Mr. Krishan Thilekaratne, General Manager of Al-Falaah IBU said “I am indeed pleased and proud of Al-Falaah’s achievement at these prestigious global awards and the diligence with which this young and dynamic business unit has progressed over the years. I thank Smart Media, the Annual Report Company for the world-class design and production of our report and the Al-Falaah IBU team for their relentless commitment towards cementing the Al-Falaah brand name at international level.”

During the FY 2011/12, Al-Falaah recorded a year of steady growth with a PBT increase of 35.99% in comparison to the previous FY. In addition, Al-Falaah recorded Al-Falaah Junior savings portfolio growth of approximately 225% together with a bottom line PAT growth of 32.81%. Al-Falaah’s contribution to the balance sheet of parent company LOFC is approximately 10%, indicative of its consistent growth within the LOLC Group.

Al-Falaah was established in 2007 as an alternate to conventional financing solutions offered by the LOLC Group, and its financial solutions are in keeping with Shari’ah principles of profit sharing and ethical business practices. Although it is deeply rooted in faith based principles, Al-Falaah offers its financial solutions to both the Islamic and non-Islamic communities alike, making it an integral part of inclusive financial services offered by LOFC.

Al-Falaah’s product portfolio consists of Mudharabah (Profit –Sharing Investments and Savings), Al-Falaah Junior (Minor Savings Account), Wakala (Long Term Investments), Ijarah (Leasing), Murabaha (Trade Financing), Musawamah (Import Finance) and Diminishing Musharakah (Property & Project Financing). Expanding its portfolio of products, the IBU recently added an exclusive finance option themed “Al-Falaah Ladies”, catering to the niche market of Ladies Financial Services. A dedicated business unit was also set up in this regard.

All Al-Falaah business transactions are overseen by an independent Shari’ah Supervisory Board headed by industry leading professionals with local and international expertise. LOFC is a licensed finance company of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and is rated [SL] A- by ICRA Lanka Ltd.