Search Results for: indonesia

Thanks to Gray Ghost Funds for passing along this April 19 except from Latin Finance Daily. Finally, the big news is public:

“Mexico’s Banco Compartamos is set to become the first Latin American microfinance institution to raise equity capital when it prices an IPO on the Mexican Bolsa today, Thursday. Carlos Danel, co-executive director at Compartamos tells LatinFinance that the offering of secondary shares will allow some shareholders to partially monetize their stakes in the bank. The offer, which comprises an international 144a Reg S tranche and a Mexican retail tranche, should price in the range of 30 to 40 pesos a share, and could raise as much as $400 million, according to a source close to the deal. Credit Suisse is global coordinator and bookrunner of the 144a Reg S tranche, pitched at qualified institutional buyers in the international market. Banamex and Banorte are handling sales to Mexican retail. Danel, who has been meeting with investors in Mexico, Brazil and Europe, says the price range has already been revised upwards from 28 to 35 pesos per share. An equity banker away from the deal says the price adjustment indicates pent up demand for a name in a sector and country that has scarcity appeal. Mexico has logged just one equity deal so far this year, a $217.17 million follow-on offering for steel manufacturer Grupo Simec, compared to Brazil’s 19 deals totaling $6.26 billion, according to Dealogic. This is the first equity offer for a Latin American microfinance institution, but not the first from emerging markets. Indonesia’s Bank Rakyat raised $480 million in equity in October 2003, through UBS and Bahana Securities.”

Unitus, a nonprofit organization committed to fighting global poverty through microfinance, will partner with Credex, a MFI in Mexico. Unitus was founded in 2000, by Bob Gay, Mike Murray, Joseph Grenny and Todd Manwaring, and is dedicated to providing capital investments and consulting services to financially sustainable MFIs worldwide. As of 2006, Unitus had 10 MFI partners worldwide serving more than 820,000 poor clients and as of December 2006, the Unitus portfolio of partners provided loans to 1.2 million micro-entrepreneurs and their families in India, Kenya, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines and Indonesia. The details of the partnership between Credex and Unitus have not been announced. Credex, founded in 2002, targets the working poor in southwestern and central Mexico and has plans to expand across the nation. Since its establishment Credex has disbursed over 30,000 loans and currently serves close to 12,000 active borrowers with a $5 million loan portfolio. Credex does not report to the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse and no other information is publicly available about its performance. The partnership hopes to bring life-changing financial services to more than 82,000 customers by 2009, an increase from 12,000 today. Credex is Unitus’s second microfinance partner in Mexico, along with Pro Mujer Mexico.

Continue reading “Unitus Partners with Credex to Expand Access to Microfinance in Mexico”