(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) Ayman Abdel Hameed, Managing Director and Vice Chairperson of Al Taamir Mortgage Finance – Al Oula, announced that the company continues to focus on end-of-service lease and real estate portfolios from developers. Real estate portfolios account for 85% of the total financing while leasing accounts for 15%.

Regarding the company's targets for 2024, Abdel Hameed stated that Al Oula aims to reach a financing volume of EGP 3bn, noting that the company has already achieved approximately 97% of this target within just six months.

Due to economic circumstances at the beginning of this year, including rising interest rates and increasing property prices, Abdel Hameed indicated that the company plans to update its five-year plan (2024-2029) to adapt to these changes.

Abdel Hameed explained that the company successfully disbursed approximately EGP 2.9bn in financing in June 2024, compared to EGP 1.5bn in June 2023, reflecting a growth rate of 87%.

He noted that the value of financing allocated to portfolios reached EGP 2.5bn while financing allocated to leasing totalled EGP 200m in June 2024.

Additionally, the company achieved a net profit of EGP 150m in June 2024 and aims to increase it to EGP 180m in the current year, according to Abdel Hameed.

He highlighted that the company has financed over 39,000 clients, with the current number of active clients around 27,000. Low-income clients represent the largest segment of the total client base, with a delinquency rate of 1.2%.

He pointed out that the company's capital has reached EGP 734m, with equity amounting to EGP 1.1bn. The company aims to increase its capital by EGP 400m soon.

Regarding cooperation with banks, he disclosed that the company has secured credit facilities totalling EGP 2.5bn from approximately eight banks and aims to obtain new credit facilities of EGP 1.5bn within the next three months.

On financing for Egyptians working abroad, he said that the company continues to finance Egyptians working abroad, as well as foreigners, provided they open a bank account in Egypt to ensure the continuation of instalment payments.

He added that the company continues to provide financing under the mortgage finance initiative, having financed approximately 10,000 clients since the start of the initiative, with a total value exceeding EGP 1bn.

The Managing Director pointed out that the real estate finance sector has faced numerous challenges in 2024, primarily the increase in interest rates compared to previous years, with an 8% rise in interest rates from the beginning of 2024 to the present. Additionally, property prices have increased by 100%, along with rising inflation rates and the higher exchange rate of the dollar compared to the Egyptian pound.

According to Abdel Hameed, a 1% increase in interest rates equates to a 10% rise in the value of the financing.

He noted that the rise in interest rates has led to increased costs for clients. In response, the company seeks various solutions to ease the burden on clients, such as extending the repayment period or gradually increasing the monthly instalments.

Given the hike in mortgage financing indicators since the beginning of the year compared to 2023, Abdel Hameed expects the sector to start recovering, with sector indicators projected to reach EGP 15bn in 2024.

He concluded that the sector needs to activate financing for under-construction units to boost growth under the current economic conditions and changes.

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