Sarwa, Premium Int’l form JV to launch new consumer finance brand: Leading structured and consumer finance player Sarwa Capital and Premium International for Credit Services have set up a joint venture to launch a new consumer finance product, the two parties said in a press release (pdf) quoting Sarwa Chairman and CEO Hazem Moussa and Premium Founder and CEO Paul Antaki. The two partners will split the JV 50-50 and expect it to begin operating in a few months’ time under a separate brand. Sarwa, perhaps best known in the market for its Contact brand, brings to the table extensive experience “structuring and financing retail credit and managing risk,” the statement said. Premium, a consumer finance player known for its Premium Card product, said it will leverage its network of more than 480 merchants, which together have more than 5k outlets nationwide. Sarwa has financed more than EGP 19 bn since 2002, while Premium has 120k clients and executes more than 1 mn transactions each year.