Taking AIM in a New Direction

This CASHPOR publication covers a variety of issues. The first section presents an interview with Associate Professor Sukor Kasim, Managing Director of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM).

• It presents the priority areas of action for AIM;
• It highlights steps for managing the management information system in the institution.

The second section presents the causes for high yield gap in Moris Rasik, a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in East Timor. Some of the causes are:

• Turnaround time of a few weeks for loans with less than one year term;
• Long loan terms due to festivals and holidays;
• Loans in arrears leading to loss of income.

The third section presents an article on microfinance fund raising and capital markets. It covers the following salient points:

• Capital markets can provide larger amounts of funds to MFIs at better terms and conditions compared to banks;
• Though both debt and equity financing is available in the capital market, considering the unfamiliarity of the market with microfinance, it is likely that early activity will focus on debt financing such as bonds and backed securitizations.

The fourth section presents a review of the commercialization microfinance. It covers the following aspects:

• Conversion of MFIs into regulated financial entities;
• The trend of moving away from specialized MFIs.