March 29 (SeeNews) - Non-banking financial services provider iCredit, part of Bulgarian-headquartered Management Financial Group (MFG), targets a 40% increase in sales in Romania this year, the company's CEO told SeeNews on Wednesday.
The high expectations in revenue growth for 2017 are backed by iCredit's plans to increase its portfolio and expand its office network in Romania.
By the end of the year, iCredit is expecting portfolio growth of around 45%, or 30 million euro, iCredit CEO Goran Arsov told SeeNews by email.
In mid-term perspective, the company expects an estimated 18% increase of its portfolio, he added.
Earlier this week the company said it plans to open 15 new regional offices in Romania and create 500 jobs in the country this year.
"In 2017, we are planning to extend our business in the next counties : Bacau, Galati, Vaslui, Alba, Harghita, Maramures, Dolj, Constanta, Arges, Teleorman, Cluj and three more offices in Bucharest and one in Ilfov," Arsov also said.
The expansion will increase the number of employees in Romania to a total of 1,500 working in 90 regional offices across the country by the end of 2017, making the company one of the largest employers in the financial sector.
iCredit will also set up iAcademy, a training center to lead the process of finding and acquiring skilled and talented personnel and preparing them for onboarding on management positions in iCredit's international network of offices.
MFG provides non-banking financial services in Central and Eastern Europe, with over 1.5 million loans granted. The group operates more than 270 offices in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Poland and Macedonia and has over 6,000 employees.
($= 0.9202 euro)