Lender Friend Founders Call on PH Consul General in HK

Consul General Antonio A. Morales (leftmost) poses for a photo with Mr. Jared King and Dr. Joy Tadios Arenas of Lender Friend HK at a call at the Consulate General on 20 September 2018. (Hong Kong PCG photo)

HONG KONG 11 October 2018 – In order to provide financial assistance options for household service workers (HSWs) in Hong Kong, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong received representatives of a financial services company on 20 September 2018. 

Lender Friend Chief Executive Officer Jared King and former City University of Hong Kong Visiting Assistant Professor Dr. Joy Tadios Arenas called on Consul General Antonio A. Morales on 20 September 2018 at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong to discuss ethical ways to help Filipino HSWs in financial need.

Originally an entrepreneur from Canada whose consultancy company worked with banks and other industries in Asia, Mr. King teamed up with migration specialist Dr. Tadios-Arenas, who used to teach at City University of Hong Kong, to launch the online money lending company in June this year.

According to the founders, Lender Friend offers foreign domestic workers (FDHs), 99 percent of whose total number of 370,000 is composed of Filipinos and Indonesians, a more transparent, simpler and cheaper means of accessing loans by the use of phone apps.

Mr. King and Dr. Tadios-Arenas said Lender Friend offers monthly interest of 1.7 percent, currently the lowest in the market for FDHs, in contrast with the legal ceiling of 5 percent for licensed commercial lenders, or even higher being offered by loan sharks.

In so doing, the pair said reduced interest rates could allow domestic workers to save HK$100 million over the next five to seven years over what they would otherwise be spending through other lending sources. This would hopefully free many FDHs from debilitating cycles of debt in an industry plagued by unscrupulous practices.

In April, the Consulate General collaborated with non-profit NGO WIMLER Foundation HK Ltd to host a lecture by King on the basics of entrepreneurship to Filipino HSWs, focusing on easy-to-follow tips on how to choose the right business to start and eventually nurture the same. END

For more information, visit www.hongkongpcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinHK/.