Sarwa Capital Holding for Financial Investments (Sarwa) and Premium International for Credit Services (Premium Card) had signed an agreement to set up a joint venture intending to offer an innovative consumer finance product in Egypt, the two companies announced on Sunday. According to the terms of the agreement, each party will take a 50% stake in the new company. The joint venture will operate as an independent entity under a new brand and start its activities in the coming months, once all formalities have been completed. Both Sarwa and Premium have a strong track record in financing consumer goods. Sarwa's Chairperson and CEO Hazem Moussa said, "Sarwa aims to work closely with Premium Card towards expanding their consumer reach and accelerate their growth opportunities building through our expertise in structuring and financing retail credit and managing risk." Similarly, Owner and CCO of Premium International for Credit Services Paul Antaki, said that investment with Sarwa Capital will grant the newly born company great striking power to penetrate the consumer credit market and acquire a substantial market share for the new product in a very short time. Antaki added, "Premium Card, with its 17 years of experience in customer acquisition and its wide merchant network with over 483 merchants in more than 5,000 outlets, combined with Sarwa's financial strength and its renowned capacity in risk assessment, will generate immediate momentum capable of comfortably positioning the new venture at the very front lines of the market." Premium Card is a pioneer in the consumer finance industry, operating since 2002 with a client base of over 120,000 clients and more than one million transactions annually. Meanwhile, Sarwa has extensive expertise in consumer finance with a wide range of products having financed over EGP 19bn since 2002.
