KUALA LUMPUR (April 28): Proton Holdings Bhd’s finance arm, Proton Commerce Sdn Bhd, is aiming to disburse an all-time high of 20,000 loans this year after the local car manufacturer recorded the highest cumulative sales in the first quarter (1Q) since March 2012.
Proton Commerce chief executive officer Mooi Fi Phang said the company is confident to grow the volume of loan disbursement in 2Q after seeing loan disbursement volume for 1Q increase by 42.3%.
“However, the hire-purchase market could face a tough second half of the year as the PENJANA sales tax incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of June so the industry could see a period of correction as market demand finds its natural level,” he said in a statement today.
He said Proton Commerce is also seeing a change in the demographics of its customers with the age of buyers trending downwards, indicating the company’s revamped line-up has made it a more trendy choice with younger Malaysians.
Mooi said 80% of Proton Commerce’s customers opted for nine-year hire-purchase financing plans and that impaired loan rates up to three times lower than the industry average.
“Last year was a tough year for the industry as financial institutions had to make modification loss provisions for the six-month moratorium programme announced by the central bank.
“Thankfully for Proton Commerce, the financial stability of our customer base meant a very low number of our borrowers opted for subsequent moratorium and with the removal of the provisions this year, we expect to contribute a healthy profit to our shareholders,” he added.
Proton Commerce disbursed a total of 5,410 loans in 2018 which nearly doubled to 10,668 the following year while in 2020, it disbursed 14,189 loans.
