Beltone Financial has decided to establish a new company to finance small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the name “Beltone SME” with EGP 30m capital. The amount represents 100% of the capital of the new company initially.
The procedures of establishing and starting the activity of the new company are expected to be completed during the coming period, which coincides with the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) bold measures to reduce interest rates by 3%. The step would enhance the demand for large finance companies due to the low cost of financing, especially by SMEs that control the largest portion of the Egyptian economy.
Executive Chairperson of Beltone Financial Maged Shawky said the company will focus on managing funds for companies, to benefit of the low cost of financing, as IPOs which Beltone manages were postponed until the stock market recovers and the Coronavirus crisis ends.
He added that he considered this period the best for boosting the volume of financing through non-bank financing tools, especially with the funding crisis in the stock market.
Beltone Financial incurred higher losses in 2019 of about EGP 91.505m, compared to EGP 82.413m in 2018, an increase of 11%, taking into account minority interests.
According to financial statements, the company’s revenues decreased to EGP 243m from the beginning of January to the end of last December, compared to EGP 342.718m previously, a decline of 29%.
On the independent business level, the company’s financial statements showed that net losses declined in 2019 to EGP 202.429m, compared to EGP 210.361m in 2018.
