TIDMASAI
RNS Number : 9611I
ASA International Group PLC
18 August 2021
ASA International Group plc July 2021 business update
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 18 August 2021 - 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 July 2021.
-- Liquidity remains high with approximately USD 116m of
unrestricted cash and cash equivalents across the Group.
-- The pipeline of funding deals under negotiation totalled approximately USD 151m.
-- With the exception of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Sierra Leone
and Uganda, all other operating companies achieved collection
efficiency of more than 95%.
-- India collections slightly improved to 58% despite lockdowns
in most states following the second wave of COVID-19 affecting the
whole country.
-- Sri Lanka collections improved significantly to 76% after nationwide lockdown in June.
-- Collections in Myanmar declined to 59% due to a two weeks'
holiday announced by the government, which is associated to a rapid
and severe increase of COVID-19 infections.
-- Uganda collections dropped to 83% due to nationwide lockdowns
caused by the second wave of COVID-19.
-- Portfolio quality remained challenging, particularly in
India, with benchmark PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book
loans and excluding loans overdue more than 365 days, increasing to
16.5% from 14.8% in June 2021, and PAR>90 unchanging.
-- The Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India, the
Philippines and Myanmar, collectively have been able to maintain
PAR>30 at 3.5%.
-- Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 4
countries with much lower percentages seen in India, Sri Lanka,
Uganda, and Rwanda due to amongst others lockdowns and other
COVID-19 related restrictions.
-- The number of clients remained around 2.5m, while Gross OLP
decreased to USD 442m (8% higher than in July 2020 and 3.6% lower
compared to June 2021), predominantly caused by the declining loan
portfolio in India.
-- The moratoriums granted in June amounted to USD 46.6 m,
primarily due to a loan restructuring of certain distressed clients
in India as per the Reserve Bank of India ('RBI') guidelines.
Health impact of COVID-19 on staff and clients
-- The immediate health impact of COVID-19 on the Company's
operations increased with 342 of over 12,500 staff members
confirmed as infected since March 2020 , with two deaths . Since
March 2020, confirmed infections amongst 2.5m clients increased
from 7,262 at the end of June 2021 to 11,330 as at 31 July 2021,
resulting in 296 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Of the 296
client deaths across the Group, 35 are from India, with 3 of those
deaths occurring in July 2021 and 193 are from Myanmar, with 187 of
those deaths occurring in July 2021.
Funding
-- Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents remained high at approximately USD 116m.
-- The Company secured approximately USD 9m of new loans from
local and international lenders in July 2021.
-- The majority of the Company's USD 151m 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.
-- As mentioned in the June 2021 business update, the Group is
exploring the possibilities to raise some local (Indian) equity
capital to strengthen the balance sheet of ASA India, in view of
the increasing amount of ECL provisions in India.
Collection efficiency until 31 July 2021(1,2)
Countries Jan/21 Feb/21 Mar/21 Apr/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21
------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
India 82% 84% 87% 87% 67% 55% 58%
Pakistan 98% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99%
Sri Lanka 97% 90% 91% 93% 57% 76%(3) 76%
The Philippines 75% 80% 85% 84% 89% 99% 100%
Myanmar 89% 78% 59% 55% 67% 70% 64%(4)
Ghana 99% 100% 100% 100% 99% 99% 99%
Nigeria 95% 97% 96% 95% 94% 96% 96%
Sierra Leone 95% 89% 96% 93% 92% 94% 93%
Kenya 97% 98% 100% 100% 99% 99% 99%
Uganda 87% 93% 99% 100% 100% 95% 83%
Tanzania 99% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Rwanda 93% 91% 96% 95% 96% 96% 96%
Zambia 100% 100% 100% 100% 99% 100% 100%
----------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
(1) Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from
clients divided by expected collections for the period; since
any moratorium on the repayment of loans are only granted to
clients after the end of the month, the collection efficiency
is not affected by the grant of such moratorium.
(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 expected regular
collections, actual overdue collections and actual advance payments.
This also means that collection efficiency no longer can exceed
100%.
(3) Collection efficiency for 16-30 June 2021. The collection
efficiency for 1-15 June 2021 is nil due to the lockdown in
Sri Lanka, so only the collection efficiency for 16-30 June
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.
-- Collection efficiency across the Group increased or remained
broadly stable compared to the previous month in all countries,
with the exception of Myanmar and Uganda .
-- Collections in India improved to 58 %, despite the increased
disruptions to operations following lockdowns in most states, as a
result of the severe second wave of COVID-19.
