$150 M securitised bond issuance secured by Egyptian fintech super app MNT-Halan
The largest private sector bank in Egypt, Commercial International Bank (CIB), has announced that Tasaheel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Egyptian fintech giant MNT-Halan, has securitized about $150 million of its loan book. This is the first issue in a US $600 million program.
MNT-Halan, which started out in 2018 as a ride-hailing app for two- and three-wheeled vehicles, has evolved into a kind of super app and has since grown to be Egypt’s largest and fastest-growing lender to the unbanked.
Through its consumer-facing app, merchant app, distributed loan and payment processing software, and payment solutions, the firm links customers, vendors, and micro-enterprises. It also provides services like ride-hailing and logistics.
The offering was two times oversubscribed, demonstrating the “excellent quality, diversity, and granularity” of MNT portfolio, Halan’s which includes 137,000 contracts and a strong cash pay-back capability. The Housing and Development Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Bank, Agricultural Bank of Egypt, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank were among the regional and local financial institutions that participated.
Middle East Rating and Investor Service has assigned the four tranches of the issue a Prime 1 rating for the first three and A rating for the fourth (MERIS). The earnings will support MNT-entry Halan’s into new verticals and the company’s increased growth throughout its various loan business lines.
“We are especially pleased with the confidence that investors have placed in our company. CIB’s role was instrumental. This transaction marks our first securitisation and ensures our continued growth as we expect our loan book to exceed US$2 billion over the next couple of years. This will be driven by our digital strategy capitalising on synergies and venturing into new verticals,” said MNT-Halan CEO Mounir Nakhla.
