PPF ready to leave China, seeing no business opportunities there

Czech investment group PPF is ready for a complete exit from the Chinese market as it no longer sees business opportunities there, board member Vladimir Mlynar said in the Insider podcast.

PPF has been providing consumer loans under its Home Credit brand in China since 2007.

"We are prepared for all scenarios, including a complete withdrawal from China. If you watch where geopolitics is going, it is very realistic," Mlynar said.

"As a business company, we go where business opportunities are. We do not see business opportunities in China at the moment," he added.

According to server businessinfo.cz, PPF is most likely the largest Czech investor in China.

"I think we have managed to build a huge company in China, but due to the COVID (pandemic) and regulations, we are in a situation where we do not see a future there," Mlynar said.

According to Mlynar, the decision to withdraw from China had already been taken by the late Petr Kellner, who was the majority owner of PPF Group until his death in March 2021. The company has reduced its loan portfolio in China by 90 percent over the past two years.

PPF operates in 25 countries in Europe, Asia and North America, investing in a number of sectors, chiefly financial services, telecommunications, media, biotechnology, real estate and engineering. It owns assets worth EUR40.1bn (almost Kc1,000bn) and employs 70,000 people worldwide.

Following the approval of the agreement on the distribution of Kellner's estate, Kellner's heirs, his wife Renata and four children, hold a majority stake of 98.93 percent in PPF Group.

Source" PPF and CTK