MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asia’s Microfinance Industry Dominated by US and European Investors, Says Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Microfinance, Mr Prashant Thakker

According to a recent article in The Business Times, a daily Singaporean newspaper, “Asia’s institutional and private investors have yet to warm to the microfinance sector, despite its prominence in the region and its resilience as an asset class this past downturn.” Foreign investments in Asia’s microfinance sector totaled over USD 6.5 billion at the end of 2008, with the majority of funding coming from institutional investors in Europe and the US, the article states.

“So here is Asia, [the] largest microfinance market in the world, funded mostly, in terms of private equity debt capital, by players from Europe and the US… Either there is no interest or no awareness or maybe it’s just a question of time before this opportunity is picked up by Asian investors too,” said Mr Prashant Thakker, global head of microfinance for Standard Chartered Bank.

By: Stefanie Rubin, Research Assistant

About Standard Chartered PLC:

Standard Chartered was formed in 1969 through a merger of two banks: The Standard Bank of British South Africa, founded in 1863, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, founded in 1853. The bank has over 1,600 branches in over 70 countries. Since the 1990’s, Standard Chartered has focused on developing its franchises in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

As of 2008, Standard Chartered had extended USD 385 million in loans to 52 microfinance institutions, with an average loan size of USD 7 million.

Additional Resources:

Source Article: The Business Times: “Asia Investors Yet to Warm up to Microfinance,” http://www.syminvest.com/market/news/microfinance/asia-investors-yet-to-warm-up-to-microfinance/2010/2/1/2229

MicroCapital Universe: Standard Chartered PLC: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Standard+Chartered+PLC

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