-- Collections in Sri Lanka increased to 76% after the new lockdowns.
-- Collections in Myanmar declined to 64%, due to a two weeks'
holiday announced by the government, which is associated to a rapid
and severe increase of COVID-19 infections.
-- In Uganda collections decreased to 83% due to the 42 days
nationwide lockdowns from 10 June 2021 caused by the second wave of
COVID-19.
Loan portfolio quality up to and including July 2021(5,6,7)
Gross OLP (in USDm) Non-overdue loans PAR>30 less PAR>180
------------------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------
May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21
India
(total) 167 155 144 47.3% 57.5% 56.6% 15.3% 14.3% 14.6%
Pakistan 76 75 74 97.0% 98.4% 98.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3%
Sri Lanka 9 8 8 36.3% 62.7% 68.7% 4.6% 9.4% 8.3%
Philippines 54 55 52 76.8% 76.6% 77.3% 18.3% 17.4% 4.2%
Myanmar 24 24 24 58.2% 64.7% 50.4% 0.6% 0.5% 24.2%
Ghana 46 46 43 99.3% 99.2% 98.9% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3%
Nigeria 32 33 33 90.5% 90.8% 88.2% 2.5% 2.8% 3.0%
Sierra
Leone 6 6 6 92.2% 93.5% 81.9% 2.7% 2.5% 2.5%
Kenya 17 17 18 86.9% 87.6% 88.5% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5%
Uganda 9 9 8 87.4% 69.7% 62.6% 2.3% 0.6% 5.7%
Tanzania 27 28 28 98.1% 98.1% 98.0% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4%
Rwanda 3 3 3 89.0% 89.5% 87.0% 3.4% 2.9% 3.2%
Zambia 1 1 1 98.4% 98.9% 98.0% 0.5% 0.3% 0.5%
Group 470 459 442 73.1% 78.0% 77.0% 8.1% 7.5% 7.2%
PAR>30 PAR>90 PAR>180
------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------
May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21
India
(total) 27.8% 31.4% 34.2% 21.9% 21.8% 22.8% 12.5% 17.1% 19.6%
Pakistan 1.8% 1.5% 1.2% 1.7% 1.3% 1.1% 1.4% 1.1% 0.9%
Sri Lanka 7.7% 12.1% 10.8% 4.0% 4.0% 5.1% 3.1% 2.8% 2.5%
Philippines 20.8% 20.0% 19.5% 20.1% 19.4% 18.8% 2.5% 2.6% 15.4%
Myanmar 0.9% 0.7% 24.5% 0.6% 0.5% 0.6% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3%
Ghana 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1%
Nigeria 5.3% 5.1% 5.1% 3.7% 3.4% 3.6% 2.8% 2.3% 2.1%
Sierra
Leone 4.5% 4.3% 4.3% 3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 1.8% 1.7% 1.8%
Kenya 12.1% 11.4% 9.5% 11.8% 11.1% 9.3% 11.3% 10.8% 9.0%
Uganda 12.4% 12.7% 18.6% 12.4% 12.6% 13.0% 10.1% 12.1% 12.9%
Tanzania 1.7% 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1.5% 1.4% 1.4% 1.3% 1.3%
Rwanda 8.9% 8.4% 9.1% 7.1% 7.1% 7.7% 5.4% 5.6% 5.9%
Zambia 0.7% 1.1% 0.8% 0.4% 1.1% 0.6% 0.2% 0.8% 0.3%
Group 14.0% 14.8% 16.5% 11.6% 11.1% 11.0% 6.0% 7.3% 9.3%
(5) Gross loan portfolio includes the off-book BC and DA model, excluding
interest receivable and before deducting ECL provisions and modification
loss.
(6) 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 outstanding loan portfolio including
off-book loans.
(7) 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.
-- PAR>30 for the Group increased to 16.5%, primarily due to
the decreased collections in Myanmar and Uganda.
-- Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD
36.8m is capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD
2.3m has no credit exposure.
