Drive, GB Capital's factoring subsidiary, provides its services to a diversified client base, ranging from business-to-business (SMEs) to business-to-consumer (retail) covering all segments of society, with a focus on auto finance, whether new or used passenger and transport vehicles, Managing Director of Drive Ahmed Osama said. The company aims to increase its market share of factoring in the coming period, which is estimated at about 20% now, ranking third in the market, while the GB Capital's financing portfolio exceeded EGP 9bn until last September, Osama revealed. The company undertook its first securitisation process by issuing bonds worth EGP 425m, and the maximum value of car loans is nine times the property rights, he said, stressing that the company did not reach the maximum limit of loans in relation to property rights in addition to having a large area for growth. He pointed out that Drive possesses great opportunities for growth and seeks to exploit all opportunities to increase the size of the financing portfolio by all means that guarantee high quality and regularity of payment. It also provides strong and huge facilities for financing activities in addition to providing various financing programmes with different introductions by proving different incomes to serve all segments of society, noting that the credit rating of the company's portfolio is more than excellent, according to the Middle East Rating and Investor Service (MERIS). He said the company cares about the creditworthiness of customers in accordance with the decisions of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and all the banks the company deals with, as well as the system of credit reporting. It also adheres to all the required standards by CBE or the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), pointing out that Drive provides factoring to all companies operating in the Egyptian market. Osama added that the increase in demand for car loans is affected by the size of the car market in Egypt in general, and the size of the instalment in relation to cash buying in car purchases in particular, and he explained that the size of the car market is less compared to last year, expecting the market to grow next year in light of price and value stability of the local currency against foreign currencies. He said that the CBE's recent decision to raise the maximum percentage of instalments of consumer loans to 50% contribute to increasing car sales. He said it is likely to see an increase in the demand for car loans in the coming period, denying the acquisition of instalment to the largest share of car purchase transactions, noting that they represent about 35% only out of the total turnover, indicating that the percentage of purchase by instalments is greater in the case of luxury cars.
