Chailease Holding Co (中租控股), the nation’s top leasing services provider, on Thursday said it inked a deal with Cambodia’s Royal Group to acquire a 60 percent stake in its microfinance unit.
The deal would allow Chailese Holding more access to the Southeast Asian nation to take advantage of its fast-growing business needs, the local firm said in a statement.
“The move came as we seek to boost our presence in ASEAN markets,” Chailease Holding chairman Albert Chen (陳鳳龍) said in the statement.
Since late 2016, the two sides have set up Chailease Royal Leasing PLC (仲利皇家企業租賃), which provides leasing and other financial services for Cambodian vehicles, machinery equipment and construction tools, Chailese Holding said.
Chen said he sees more room for business growth in Cambodia and has bought a 60 percent stake in Royal Group’s Cellcard Finance PLC to meet expansion plans.
Cellcard Finance would be renamed Chailese Royal Finance PLC after Cambodian regulators give the go-ahead, Chailease Holding said.
Chailese Royal aims to support small and medium-sized Cambodian enterprises with operations funding, while tapping the retail banking business to improve and diversify its product offers and services, Chailese Holding said, adding that the expansion would help bolster revenue in ASEAN markets.
Chailese Holding posted NT$6.64 billion (US$215.9 million) in net profit for the first half of the year, an increase of 52.67 percent from NT$4.35 billion in the same period last year, thanks to business improvement in all regions, company data showed.
The results translated into earnings per share of NT$5.15, up from NT$3.74 the previous year.
Shares of Chailease Holding closed at NT$103.5 in Taipei trading on Friday, up 0.98 percent for the week and 19.52 percent this year.
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