Phoenix Leasing Company Limited incorporated in Bangladesh on 19 April 1995 as a public limited company under the companies act 1994 with registered office at Dhaka. The company obtained license as a Non-bank Financial Institution on 9 May 1995 under Section 4(1) of the Financial Institutions Act 1993. It started business with an authorised and a paid up capital of Tk 500 million and Tk 50 million respectively. The capital of the company is divided into ordinary shares of Tk 100 each. The paid up capital was Tk 100 million in 2000.

The company provides lease financing for various types of machinery and equipment including vehicles for industrial, commercial and agricultural purposes. It invests in sectors such as transport, electric and electronic goods, leather, textile, printing, marine vehicles and equipment, steel and engineering, fishing boats and trawlers, medical equipment and small scale industries. The company first purchases a property in its own name and pays the total price to its supplier. After accumulating and adding all other relevant/incidental costs with the original purchase price, it determines the lease price of the property and then signs lease contracts with the lessee for a period of two to five years. Lease contracts require security or collateral from the lessee in various forms and lease installments are determined on the basis of price of the properties to be leased and other relevant factors. On the expiry of the lease periods/contracts, the lessee can gain the ownership of the leased property/equipment upon payment of 5% of transfer value of the equipment as salvage value of that property. Alternatively, the ownership and physical possession of the property goes back to the lessor.

Up to 31 December 2000, the company extended Tk 2,133 million in loans to 540 projects. During the period, the term finance made by the company and recovery therefrom stood at Tk 458 million and Tk 295 million respectively. On 31 December 2000, total liabilities of the company stood at Tk 620.26 million which comprised shareholders' equity and long-term liabilities, including long-term loans from banks, lease rental deposits, security deposits, and term and other deposit holdings. The assets of the company were lease assets, term finance (loans), fixed and current assets, balances with other banks and financial institutions, investment in shares, and other short-term loans and prepaid expenses. On the reference date, the net profit of the company stood at Tk 28.55 million.

In 2001, the company had 32 employees headed by a managing director. Besides the head office at Dhaka, the company had a branch office at Chittagong. [S M Mahfuzur Rahman]