Economy and commerce
Banking and financial services
Mixed outlook in Asean for BBL
Bangkok Bank’s international business this quarter is expected to witness a slowdown due to global market uncertainty, while Vietnam, which is an important market for BBL, has been sidelined by currency woes. Cambodia has some 40 banks, 10 of which are foreign. Given the size ...
Sucheera Pinijparakarn
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Mixed-outlook-in-Asean-for-BBL-30255115.html
Body notes ‘significant’ anti-laundering strides
An inter-governmental anti-money laundering group has stopped monitoring Cambodia after it said the Kingdom had made “significant progress” toward fighting financial crimes. ...
Daniel Pye
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/body-notes-significant-anti-laundering-strides
Central Bank seeks to give Riel a boost
Cambodia’s central bank will use its upcoming Second Macroeconomic Conference to discuss how best to promote the use of the riel and hasten de-dollarisation in the economy, according to an official release yesterday. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/central-bank-seeks-give-riel-boost
Cambodia launches code of banking practices
The National Bank of Cambodia ( NBC), which is the regulator of the banking and finance industry, promulgated the Code of Banking Practices on Monday with an aim of further building confidence of the public in the industry, officials said. The sector had received a ...
Shanghai Daily News Staff
http://shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=268881
Credit up 30 per cent in 2014
Both deposits and loans in Cambodia’s banking sector increased about 30 per cent last year, a rise that industry insiders say is a productivity boost for the Kingdom’s economy. By the end of December, deposits at all Cambodian banks reached $10 billion, a 32 per cent ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/credit-30-cent-2014
Bank sector at risk: S&P
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) lacks the resources to enforce regulatory standards and bail out underperforming banks during times of need, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s says. Cambodia’s banking sector was labelled high-risk, with a score of nine out of 10 on S&P’s2014 Banking ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/bank-sector-risk-sp
MFIs bank returns on rates: report
High returns on investment and healthy interest rates are helping Cambodia’s microfinance sector continue its rapid expansion, according to Cambodia-based investment firm Mekong Strategic Partners. With an average of 22 per cent return on equity and 48 per cent increase in loans across Cambodia’s 27 microfinance ...
Daniel de Carteret
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mfis-bank-returns-rates-report
Unlicensed lenders called out
Officials have released a public statement warning against a rise in unlicensed lenders they say are dangerously operating outside of Cambodian regulations and threatening financial stability. In a joint declaration from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Bank of Cambodia on Monday, authorities ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/unlicensed-lenders-called-out
MFI deposits double in 2014
The total amount of savings at Cambodia’s deposit-taking microfinance institutions (MFIs) reached $897 million by the end of 2014, more than doubling from its 2013 base of $445 million, according to figures from the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA). Prasac is the largest MFI with deposits ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mfi-deposits-double-2014
Banks raise concerns for a new derivative trading law
The Association of Banks in Cambodia has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that over-the-counter derivatives transacted by banks do not fall under the governance of the new draft prakas governing derivatives trading on Cambodia’s stock exchange. Speaking at a workshop in Phnom ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/banks-raise-concerns-new-derivative-trading-law
Japan bank to join hands with Cambodia
Japanese regional bank Shiga Bank said that it will join hands with major Cambodian bank Canadia Bank Plc by the end of the month to gain access to economic information in the Southeast Asian country to provide to Japanese companies. It will be the first partnership ...
Bangkok Post News Staff
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/446702/japan-bank-to-form-tie-up-with-cambodia-bank
Rice federation seeking loan
The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) is seeking financing from China’s Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) to build much-needed infrastructure such as warehouses and drying facilities to hopefully increase milled rice export capacities. Sok Puthyvuth, president of the CRF told the Post yesterday that the CRF had set up ...
May Kunmakara
http://phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-federation-seeking-loan
Housing loans up in Cambodia but down in Singapore
Two of the biggest real estate lenders in Cambodia and Singapore this week reported big movements in housing loans in their respective domestic markets. Cambodia’s Acleda Bank saw housing loans jump by 22 percent in the first quarter, year-on-year, and attributed this handsome growth to better ...
