MNT-Halan is a financial and non-financial services provider that was founded in 2017 by Mounir Nakhla. Its services include financing, e-commerce, purchase now pay later, payments, mobility, and on-demand logistics. Conversely, Advans is a publicly traded corporation that operates inside Pakistan’s microfinance banking sector.
August 2023 saw the signing of the firms’ share purchase agreement, which was approved in October 2023 by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The agreement had to be approved by the CCP and meet “certain conditions precedents” in order to be deemed official.
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The State Bank of Pakistan authorized Advans Pakistan Bank Limited (APMBL) on June 28, 2012, to conduct business in the province of Sindh as a microfinance bank. As specified by the Microfinance Institutions Ordinance, 2001, the bank’s main line of business is to offer microfinance banking and associated services to the underprivileged and impoverished segments of society.
Since then, the bank’s success in Pakistan’s limited microlending sector has been erratic. After only making a profit of Rs 53.8 million in 2021, Advans saw a loss of Rs 102 million in 2022 and a loss of Rs 256 million in 2023. Advans Pakistan’s total losses as of September 2023 were Rs 1.3 billion. APMBL had become a bleeding business for the Advans group globally, with cumulative losses totaling over 65% of the company’s share capital.
The acquisition indicated above involves Advans S.A. SICAR, Advans’ financial services company with its headquarters located in Luxembourg, selling 100% of Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank Limited. The CCP determined that there are no overlaps between the merging entities after carefully reviewing the pre-merger application, guaranteeing that the post-merger market conditions won’t change.
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Pakistan’s microfinance banking industry, which is essential to the nation’s efforts to promote financial inclusion, will be greatly impacted by this decision. As per the World Bank, the industry serves 76% of all borrowers in the financial sphere and makes up around one-third of all unpaid agricultural advances.
About MNT-Halan
The goal of MNT-Halan, the first unicorn in Egypt, was to use technology to transform financial services accessibility when it was established in 2018. By offering consumers and aspiring enterprises easy, seamless, and affordable financial solutions, MNT-Halan revolutionary digital platform, which serves millions, enhances lives.
About Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank Limited
Advans SA Advans International (formerly Horus Development Finance) and a number of Development Finance Institutions founded SICAR (Advans), an investment firm with its headquarters located in Luxembourg, in 2005.
