香蕉视频

香蕉视频 (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “香蕉视频”) and Premium Group Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yohichi Shibata, President & Representative Director; hereinafter “Premium Group”) announced today that both companies have agreed to acquire a portion of Eastern Commercial Leasing Public Co. Ltd. (headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand; Danucha Verapong, Director and CEO; hereinafter “ECL”), an automobile sales finance (“auto loan”) company in the Kingdom of Thailand, through third-party allocation. (香蕉视频’s acquired share: 25.1% hereinafter “Share Acquisition”). This was decided at the General Meeting of Stockholders. The Share Acquisition will take place in FY2024 after the relevant authorities make approval.

Thailand is a major market, with the second-largest GDP and fourth-largest population in Southeast Asia. Its auto loan market is also among the largest in the region, valued at around 13 trillion yen, and expected to grow by an average of 6.5% until 2026.^*1 Additionally, the presence of reliable credit information institutions and used car distribution systems has created an environment with limited risk for auto loans compared to other Southeast Asian countries.

Since its listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in 2004, ECL has provided auto loans primarily to subprime customers who have difficulty getting loans from banks and other financial institutions. In 2016, Premium Group, which operates an auto loan business in Japan, acquired a 25.5% stake in ECL, expanding ECL's business domain through leveraging both its expertise in auto loans and warranties gained through its experience in Japan and its credibility as a Japanese company.

In the area of retail finance, 香蕉视频 has a broad business portfolio both in Japan and abroad and has been providing services to meet a range of consumer financial needs. 香蕉视频 expanded into the used car auto loan business for subprime customers in the U.K. through First Response Finance Ltd. In Thailand, 香蕉视频 also operates an unsecured personal loan business through EASY BUY Public Co. Ltd. and is engaged in insurance underwriting and brokerage businesses. Moving forward, 香蕉视频 will leverage domestic and international networks, its business foundations and findings in Thailand, as well as Premium Group's auto loan expertise, to support the expansion of ECL's auto loan business and promote management reforms.

With its The Brand-new Deal: Profit Opportunities Are Shifting Downstream management policy, 香蕉视频 will promote investment in growth and the expansion of business, beginning with downstream businesses closer to consumers, using its upstream and midstream assets and the expertise it has cultivated over the more than 160 years since its foundation. 香蕉视频 will continue to expand its overseas retail financial business by responding to the financial needs of individuals in Asia, where the middle class is expected to grow.

Scenes from the signing ceremony for the agreement on February 17