TIDMASAI
RNS Number : 8766Y
ASA International Group PLC
19 January 2022
Press release
ASA International Group plc December 2021 business update
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 19 January 2022 - ASA International,
('ASA International', the 'Company' or the 'Group'), one of the
world's largest international microfinance institutions, today
provides the following update of the impact of Covid-19 on its
business operations as at 31 December 2021.
-- Liquidity remains high with approximately USD 91m of
unrestricted cash and cash equivalents across the Group. Th e
reduction in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents compared to
November, is primarily due to loan repayments in India.
-- The pipeline of funding deals under negotiation totalled
approximately USD 187m, which has come down due to USD 19m of fresh
loans secured before the 2021 year-end.
-- With the exception of India and Myanmar, all other operating
companies continued to achieve collection efficiency of more than
90% and 9 countries achieved more than 95%.
-- India collections improved to 74% from 69%, as most states
slowly recovered from recent lockdowns. Collection efficiency,
excluding instalments due from clients receiving the one-time loan
restructuring offered by the Reserve Bank of India ('RBI'),
increased to 94%.
-- Sri Lanka collections improved to 94% from 92%, following the end of nationwide lockdowns.
-- Collections in Myanmar improved to 78% from 75% in November,
despite the partial lockdown imposed by the local government.
-- T he benchmark PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book
loans and excluding loans overdue more than 365 days, improved to
7.3% from 10.1% in November, and PAR>90 improved to 4.6% from
7.2% in November.
-- The Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India, the
Philippines and Myanmar, collectively have been able to reduce
PAR>30 to 1.6%.
-- Excluding all loans which have been overdue for more than 180
days and, as a result, have been fully provided for, PAR>30
slightly improved from 4.4% in November to 4.1%.
-- Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 4
countries. The decreasing percentages seen in Philippines, Ghana,
Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda were primarily due to
reduced loan uptake by clients over the Christmas holidays.
-- With the number of clients decreasing to 2.4m (6.2% lower
than in November and fractionally higher than in December 2020)
partly due to provisional write-offs, and with disbursements as
percentage of collections decreasing , Gross OLP decreased to USD
429m (5% lower than in November 2021 and 4% lower than in December
2020).
-- The moratoriums in December amounted to USD 29.5 m, primarily
due to the loan restructuring of certain distressed clients in
India as per the RBI guidelines.
Health impact of COVID-19 on staff and clients
-- Since March 2020, the number of staff members confirmed as
infected by Covid-19 increased to 459 of over 12,800 staff , with
two deaths . Confirmed infections amongst 2.4m clients increased to
20,748 from 20,395 in the previous month, resulting in 685 deaths
since the start of the pandemic. Of the 685 client deaths across
the Group, 451 are from Myanmar, with no deaths occurring in
December 2021.
Funding
-- Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents remained high at
approximately USD 91m. Th e reduction in unrestricted cash and cash
equivalents compared to November, is primarily due to loan
repayments in India.
-- The majority of the Company's USD 187m pipeline of future
wholesale loans are supported by (agreed) term sheets and/or draft
loan documentation. The terms and conditions of the remaining loans
are being negotiated with lenders. The drop in the funding pipeline
was partially caused by the relatively large amount (approximately
USD 19m) of new loans secured from local and international lenders
in December.
Collection efficiency until 31 December 2021 (1, 2)
Countries Apr/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 Aug/21 Sep/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
India 87% 67% 55% 58% 60% 64% 70% 69% 74%
Pakistan 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99%
Sri Lanka 93% 57% 76%(3) 76% 80%(3) Nil(3) 91% 92% 94%
The Philippines 84% 89% 99% 100% 99% 96% 97% 97% 97%
Myanmar 55% 67% 70% 64%(4) Nil(5) 55%(6) 68%(6) 75%(6) 78%(6)
Ghana 100% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 100% 99% 99%
Nigeria 95% 94% 96% 96% 96% 95% 96% 97% 96%
Sierra Leone 93% 92% 94% 93% 92% 91% 93% 92% 92%
Kenya 100% 99% 99% 99% 99% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Uganda 100% 100% 95% 83% 84% 89% 94% 98% 100%
Tanzania 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Rwanda 95% 96% 96% 96% 94% 96% 97% 97% 97%
Zambia 100% 99% 100% 100% 99% 100% 99% 99% 99%
----------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
(1) Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from clients
divided by realizable collections for the period.
