Motorcycle lease firm plans to expand market share

CAMBODIA’S first financial leasing company plans to rev up its market share for motorcycle financing from 15 to 45 per cent starting this year.

GL Finance plans to do so by increasing its number of branches here from 11 to 36, said Mitsuji Konoshita, chairman of Group Lease, the Thai-based parent of GL Finance.

The expansion will start in July this year, said GL Finance’s executive director, Christophe Forsinetti, and the branches will continue providing leases for motorcycles with partner Honda.

Unlike bank loans, financial leases generally require no down payment, although the lessor owns the purchase until the lease payment has ended.

“At the end of the lease, we just change the ownership of the motorcycle and it belongs to the customer,” said Forsinetti.

GL Finance currently serves 200 Cambodian customers per month and finances up to 100 motorcycles, said Forsinetti. With the expansion, he expects to finance 2,000 motorcycles a month.

The Post reported last year that Konoshita had said the company is focusing on motorcycles, because they are a necessity in Cambodia. Motorcycle leasing was more convenient and faster than getting a bank loan, he said.

However, Prasac MFI’s product development manager, Choub Veasna, said banks offer longer-term motorcycle loans that would permit paying less each month.