Property Report News Staff
http://www.property-report.com/housing-loans-up-in-cambodia-but-down-in-singapore-36957
Campu Bank sees gains in first 9 months
Cambodia Public Bank (Campu Bank), a subsidiary of the Malaysian Public Bank Group (PBB), posted strong gains during the first nine months of the year. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/campu-bank-sees-gains-first-9-months
CamKo struggles to move beyond crash
From the start, the project seemed impossibly ambitious: A $2-billion South Korean satellite city—complete with condominiums, office space, luxury villas, a shopping mall, health clinics, banks and an airport—on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Claiming the land was not properly appraised, and that the decision ...
George Styllis and Kang Sothear
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/camko-struggles-to-move-beyond-banks-collapse-71320/
Cambodia bond a possibility
The launch of an unrated Laotian government bond on Thailand’s bond market could pave the way for Cambodia to issue its own government bond denominated in Thai baht. The Bangkok Post reported yesterday that Thailand’s Finance Ministry and Public Debt Management Office had allowed Cambodia, Vietnam ...
Hor Kimsay
http://phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-bond-possibility
Manulife signs on with Wing
Third-party payments provider Wing yesterday penned a deal with Canada-based financial services group, Manulife. According to a joint statement issued by the two companies, Wing customers can now pay their Manulife insurance bills via the company’s mobile payments system. ...
Eddie Morton
http://phnompenhpost.com/business/manulife-signs-wing
Cambodia's banks continue enjoying strong growth this year: vice-governor
Cambodia’s banking sector has continued enjoying robust growth in both loans and deposits this year, Ouk Maly, vice-governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, said Wednesday. ...
Global Post News Staff
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/141008/cambodias-banks-continue-enjoying-strong-growth-year-vice-go
Outstanding credit could reach $30B by 2020
The total amount of loans in Cambodia’s banking sector could rise to $30 billion by 2020, according to a report released today by Mekong Strategic Partners, a new investment and advisory fund. Amid such growth, banks will be challenged to drastically expand their operations and will ...
George Styllis and Kang Sothear
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/outstanding-credit-could-reach-30b-by-2020-69127/
LOLC Group acquires 60 pct stake in Cambodian Microfinance Company for USD 20.3 Mn
Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Leasing Company acquired a 60 percent stake in Thaneakea Phum Cambodia (TPC) a microfinance company in Cambodia, for 20.3 million US dollars, identifying the immense potential in emerging economies of the South East Asian region the company said in a media ...
Lanka Business Online News Staff
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/news/lolc-group-acquires-60-pct-stake-in-cambodian-microfinance-company-for-usd-20.3-mn/1806143502
Sonatra takes one-year hiatus
Local stock brokerage company Sonatra Securities has announced it will completely dilute its books and put a halt on all business activities from October 1. In a press release posted on Sonatra’s website last week, the firm stated without an explanation that it was suspending all ...
Hor Kimsay
http://phnompenhpost.com/business/sonatra-takes-one-year-hiatus
Businesses must pay property tax by October
Businesses registered in Cambodia have until the end of the month to pay their annual property tax to the country’s General Department of Taxation (GDT). According to the GDT, business owners must pay by September 30 to avoid being fined. ...
George Styllis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/businesses-must-pay-property-tax-by-october-67827/
As banking sector booms, overbanking looms
Last month, Cambodia’s nascent yet rapidly expanding banking sector saw the new arrival of Phillip Bank through the acquisition of Hwang DBS Commercial Bank by Singapore’s Philip Capital in a $40 million deal. The number of banks in the country has more than doubled since 2005, ...
Kang Sothear and George Styllis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/as-banking-sector-booms-overbanking-looms-67824/
Competitiveness ranking slips
A lack of innovation has contributed to Cambodia dropping seven spots on the World Economic Forum’s 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), which was released on Wednesday. The Kingdom ranked 95th out of 144 countries, down from 88th in the previous report, according to the GCR. Apart ...
Hor Kimsay
http://phnompenhpost.com/business/competitiveness-ranking-slips