Ayman Abdel Hamid, Managing Director and Vice Chairperson of Al Taamir Mortgage Finance – Al Oula, said that providing mortgage financing to all segments of society equally is the most important pillar in the company's strategy during the coming period. Accordingly, the company has launched a new online application that enables a number of query services and digital entry of documents via mobile phone. Abdel Hamid told Daily News Egypt that Al Oula has provided mortgage finance worth EGP 990m this year, and aims to achieve growth rates ranging from 20% to 25% annually, to increase loans to more than EGP 2bn annually during the next 5 years. He added that the company targets granting financing worth EGP 1bn to customers next year, through the expansion of loans to individuals and agreement on some real estate portfolios. The company's profits amounted to EGP 40m by the end of September 2021, and it is targeted to achieve profits of EGP 60m next year, he noted, pointing out that Al Oula initially allocated about EGP 1.5m in investments for digital transformation and full automation. Al Oula is the largest joint-stock company in the previous CBE initiatives, with a total financing of EGP 880m, of which EGP 780m are for the low-income bracket and EGP 100m for middle-income clients. "Regarding new mortgage initiative with an interest rate of 3%, the company is about to participate in the initiative in the next few weeks. Accordingly, we have received a notification from the Egyptian Mortgage Refinance Company, which plays the role of mediator between the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and companies, of the possibility of participation after reaching an agreement with the CBE, and mechanisms of activating this initiative are being developed. It is expected to be announced before the end of this year," he disclosed. Al Oula Company has the largest customer base at the level of mortgage finance companies, with a total of 36,000 clients, including 22,000 clients from all governorates. It is worth mentioning that 95% of about 21,000 clients are from the middle-income bracket, according to Abdel Hamid. Regarding property rights, the company's property rights approached EGP 1bn, he said, noting that the company recorded profits of EGP 40m by the end of September, exceeding the target, and the company seeks to achieve profits worth EGP 60m next year 2022. Mortgage finance companies' finances have witnessed a great boom in recent years, despite COVID-19 crisis, especially since the owners of financial surpluses turn to mortgage finance in order to preserve their money. Accordingly, the total volume of corporate finances in all sectors, whether within or outside the initiatives of the CBE as well as real estate portfolios increased by EGP 2.4bn by the end of 2019, and rose to EGP 3.6bn in 2020. Mortgage finance granted by companies operating in the market achieved significant growth during the first 9 months of this year, to record EGP 5.5bn by the end of September 2021, which reflects that there is a real need by customers for mortgage. Furthermore, the company cooperates with about 12 banks, and the volume of credit facilities available to the company amounted to about EGP 3bn. Meanwhile, the debt portfolio of customers amounted to about EGP 2.6bn, of which EGP 880m is only within the initiative of the CBE, he disclosed. Abdel Hamid revealed that Al Oula owns a portfolio of real estate assets amounting to about EGP 37m, and pointed out that the company intends to continue investing in successful companies such as Al Taamir Leasing Aloula. Moreover, the company intends to increase its capital to EGP 300m, compared to EGP 170m, so that the company maintains the same 90% ratio.
