Annual Report 2019

Ambitions To realise our future ambitions, it is crucial to have the right funding strategy in place and the growing sophistication of the Mauritius financial services sector has enabled us to relinquish our deposit taking licence and to borrow on the market at better rates for less administration. This is the reason which led the Board to approve the implementation of a Medium Term Note Programme (MTNP) as part of our new funding strategy. We are now able to access far more attractive financing opportunities, and we were greatly comforted by the fact that we were seeking to raise MUR 1.2bn through the first tranche of notes under the MTNP but we ended up accepting MUR 2bn and we were even over-subscribed by an important amount, which clearly demonstrates the growing confidence in the market. As a result of the implementation of our new funding strategy which takes account of market developments, as well as the recent amalgamation, we are on course to deliver upon our objectives to focus on and strengthen our core consumer finance lending business. This will also help us to improve our governance framework and secure more opportunities as a lender on both the local and regional markets. With regard to our regional activities, we are progressing on track in Kenya, where we are operating under the brand Aspira, using a FinTech model for hire purchase. Our activities in Kenya have already expanded from Nairobi to Mombasa, in a sign of growing momentum. Future If we turn to prospects for the future, starting with the wider backdrop in Mauritius, the country has maintained political stability after the general election of 7 November 2019. The outgoing government has renewed its mandate for a further parliamentary term, having secured a comfortable majority in the National Assembly. While Mauritius has significantly improved its score in the World Bank Doing Business report, now ranked in 13 th position globally and first in Africa, it will be important to maintain a close eye on legislative and regulatory developments to gauge their impact on the local business community. In terms of the global picture, we live in a new world where disruption at all levels is occurring, with new ways of doing business becoming the norm. There are continuing challenges at international level, ranging from the trade war between the US and China, the impending US withdrawal from the Paris climate change accord and the potential departure from the WTO which could lead to new tariffs on imports, in Europe Brexit appears to be edging closer, with the final terms still to be confirmed. As we look ahead to 2020, our watchwords for the group will be consolidation and efficiency. We have come a long way on our journey in recent years, in the light of various restructuring initiatives, and we can now focus fully our efforts on ensuring that our core business of consumer finance goes from strength to strength to enhance shareholder value. While we have embarked upon an ambitious path, we cannot reach our destination alone. It is only with the support and trust of our shareholders that we will achieve our goals, and I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our shareholders and our other partners for their unflinching support. I would also like to thank our employees for their dedication, my fellow directors for their sound advice and support, and finally our valued customers for their continued loyalty to the Group. COLIN TAYLOR Non-Executive Director and Chairman CIM FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD / ANNUAL REPORT 2019 13