(2) As of December 2020, the definition of collection efficiency has
been amended in view of the increased amount of overdue collection
and advance payments in various countries to: the sum of actual regular
collections, actual overdue collections and actual advance payments
divided by the sum of realizable regular collections, actual overdue
collections and actual advance payments. This also means that collection
efficiency no longer can exceed 100%.
(3) The collection efficiency for 1-15 June 2021, 20-31 August 2021,
and 1-29 September 2021 is nil due to the lockdowns in Sri Lanka. Only
the collection efficiency for 16-30 June 2021,1-19 August 2021, and
30 September 2021 is provided.
(4) Collection efficiency for 1-16 July 2021. The collection efficiency
for 17-31 July is nil due to the holiday from 17 July to 1 August 2021,
announced by the Myanmar Government, so only the collection efficiency
for 1-16 July 2021 is provided.
(5) Collection efficiency for August 2021 is nil due to the stay-at-home
policy from 1 August to 24 September 2021, announced by the Myanmar
Government.
(6) Collections are impacted by the ongoing lockdowns.
-- Collection efficiency across the Group increased or remained
broadly stable compared to the previous month in all countries
.
-- Collections in India improved to 74%, as clients' businesses
continue to slowly recover from the impact of recent lockdowns in
most states. Collection efficiency, excluding instalments due from
clients receiving the one-time loan restructuring, increased to
94%.
-- Collection efficiency, including regular and overdue
collections as well as advance payments, amounts to 95% as a
percentage of the regular, realizable collections, including
advance payments. The substantial difference is due to the Group's
policy that any loan instalment paid is first credited against the
oldest outstanding amount overdue. This has an adverse impact on
India's monthly collection efficiency, which is further aggravated
by the relatively long duration of the loans disbursed in
India.
-- Collections in Sri Lanka improved to 94%, following the end of nation-wide lockdowns.
-- Myanmar collections improved to 78%, despite the partial lockdown imposed by the government.
Loan portfolio quality up to and including December 2021 (7, 8,
9)
Gross OLP (in USDm) Non-overdue loans PAR>30 less PAR>180
------------------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------
Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
India (total) 125 125 113 55.7% 57.7% 67.2% 13.3% 12.6% 12.4%
Pakistan 76 77 79 99.6% 99.7% 99.7% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%
Sri Lanka 8 8 8 81.1% 82.5% 87.2% 6.4% 4.3% 3.6%
Philippines 55 56 47 77.7% 79.1% 95.5% 2.4% 2.1% 2.3%
Myanmar 20 20 20 98.6% 98.6% 97.9% 0.4% 0.4% 0.6%
Ghana 47 49 49 99.1% 99.2% 99.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%
Nigeria 37 41 40 90.5% 90.9% 92.7% 2.9% 2.6% 2.8%
Sierra
Leone 7 7 7 79.7% 78.8% 87.4% 3.2% 4.9% 5.6%
Kenya 19 19 17 91.1% 91.6% 98.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.5%
Uganda 10 10 10 85.5% 89.1% 89.8% 5.5% 3.8% 3.1%
Tanzania 31 33 35 98.3% 98.4% 99.1% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%
Rwanda 3 3 3 90.9% 92.7% 92.9% 2.8% 2.4% 2.6%
Zambia 2 2 2 98.9% 98.4% 98.2% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%
Group 439 449 429 82.0% 83.2% 89.1% 4.8% 4.4% 4.1%
PAR>30 PAR>90 PAR>180
------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------
Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
India (total) 29.4% 25.2% 22.9% 20.3% 16.5% 14.2% 16.0% 12.6% 10.5%
Pakistan 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%
Sri Lanka 9.1% 6.8% 6.0% 6.7% 5.2% 4.0% 2.8% 2.5% 2.5%
Philippines 18.2% 17.2% 2.5% 16.6% 16.0% 1.5% 15.8% 15.1% 0.3%
Myanmar 1.0% 1.0% 1.1% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5%
Ghana 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Nigeria 4.5% 4.2% 4.6% 2.9% 2.8% 3.1% 1.6% 1.6% 1.7%
Sierra
Leone 5.1% 6.8% 7.5% 3.2% 3.5% 4.0% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9%
Kenya 1.6% 1.0% 1.0% 1.3% 0.8% 0.8% 1.1% 0.6% 0.5%
Uganda 10.6% 5.6% 3.8% 7.1% 4.4% 3.4% 5.1% 1.8% 0.7%
Tanzania 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3%
Rwanda 6.4% 4.7% 4.5% 4.6% 3.5% 3.2% 3.6% 2.3% 1.9%
Zambia 1.0% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% 0.2% 0.2%
Group 11.8% 10.1% 7.3% 8.6% 7.2% 4.6% 7.0% 5.7% 3.1%
(7) Gross OLP includes the off-book BC and DA model, excluding interest
receivable and before deducting ECL provisions and modification loss.
