ASIALINK Finance Corp. (Asialink) is gearing up to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) by 2028, its chief executive officer said on Wednesday.
In preparation for this milestone, the finance company is working to strengthen its financial standing, Asialink Chief Executive Officer Robert B. Jordan, Jr. said during a briefing.
“We aim to raise as much capital as possible to support our goals. By 2028, our projections suggest our capital should reach around P30 billion,” he said.
“There is still a lot in the country that we need to do, but we are constrained by the limited capital that we have,” he added.
The total capital of Asialink increased to P12 billion on Wednesday from P8 billion at the end of 2023, spurred by a P4 billion investment from equity firm Creador.
Mr. Jordan said that this investment deal opens up opportunities for Asialink to secure funding from multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
He added that the deal will prompt the restructuring of the three companies under Asialink, with Asialink now owning 100% of Global Dominion Financing, Inc. and 60% of South Asialink Finance Corp.
The three companies will remain independent and will have separate operations, he noted.
“With a P4 billion infusion, we probably can grow to as much as a 3.5% debt-to-equity ratio, which means we can potentially leverage as much as P30 billion in additional credit facilities,” Mr. Jordan said.
“Right now, our existing creditors are limiting us to about 2.7%. We have an existing governance that says that we are limited up to 2.75% of our capital. So we’re trying to change that,” he added.
Asialink is also targeting to disburse a combined amount of upwards of P40 billion in loans this year to small- and medium-sized businesses. It aims to double its loans disbursed this year to P24 billion for Asialink from P12 billion in 2023.
Asialink aims to disburse over P40 billion in loans to small- and medium-sized businesses this year.
“For Global, we’re looking to disburse P13 billion. And for South Asialink, we’re looking to disburse about P8 billion,” Mr. Jordan said.
The company also aims to double its active customer base next year from the current 100,000. — Aaron Michael C. Sy