Disbursements vs collections of loans until 31 July 2021(8)
Countries Jan/21 Feb/21 Mar/21 Apr/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21
-------- -------- -------- -------- ------- -------
India 90% 104% 131% 71% 3% 5% 25%
Pakistan 97% 99% 99% 102% 89%(9) 102% 98%
Sri Lanka 95% 116% 92% 43% 17% 0% 56%
The Philippines 113% 101% 96% 88% 91% 88% 87%
Myanmar 144% 55% 71% 30% 76% 87% 64%
Ghana 94% 112% 118% 99% 91%(9) 99% 85%
Nigeria 68% 105% 109% 109% 108% 109% 103%
Sierra Leone 89% 109% 110% 95% 101% 118% 119%
Kenya 97% 113% 107% 100% 100% 93% 107%
Uganda 46% 99% 99% 105% 99% 53% 60%
Tanzania 78% 97% 102% 107% 109% 96% 86%
Rwanda 60% 73% 86% 95% 106% 81% 61%
Zambia 137% 140% 115% 107% 142% 170% 103%
------------------- -------- -------- -------- -------- ------- ------- -------
(8) Disbursements vs collections refers to actual loan disbursements
made to clients divided by total loans collected from clients in
the period.
(9) Slowdown in disbursements due to official EID holidays in
second week of May.
-- With the business environment continuing to gradually improve
in many countries, disbursements of new loans continued to
stabilise or increase in amount and as a percentage of weekly
collections, with the main exception of Myanmar, Ghana, Tanzania,
Rwanda and Zambia, primarily due to seasonal effects (Ghana) and
increased COVID-19 infections.
Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 31
July 2021
Gross OLP (in
Clients (in thousands) Delta USDm) Delta
Jul/20-
Jul/20- Jul/21 Jun/21-
Jul/20- Jun/21- Jul/21 CC Jul/21
Countries Jul/20 Jun/21 Jul/21 Jul/21 Jul/21 Jul/20 Jun/21 Jul/21 USD (10) USD
India 713 721 706 -1% -2% 168 155 144 -14% -15% -7%
Pakistan 405 468 477 18% 2% 54 75 74 38% 34% -1%
Sri Lanka 54 54 53 -3% -3% 8 8 8 -4% 4% -3%
The
Philippines 297 335 338 14% 1% 47 55 52 13% 15% -4%
Myanmar 136 119 119 -13% -1% 30 24 24 -21% -4% -1%
Ghana 140 157 154 9% -2% 36 46 43 20% 24% -6%
Nigeria 213 251 258 21% 3% 24 33 33 39% 48% 1%
Sierra Leone 30 40 40 34% 2% 3 6 6 88% 98% 4%
Kenya 78 113 116 48% 3% 12 17 18 48% 49% 5%
Uganda 93 85 83 -11% -3% 8 9 8 -6% -9% -8%
Tanzania 100 147 150 50% 2% 16 28 28 73% 73% 1%
Rwanda 19 17 17 -13% -3% 3 3 3 1% 7% -6%
Zambia 4 10 10 194% 6% 0 1 1 206% 224% 12%
Total 2,284 2,517 2,521 10% 0% 409 459 442 8% 10% -3.6%
(10) Constant currency ('CC') implies conversion of local
currency results to USD with the exchange rate from the beginning
of the period.
-- With disbursements decreasing mainly in India , Gross OLP
decreased 3.6% to USD 442m in July 2021 compared to the previous
month.
Selected moratoriums(11) on loan repayments until 31 July
2021
Clients under moratorium
(in thousands) As % of
As % of Total
Countries May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 Clients
India 0 226 230 33%
Pakistan 0 0 0 0%
Sri Lanka 0 11 6 11%
The Philippines 0 0 0 0%
Myanmar 56 0 0 0%
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 56 237 236 9%
Moratorium amounts (USD
thousands)
July moratoriums As % of
Countries May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 as % of OLP Total Moratoriums
India 0 48,198 46,498 32% 99.8%
Pakistan 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Sri Lanka 0 134 96 1% 0.2%
The Philippines 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Myanmar 1,290 0 0 0% 0.0%
Ghana 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Nigeria 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Kenya 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Uganda 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Tanzania 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Rwanda 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Zambia 0 0 0 0% 0.0%
Total 1,290 48,331 46,594 11% 100.0%
(11) 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 30% of the clients in India, who accepted to benefit
from the one-time debt restructuring scheme established by the RBI.
See RBI COVID-19 Restructuring Guidelines .
-- Moratoriums granted in Sri Lanka were due to disruption in
operations following national lockdowns.
-- The moratorium amount across the Group was USD 46.6m, which
represents 11 % of the Group's Gross OLP.
Key events in August 2021
-- In the Philippines, the capital region of Manila was placed
under a very strict lockdown on 6 August until 20 August 2021.
Please note that, while the Company's operational performance
appears to gradually normalize in most countries except for India,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Uganda, the risk of additional challenges to
our operations should not be underestimated, as we have recently
seen in for instance India and Myanmar, 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 as have been observed in the United Kingdom, South
Africa, Brazil, the Philippines and India, 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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