(8) PAR>x is the percentage of outstanding customer loans with at
least one instalment payment overdue x days, excluding loans more
than 365 days overdue, to Gross OLP including off-book loans. Loans
overdue more than 365 days now comprise 1% of the Gross OLP, following
a provisional write-off of bad debts.
(9) The table "PAR>30 less PAR>180" shows the percentage of outstanding
client loans with a PAR greater than 30 days, less those loans which
have been fully provided for.
-- The reduction in Gross OLP and PAR in India and the
Philippines are primarily caused by provisional write-offs. As a
result, PAR>30 for the Group improved to 7.3%, which was also
impacted by moratoriums granted in Myanmar.
-- Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD
33.7m is capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD
1.8m has no credit exposure.
Disbursements vs collections of loans until 31 December 2021
(10)
Countries Apr/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 Aug/21 Sep/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
------- -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- ------- -------
India 71% 3% 5% 25% 36% 52% 39% 85% 88%
Pakistan 102% 89%(11) 102% 98% 103% 100% 100% 98% 100%
Sri Lanka 43% 17% 0% 56% 87% Nil(13) 86% 100% 113%
The Philippines 88% 91% 88% 87% 91% 89% 90% 90% 81%
Myanmar 30% 76% 87% 64% Nil(12) 37% 73% 90% 95%
Ghana 99% 91%(11) 99% 85% 112% 120% 111% 114% 108%
Nigeria 109% 108% 109% 103% 104% 110% 128% 134% 93%
Sierra Leone 95% 101% 118% 119% 133% 124% 112% 112% 110%
Kenya 100% 100% 93% 107% 97% 100% 96% 103% 55%
Uganda 105% 99% 53% 60% 93% 109% 115% 121% 69%
Tanzania 107% 109% 96% 86% 91% 100% 107% 109% 97%
Rwanda 95% 106% 81% 61% 95% 102% 101% 105% 98%
Zambia 107% 142% 170% 103% 102% 102% 110% 111% 109%
----------------- ------- -------- ------- ------- -------- -------- ------- ------- -------
(10) Disbursements vs collections refers to actual loan disbursements
made to clients divided by total loans collected from clients in the period.
(11) Slowdown in disbursements due to official EID holidays in second
week of May.
(12) Disbursements vs collections for August is nil due to the stay-at-home
policy announced by the Myanmar Government.
(13) Disbursements vs collections for September is nil due the nationwide
lockdowns.
-- Due to the Christmas holidays, disbursements of new loans
decreased as a percentage of weekly collections in ten
countries.
Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 31
December 2021
Clients (in Gross OLP (in
thousands) Delta USDm) Delta
Dec/20-Dec/21 Dec/20-Dec/21 Nov/21-Dec/21
Countries Dec/20 Nov/21 Dec/21 Dec/20-Dec/21 Nov/21-Dec/21 Dec/20 Nov/21 Dec/21 USD CC(14) USD
India 714 629 541 -24% -14% 165 125 113 -32% -31% -10%
Pakistan 416 501 512 23% 2% 64 77 79 22% 36% 3%
Sri Lanka 56 52 53 -5% 2% 9 8 8 -8% 1% 2%
The
Philippines 299 352 290 -3% -18% 50 56 47 -7% -1% -16%
Myanmar 129 113 111 -14% -1% 31 20 20 -34% -12% 1%
Ghana 158 158 159 1% 0% 42 49 49 15% 21% 1%
Nigeria 253 265 254 0% -4% 33 41 40 23% 31% -2%
Sierra
Leone 36 45 44 22% -2% 4 7 7 55% 73% -1%
Kenya 92 129 119 29% -8% 13 19 17 27% 32% -14%
Uganda 81 91 92 13% 1% 8 10 10 20% 17% -5%
Tanzania 121 172 174 43% 1% 22 33 35 61% 60% 5%
Rwanda 19 18 18 -6% 3% 3 3 3 14% 19% 2%
Zambia 5 14 15 171% 7% 0.4 2 2 392% 287% 5%
Total 2,381 2,539 2,382 0.04% -6.2% 445 450 429 -4% 2% -5%
(14) Constant currency ('CC') implies conversion of local
currency results to USD with the exchange rate from the beginning
of the period.
