Thitikorn targets 10% loan growth in 2012

Deputy managing director Prapol Phornprapha said yesterday that motorcycles accounted for 80 per cent of the company’s portfolio. The production of motorcycles is expected to resume fully next month, while car production is expected to take longer to get completely up to speed – at least six months.
The floods have affected its new loans in the current fourth quarter, and as a result, loan growth this year will not reach 20 per cent as targeted, he said.
“We previously projected loan growth of 20 per cent because growth in the first nine months was 13 per cent, but the floods mean the company will fail to reach that target,” he said.
Flood-affected customers account for 2 per cent of the total portfolio, and the company predicts a higher non-performing-loan rate due to impacts from the floods.
He said the company had budgeted Bt15 million to Bt16 million for expanding its branches in provincial markets, which currently account for 65 per cent of its customers.
“Provincial markets are our main target, and the recent acquisition Cetelem (Thailand) will enable Thitikorn to make use of its customer information.”
He said Thitikorn was also looking at providing instalment loans for home appliances, but the timing might not be right, as consumers’ purchasing sentiment in 2012 might not support such a venture.
He said that even though the policy rate has been lowered by the Bank of Thailand, Thitikorn had not changed its interest rates.