The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced it will loan a total of USD 13.5 million and provide related advisory services to three microfinance institutions in Myanmar. Fullerton Finance and Early Dawn Microfinance are each borrowing USD 6 million, and Maha Agriculture Public Company is borrowing USD 1.5 million. In addition, IFC plans to help create a credit bureau in Myanmar to facilitate credit risk management.
IFC owns 15 percent of Fullerton Finance, which was established 2014. Its other owners are Singapore-based Fullerton Financial Holdings and Myanmar’s Capital Diamond Star Group. Fullerton Financial Holdings, which is a unit of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, “invests in and operates financial institutions in” Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates in addition to Myanmar with a “focus on the [small and medium-sized enterprise] and mass market customer segments.” It reports an aggregate gross loan portfolio of SGD 17.3 billion (USD 12.7 billion), deposits of SGD 12.4 billion (USD 9.1 billion) and a net profit of SGD 9.2 billion (USD 6.75 billion) for 2016.
Dawn, which lends to low-income women in living in urban areas, was created by US-based NGO Save the Children in 2002 and has since been acquired by US-based NGO Accion. Dawn has total assets of USD 9.74 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 7.5 million outstanding to 60,000 borrowers and deposits of USD 590,000 held for 63,000 depositors as of 2015. Founded in 1961, Accion partners with 90 institutions in 40 countries as of 2017. As of 2015, Accion and its partners held a loan portfolio of USD 7.7 billion outstanding to 5.4 million borrowers and USD 5.6 billion in deposits for 4.4 million savers.
Maha, which is a subsidiary of agricultural input manufacturer Myanma Awba Group, focuses on digital agri-lending products. Financial data on these firms is not available.
IFC offers loans, equity investments, advisory services and technical assistance to private companies with the intent of alleviating poverty and promoting open and competitive markets in developing countries. As of 2016, IFC has 184 member countries and total assets of USD 90.4 billion.
By Sascha Strobl, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources:
IFC press release:
http://ifcextapps.ifc.org/IFCExt/pressroom/IFCPressRoom.nsf/0/-C9B0A711AEF7625F8525814700244185
Fullerton Finance:
https://www.fullertonmyanmar.com/
About Fullerton Financial Holdings:
http://www.fullertonfinancial.com/Profile/AboutUs.aspx
Dawn:
https://www.dawn.org.mm
Dawn on the MIX Market:
https://www.themix.org/mixmarket/profiles/dawn
Accion:
https://www.accion.org
Myanma Awba Group:
http://www.awba-group.com
The International Finance Corporation:
http://www.ifc.org/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Lending $5m to Accion’s Early Dawn Microfinance to Support Women Entrepreneurs in Myanmar
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-overseas-private-investment-corporation-opic-lending-5m-accions-early-dawn-microfinance-support-women-entrepreneurs-myanmar/#more-35423
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