CIM FINANCE. INTEGRATED REPORT 2022 | 31 Discussions with the Group CEO Howwould you sum up the past year for Cim Finance? I ampleased to report that this past year, CimFinance continued to growas a resilient business that remains very relevant to the needs of households and businesses across the island. The financial year 2022wasmarked bymajor strategicmilestones, as well as profound and meaningful changes that will enable us to be a driving force for inclusive and sustainable growth. We operated in a challenging environment, with strong recovery inmost industries, spurred by the tourism industry getting back on its feet; yet, themany uncertainties related to the pandemic continue to linger. The war in Ukraine came as an unexpected and unwelcome threat, with economic ramifications for the world. In Mauritius, we have been witnessing a sharp rise in the price of commodities and food, a trend that is expected to worsen and last well into next year. Once again, Cim Finance played its full part in this recovery by supporting all players, whether large corporate clients, small businesses or individuals. In light of the rising cost of living, which is impacting households and businesses alike, we remained, and continue to remain, highly attentive to the needs of our customers, working closely with them to provide tailormade solutions for different socioeconomic circumstances. We balance thiswith our responsible and prudent lending practices to safeguard both ours and our customers’ best interests. What are the key financial indicators that best reflect Cim’s performance? We ended the year with a strong portfolio and balance sheet. Group net operating income increased by MUR 317m (14%) to reach MUR 2,573m during the year and Group profit after tax increased by MUR 187m (45%) to reachMUR 601.3m. Notable growth in our Consumer Finance and Leasing activities largely contributed to these improved results. I believe this is the payoff from investmentsmade in recent years to strengthen our core business, while also diversifying our portfolio and digitalising our operations. Could you share more about these strategic milestones? Our strategy has been to concentrate our resources on our core activities and areas of expertise, which are Consumer Finance, Leasing, Cards & Payments, Factoring and SMEs. The mass market retail and SME segments together represent almost 50% of the country’s GDP and employment, and forman integral part of our business. We thereforemaintained our focus on serving these segments to the best of our ability. I would like to draw your attention to threemajor transactions undertaken during the year to this end. First, Cim Forex Ltd, previously a wholly owned subsidiary, was effectively sold to Swan General Ltd in July 2022. The second, in December 2021, was the acquisition of an equity stake in Fundkiss Technologies Limited, a peer-to-peer digital lending platform that has revolutionised SME financing inMauritius. This strategic partnership makes perfect sense as we share a common purpose and desire to facilitate the growth and prosperity of SMEs in the country. A few weeks later, we completed another notable transaction for the acquisition of Tsusho Capital (Mauritius) Ltd, a company licensed by the FSC offering vehicle financing and insurance agency services, and with a strong presence and customer base in the country. This forms part of our strategy to further expand our leasing offering and develop strong relationships with car dealerships. On another note, Cim Finance became the first company in Mauritius to have issued a Green Bond of MUR 500m, which received an AA rating from Care Ratings (Africa). These funds will serve to finance our Green Lease, as well as other projects that contribute to a greener, carbon-neutral economy. These MUR 500m represent the first tranche of a total of MUR 3bn we have earmarked over the next five years to not just cement our position in the green financing space, but also redirect financial flows towards the investments necessary forMauritius to combat the effects of climate change. We recognise that all change must begin internally, with our people. This is why we offer a preferential Green Lease rate of 3.75% per year to our employees, to encourage them to live and breathe our sustainability objectives. We are also setting up photovoltaic panels in our offices and EV chargers in our parkings, with ambitions to join the SEMSI Index in 2023.
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