MALAYSIA-based private equity firm Creador Sdn. Bhd. expects Asialink Finance Corp. to grow exponentially in the coming years after it invested P4 billion into the lending firm.
Creador now has 18 percent interest in Asialink.
The company said Asialink now “has more resources to address the substantial unmet demands for loans from the largely unbanked small and medium enterprises.”
Omar Mahmoud, managing director at Creador, said Asialink is just scratching the surface of providing financial assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Ninety-nine percent of the 1.2 million registered businesses in the Philippines are SMEs and Asialink has served around 200,000 of them so far,” Mahmoud said.
“In 2022, we spoke to approximately 50 financial services companies in the country and it became clear that Asialink was the natural fit for Creador given its leading market share and long-term track record,” he added.
“Asialink, with Creador’s investment and proceeds from other funders like local banks, DFIs (development financial institutions) and major international lenders, will expand all over the country to reach more of these unbanked businesses so that they can grow their operations, generate jobs, and improve their lives,” said Robert Jordan Jr., Asialink chief executive officer.
Asialink, through Creador, has indirect investors from global development finance institutions, large pension funds, and university endowments.
Jordan said Asialink will introduce new products and services as it bolsters its presence nationwide and improve its internal efficiencies.
