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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Asialink's social lending gets $75 million lift from Standard Chartered

Asialink's social lending gets $75 million lift from Standard Chartered

Published Oct 20, 2025 05:51 pm

At A Glance

  • Manila-based Asialink Finance Corporation (AFC) expects to post about ₱2.7 billion in net income by year-end, driven in part by the fresh $75-million (around ₱4.36-billion) term loan facility it secured from United Kingdom-based Standard Chartered Bank (SCB).
Manila-based Asialink Finance Corporation (AFC) expects to post about ₱2.7 billion in net income by year-end, driven in part by the fresh $75-million (around ₱4.36-billion) term loan facility it secured from United Kingdom-based Standard Chartered Bank (SCB).
Asialink said the maiden loan package will be used to finance micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide, with a focus on women-led businesses.
AFC Group Finance Director Meynard M. Mendoza said Asialink eyes hitting ₱48.7 billion in total loans by the end of the year. As of end-June, the company’s loan book stood at ₱41.9 billion.
“We’re looking at a net income of about ₱2.7 billion per year for 2025,” said AFC Group CEO Robert B. Jordan Jr. during a press briefing on Monday, Oct. 20. For the first half of the year, Asialink booked ₱1.2 billion in consolidated net income.
“This transaction marks SCB’s maiden financing and social loan for a non-bank financial institution in the Philippines, and this facility is aimed at supporting the group's socially inclusive lending initiatives,” said Ana Alba, Head of Bank and Broker Dealers at SCB Philippines.
Amid rapid lending expansion, Asialink is considering moving up the initial public offering (IPO) it announced in early 2024.
According to Jordan, an IPO in 2027 is “definitely” on the table, adding that the company could hit the 3.5 debt-to-equity ratio set by its lender by the end of that year.
“What we said before was 2028, but when we look at our financials and our capital, we might reach the limit earlier,” Jordan added.
“On paper, our limit is four times, but internally we’re more conservative—we don’t want to exceed 3.5. Based on our projections, there’s a real possibility we’ll hit that 3.5 debt-to-equity level by the end of 2027,” he explained.
Asialink also expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cut the 4.75-percent key policy rate by about half a point, bringing it down to around 4.25 percent by 2026. Lower borrowing costs, Jordan said, would support the firm’s lending growth.
Of the 1.2 million registered MSMEs in the country, only around 100,000 currently have access to financing. Asialink aims to widen that coverage, with nearly 160,000 financed accounts as of the first half. 
As of end-June, AFC posted a non-performing loan (NPL) or bad loan ratio of less than two percent.

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Asialink Finance Corporation (AFC) Standard Chartered Bank
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