Deutsche Bank AG has moved to the prestigious One Galle Face Tower (OGFT) marking a historic step in the bank’s journey in Sri Lanka. “Our move to this new and sustainable premises provides us with flexibility and scalability to meet the evolving needs of our clients and the business. The brand new & modern workspace with all employees located on the same floor supports us in running a more efficient operation, enabling us to provide world- class products and services to institutions and corporates in the country,” said Vikas Arora, Chief Country Officer, Deutsche Bank Sri Lanka.

Deutsche Bank, who are celebrating 150 years in Asia Pacific this year, have been a strong partner to Sri Lanka since 1980. The bank’s Corporate Bank division serves as the hub for corporate and commercial clients. At the core of this division is the Global Transaction Banking business, which is an established market leader in Europe with on the ground presence in 60 countries, including an extensive footprint in Asia Pacific. The Investment Bank division provides strategic advice to corporate and institutional clients, focusing on the bank’s traditional strengths in financing, advisory, fixed income and currencies, together with a focused equity capital markets business.

Multinational Corporates have been actively upgrading to premium office spaces in OGFT to cater to their distinguished clientele whilst also engaging their immensely talented pool of professionals by empowering them through hybrid work experiences for improved synergies and innovation. OGFT is fast-becoming Colombo’s most coveted and prestigious office address, continuously adding big names to its list of tenants.

Inaugurated in 2019, OGFT comprises approximately 531,000 square feet of luxury Grade ‘A’ office space spread over 32 floors. OGFT is the only ready-to-move-in Grade ‘A’ office building in Colombo built to Green Mark Gold standards and offers landlord-operated flexible office options and meeting facilities specifically for its tenants. The internationally developed and managed mixed-use development is a project by Shangri-La, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group with over 100 hotels and resorts around the world.

General Manager of One Galle Face and Shangri-La Colombo Herve Duboscq stated, “We are delighted to welcome Deutsche Bank to One Galle Face Tower after a lengthy and rigorous selection process. Their entry into the building adds to the stellar lineup of world-renowned banks, financial institutions, and MNCs already here. We continue to see a strong interest from savvy corporates for One Galle Face Tower who wish to upgrade premises and be a part of this prestigious development.”

“In order to achieve the 4th Sustainable Development Goal; which is access to quality education, digital communication has become a bridge that brings us closer to various forms of knowledge. A lot of us present here today have the challenge of accessing such knowledge due to the lack of an electronic device. Therefore, I take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in this great initiative for giving me and my colleagues the chance to access a new world of knowledge through this electronic device gifted to us.” – a student of St. Joseph's Kanishta Vidyalaya, Ja-Ela.

John Keells Foundation (JKF) partnered with Deutsche Bank to launch phase 2 of John Keells Praja Shakthi Digital Learning Initiative on 11^th November 2022. At the event, which was held at the Atrium, Cinnamon Grand Colombo, 80 students from 11 schools in John Keells Praja Shakthi locations of Colombo 2, Ja-Ela and Ranala were provided with tablets and data packages.

The event was attended by Mr. Kulathilaka, Divisional Educational Director of Ja-Ela, Krishan Balendra; Chairperson - John Keells Group, Sector Heads of John Keells Holdings (JKH) - Charitha Subasinghe, Nayana Mawilmada and Nadija Tambiah, Carmeline Jayasuriya; JKH’s Head of CSR, Directors and senior management of Deutsche Bank – Niranjan Figurado, Janath Ilangantileke, Prabath Samindra, Reza Mansoor and Charitha Dumbarage, representatives from Dialog Axiata PLC - Harsha De Zoysa and Nishal Herat, Principals and teachers of the schools and the beneficiary students with their parents.

John Keells Praja Shakthi Digital Learning Initiative was launched in 2021 in partnership with Deutsche Bank to facilitate online based learning of disadvantaged school children preparing for public examinations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pilot project (phase 1) involved the distribution of a total of 100 Samsung A7 tabs and data packages to selected Ordinary and Advanced Level students in identified John Keells Praja Shakthi locations of Colombo 2 and Ranala for the duration of the respective course of study. Under phase 2, 80 Samsung A8 tabs and data packages were distributed to school children expanding the locations to include Ja-Ela. Deutsche Bank is the co-funder and John Keells Office Automation (JKOA) and Dialog Axiata PLC are suppliers of devices and data packages respectively at concessionary rates.

Addressing the gathering, Principal of Munidasa Kumaratunga Vidyalaya in Ranala has this to say, “We did not choose the brightest children but the most deserving students who have the potential to do better in their studies. These devices have been an extra support for the children from last year, who will soon face their examinations and we have records to attest improvement in their studies. While thanking John Keells Foundation for this incredible support rendered to our children, we hope and wish they could do this programme in a much larger scale next year.”

The initiative was conducted within John Keells Praja Shakthi – the John Keells Group’s business centric community empowerment initiative managed by John Keells Foundation – which targets and addresses identified community development needs in collaboration with multiple partners in a sustainable manner. Education is one of the six focus areas of John Keells Foundation - the CSR entity of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), one of Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerates in the Colombo Stock Exchange operating over 70 companies in 7 diverse industry sectors. With a history of over 150 years, John Keells Group provides employment to over 14,000 persons and has been ranked as Sri Lanka's 'Most Respected Entity' for the last 17 Years by LMD magazine. Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a Participant of the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of “Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow” through John Keells Foundation and through the social entrepreneurship initiative, ‘Plasticcycle’, which is a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.