-- With the number of clients decreasing to 2.4m (6.2% lower
than in November and fractionally higher than in December 2020)
caused by provisional write-offs, and disbursements as percentage
of collections decreasing , Gross OLP decreased to USD 429m (5%
lower than in November 2021 and 4% lower than in December
2020).
Selected moratoriums (15) on loan repayments until 31 December
2021
Clients under moratorium
(in thousands)
As % of Total
Countries Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Clients
India 205 205 205 38%
Pakistan 0 0 0 0%
Sri Lanka 5 1 0 0%
The Philippines 0 0 0 0%
Myanmar 54 49 44 39%
Ghana 0 0 0 0%
Nigeria 0 0 0 0%
Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0%
Kenya 0 0 0 0%
Uganda 0 0 0 0%
Tanzania 0 0 0 0%
Rwanda 0 0 0 0%
Zambia 0 0 0 0%
Total 264 255 249 10%
Moratorium amounts (USD
thousands)
December Moratoriums As % of Total
Countries Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 as % of OLP Moratoriums
India 35,276 31,935 28,753 26% 97%
Pakistan 0 0 0 0% 0%
Sri Lanka 71 12 0 0% 0%
The Philippines 0 0 0 0% 0%
Myanmar 1,010 902 778 4% 3%
Ghana 0 0 0 0% 0%
Nigeria 0 0 0 0% 0%
Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0% 0%
Kenya 0 0 0 0% 0%
Uganda 0 0 0 0% 0%
Tanzania 0 0 0 0% 0%
Rwanda 0 0 0 0% 0%
Zambia 0 0 0 0% 0%
Total 36,358 32,850 29,531 7% 100%
(15) Moratoriums relate to clients who have received an
extension for the payment of one or more loan instalments during
the month.
-- Moratoriums on loan repayments relate primarily to
approximately 38% of clients in India, who accepted to benefit from
the one-time debt restructuring scheme established by the RBI and
confirmed in September 2021. See RBI Covid-19 Restructuring
Guidelines .
-- Moratoriums granted in Myanmar were due to disruption in
operations following partial lockdowns.
-- The moratorium amount across the Group was USD 29.5m, which
represents 7 % of the Group's Gross OLP.
Key events in January 2022
-- In West Bengal, India, a lockdown has been imposed in several
districts until 31 January 2022, impacting field staff gatherings
with clients.
-- Other than the existing partial lockdown and curfews in
Myanmar, Uganda and Rwanda, the Company is not aware of any further
restrictions implemented in its operating countries as a result of
the emergence of the Omicron variant up until 17 January 2022.
Please note that, while the Company's operational performance
appears to gradually normalize in most countries except for India
and Myanmar, the risk of additional challenges to our operations
should not be underestimated, due to (i) the still relatively high
infection rates, (ii) the current lack of available vaccines in
most of our operating countries, (iii) the risk of the introduction
of more infectious COVID-19 variants in our operating countries,
and (iv) the associated disruption this may cause to the businesses
of our clients.
---
Enquiries:
ASA International Group plc
Investor Relations +31 6 2030 0139
Véronique Schyns vschyns@asa-international.com
About ASA International Group plc
ASA International is one of the world's largest international
microfinance institutions, with a strong commitment to financial
inclusion and socioeconomic progress. The company provides small,
socially responsible loans to low-income, financially underserved
entrepreneurs, predominantly women, across South Asia, South East
Asia, West and East Africa.
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