PRAGUE, (Reuters) – Czech investor group PPF may sell or take in partners in its Home Credit consumer loan business in certain countries that it believes has limited potential. Katerina Jiraskova, Chief Financial Officer at PPF said Thursday.

She told Reuters that PPF might also be looking for investors in promising markets and then continue to operate on its own in areas with the greatest prospects.

Home Credit suffered a severe hit after the outbreak of coronavirus.

In the first half 2021, the company suffered a loss of 178 million euros ($201.14million). This was due to a write off of portfolios older than that in China and the effects of the pandemic.

Jiraskova was asked how the group that operates in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as Russia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, in one year would look.

She stated that “there are some countries in which we feel there is strong potential for development and we want them to be developed further” and was happy to do so by herself.

She said that there was a second group where value creation and growth potential is limited. These countries could be sold or partnered with others, but she refused to specify which ones fell under this category.

She said that another group of potential countries exists, but Home Credit could invite other partners to the company in order to lend wholesale funds.

Home Credit reported that China’s operating revenue dropped to 462 million euro in the first quarter, down from 1.08 billion last year. The company said that its Asian markets, except India, had seen improvements since 2020.

PPF is offering its Czech Home Credit and Slovak Home Credit business to MONETA Money Bank. This transaction will be voted by MONETA shareholders December 20.

($1 = 0.8850 euros)