Banking and financial services policy and regulation

Growth in the country’s expanding microfinance sector slowed slight­ly in the last quarter of 2015, but both loans and deposits finished the year about 45 percent high­er than at the end of 2014, ac­cording to figures from the Cam­bodia Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

Though it’s extremely early days, experts this week welcomed Cambodia’s membership to the nascent China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), saying it would provide much-needed diversity of funding for the nation’s infrastructure and connectivity needs. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), or Central Bank, has issued ASEAN Commemorative Coins to mark the establishment of the ASEAN Community on December 31, according to its statement on Friday. ...

A day after the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates, which can potentially impact incoming investments and make debt more costly, experts say the Kingdom’s strong underlying growth will help maintain investments flows and leave the country largely unaffected.The Fed’s 25 basis point rate hike ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called on banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to suspend loan repayments by borrowers affected by this year’s drought, or either make the loans interest free or cut the rates. ...

As the global economy faces a challenging growth environment, developed and least developed countries are increasingly competing for export markets to spur growth, with many – like Cambodia – aiming to diversify markets as well as products. Cambodia has relied primarily on exports of ...

Rapid credit growth – increasingly financed by bank flows from abroad – poses significant risk to Cambodia’s economy and requires prudential policies to cool lending and reduce exposure, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in a report released yesterday. It said while Cambodia’s short-term economic ...

Japan-based JCB International (JCBI), a global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer, has reached an agreement with Cambodia Public (Campu) Bank to expand the reach of its JCB cards in Cambodia. ...

Lending by microfinance institutions (MFIs) rose about 50 percent at an annualized rate during the first nine months of the year, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association, which said the surge was sparked by economic stability and an increase in demand from clients wanting to ...

The National Bank of Cambodia has decreased the minimum value of negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs) in a bid to promote interbank lending in the Kingdom’s crowded financial industry. ...

While Cambodian households saw their debt increase just 2 per cent last year, rural household borrowings to service existing loans nearly doubled, new government research shows.Both total and disposable incomes across the 3.3 million Cambodian households rose 16 per cent year-on-year in 2014, with total ...

Cambodia’s central bank will temporarily suspend its eight-month campaign to bring informal moneylenders into its fold as it lacks the resources to review the mountain of registration applications it has received and needs time to tweak the licensing requirements, a National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) ...

Cambodia’s central bank yesterday again raised the issue of the country’s highly dollarised economy, suggesting that government policies and action plans will be enforced over the long term to promote the use of the riel, giving the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) more monetary control.Speaking ...

As businesses and banks prepare for the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum in Malaysia on November 3, some Islamic microfinance businesses are considering bringing interest-free loans to Cambodia. ...

The Royal Microfinance institution launched its operations in Cambodia on Thursday, bringing the total number of micro-lenders in the kingdom to 50. ...

Cambodia’s commercial banks lent $11.9 billion to customers in the first half of this year, a 33 percent increase from the amount lent during the same time last year, according to a National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) report released Tuesday. ...

Five rural credit operators signed an agreement to join the Credit Bureau Cambodia on Thursday as the watchdog and the National Bank of Cambodia ramp up efforts to better monitor the country’s expansive, but largely informal, rural lending industry. ...

Cambodia’s microfinance sector is continuing to grow at a rapid pace, with loan disbursements in the first six months of this year increasing almost 50 percent on last year, according to an industry association. ...

The government has set aside some $33 million to finish rebuilding Cambodia’s northern rail line by late next year, according to the Transportation Ministry, reanimating a long-delayed and over-budget project that had been one of the Asian Development Bank’s priorities in the country. ...

At least $1 billion in surplus liquidity is sitting idle in Cambodia’s banking system and could be unlocked if the central bank implemented a more effective interbank lending mechanism, experts say. ...

Three Thai banks have joined IFC’s $65 million syndication loan to a Cambodian microfinance institution to boost the access to funding of micro, small, and medium rural and agricultural enterprises, most of which are owned by women.  ...

The National Bank of Cambodia ( NBC), or the Central Bank, and the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) signed a cooperation agreement on Wednesday, aiming at exchanging experience and expertise in the area of bank supervision, according to a news statement. ...

Cambodia’s immigration police arrested eight illegal Vietnamese migrants and deported 10 other Vietnamese nationals from the Kingdom on Wednesday. ...

An inter-governmental anti-money laundering group has stopped monitoring Cambodia after it said the Kingdom had made “significant progress” toward fighting financial crimes. ...