Banking and financial services

Masahiro Kawai, dean of the Asia Development Bank Institute, believes too great a focus is being placed on the realization of the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community at the cost of considering middle- and longer-term issues in the ASEAN region. “Economic community-building is not going to be completed in ...

The total amount of claims paid out by local insurance firms during the first nine months of the year have tripled to more than $11 million compared to the same period in 2011 According to data from General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC), paid claims grew ...

GL Finance (GLF), the first and only financial leasing company in Cambodia, opened its 11th branch in Phnom Penh on Friday, covering all authorized Honda and NCX  dealerships in Phnom Penh and its vicinity. GLF, in partnership with Honda NCX, helps customers buy their own motorbikes and provides ...

The largest bank in Cambodia, Acleda Bank Plc, has extended its mobile banking and payments service to consumers without an existing banking relationship of any kind, according to a press release by global technology provider Fiserv. Established in 2010, Acleda Unity now reaches untapped consumer segments using ...

A leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that ACLEDA Bank Plc. (ACLEDA), the largest bank in Cambodia, has extended its ACLEDA Unity mobile banking and payments service to new, untapped consumer segments using Mobiliti Reach™ from Fiserv. The bank, which has ...

Thailand’s GL Finance Plc. launched its business in Cambodia on Friday by opening eight branches in Phnom Penh and Kandal province that will operate hire purchase operations out of Honda motorcycle dealership. Speaking during the opening ceremony for its branch in Phnom Penh’s Prampi Makara district, ...

The Asian Development Bank is considering providing funds to a controversial 400 megawatt dam project in Laos that could have adverse impacts on the Mekong River in downstream Cambodia. Conservation group International Rivers wants the Lao government to pull the plug on the $1 billion Xe ...

A report released by the World Bank on Tuesday highlighted Cambodia as the most improved country in terms of businesses getting credit, due to the establishment of the country’s first credit bureau in March. Cambodia ranked 133 out of 185 in the World Bank’s report, up from 141 ...

Profits at Cambodia’s largest banks continued to grow through the first nine months of the year as loan disbursals across the sector increased by about 30 percent compared to the same period in 2011, bankers said yesterday. Acleda Bank, the largest bank in the country, this week posted ...

Cambodia rose five places to rank 133rd out of 185 countries in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report released yesterday, with the bank attributing the rise for the most part to the successful launch of the country’s credit bureau. Compared to other countries in the ...

Bankers have raised no concerns over the National Bank of Cambodia’s increase to the reserve requirement rate in order to maintain the stabilization of cash flow and inflation during a time of global financial difficulty. The increase, from 12 to 12.5 per cent, issued late last month, was ...

Despite challenges, Cambodia has potential for the establishment and expansion of social businesses, participants of the Microfinance & Social Business Conference in Phnom Penh said yesterday. While social business in Cambodia is still in an early phase compared to micro-finance  “Cambodia is a promising land” for such ...

The market for Khmer home-buyers purchasing property by installments is booming, according to experts. Keuk Narin, vice president of Asia Real Estate Cambodia, said the concept of buying homes by installments in Cambodia is very attractive to those whom want to buy a house. Almost all housing projects that offer installment purchases see good business, ...

THE PHILIPPINES is one of the leading countries in microfinance policy and regulation in Asia but it still lags in terms of scale and reach to the poor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. “Of the 21 countries with ADB support during 2000-2010, ADB’s efforts were ...

While Cambodia’s insurance sector has made significant progress over the past few years, it is still relatively small compared to other countries in the region and faces several hurdles. That was the judgment of Bou Chanphirou, deputy director of the financial industry department in the ...

More investment is needed as well as additional assistance for farmers if the government wants to meet its export goal of 1 million tons of rice a year by 2015, according to experts at a recent rice sector meeting in Phnom Penh. Participants said rice millers would need substantial access ...

Strong exports, increasing numbers of tourists and a recovering real estate sector are driving strong economic growth this year, but the gross domestic product outlook could still be offset by an unstable global economy, weak demand from the West and an overheating banking sector, the International ...

Vietnamese Bank Sacombak (Cambodia) Plc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sacombank in Vietnam, will extend its operation in the Cambodian financial market, according to a bank official. Nguyen Nhi Thanh, CEO and President of Sacombank in Cambodia, said during the first anniversary celebration after the bank’s transformation ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday that he has requested a $140 million loan from China to build a 190 km road that would branch off National Road 5 and allow easier access to Thailand. The request comes just one month after Mr. Hun Sen returned ...

The executive committee of the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia, ARPEC, decided earlier this month to set up a commercial arm to help members get financing for a variety of rice-related activities. According to ARPEC secretary-general Hun Lak and deputy secretary-general David Van, ...

Representatives of Cambodia’s booming tourism industry yesterday called on the Asian Development Bank to provide funding for workforce training in the sector. During the meeting at the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, tour operator Ho Vandy, who also co-chairs the Tourism Working Group in the Government-Private Sector Forum, said representatives ...

More than 100 NGOs and human rights groups yesterday urged foreign donors to flag issues regarding land policies, democratic processes and human rights during today’s Government-Development Partner Coordinating Committee (GDCC) meeting.   Intended as a preparatory meeting for Cambodia’s main government and donor summit, the GDCC is generally ...

With a loan from Japan, the government will begin laying more than 400 km of fiber-optic cable early next year to connect Phnom Penh with five provinces, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) said yesterday. Telecommunication Minister So Khun said the cable-which will connect Phnom Penh with ...

Among thousands of residents in the Boeung Kak Lake district of the capital whose land has been targeted for redevelopment by a Chinese-financed real estate company, Tep Vanny carried a letter explaining the “sadness and suffering” caused by the project — which has turned Phnom ...