Economy and commerce
Banking and financial services
CMA says member institutions have restructured $1.38B of loans
The Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) has announced that as of January 3, 2021, CMA members have provided loan restructuring worth $1.382 billion. The total number of restructuring requests stood at 303,593 with 285,234 having been granted. ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50802377/cma-says-member-institutions-have-restructured-138b-of-loans/
Applause after non-bank finance regulator minted
The private sector applauded the establishment of the Non-Bank Financial Services Authority (NBFSA) following Senate approval of a draft law on its organisation and function. ...
May Kunmakara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/applause-after-non-bank-finance-regulator-minted
CBC wins consumer credit reporting award
Independent financial information provider Credit Bureau (Cambodia) Co Ltd (CBC) scooped an award for “Excellence in Consumer Credit Reporting”, CBC said in a January 5 press release. UK-based “reputed international business magazine” Global Business Outlook (GBO) honoured the locally-owned CBC for its “exceptional performance” in Cambodia’s ...
May Kunmakara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cbc-wins-consumer-credit-reporting-award
ACLEDA awarded credit upgrade by ratings agency
ACLEDA Bank (CSX: ABC)’s standalone credit profile has been upgraded by global ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) from ‘bb-’ to ‘bb’ with the bank’s overall credit rating listed as a B+. ...
Harrison White
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50795387/acleda-awarded-credit-upgrade-by-ratings-agency/
Bank backs eco-friendly farming
Ibis Rice Conservation Co Ltd (IBIS Rice) has signed a financing agreement with South Korean-owned Phnom Penh Commercial Bank Plc (PPCBank) to support 1,500 smallholder farmers to grow organic wildlife-friendly jasmine rice, which will help protect endangered species while also earning a premium price for ...
Soth Koemsoeun
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bank-backs-eco-friendly-farming
ARDB to disburse $50M loan by Dec 31
The state-owned Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB) expects to fully disburse a $50 million emergency fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by year’s end, its director-general Kao Thach told The Post on December 14. ...
Thou Vireak
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ardb-disburse-50m-loan-dec-31
Digital banking championed
The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and the Cambodian Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT) have issued a statement strongly encouraging their customers, the public and business owners to both settle accounts and accept payments electronically via digital platforms. ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50791065/digital-banking-championed/
Microfinance ‘bad loans’ fall to 2.27% in October
The microfinance sector’s nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio decreased from 2.56 percent in September to 2.27 percent in October after rising from 1.33 percent in January and peaking in May at 2.61 percent. ...
Harrison White
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50788275/microfinance-bad-loans-fall-to-2-27-in-october/
P2P lending marketplace launches
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending marketplace Rai Capital (Cambodia) Co Ltd on November 26 announced its official launch in the Kingdom. It said it is designed for micro-entrepreneurs and individuals to promote financial inclusion in the Kingdom and enable flexible local financing solutions for local businesses and ...
Thou Vireak
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/p2p-lending-marketplace-launches
CBC develops wide-ranging financial app
The Credit Bureau of Cambodia (CBC) has made available a new digital application that for the first time allows Cambodian citizens to check their credit score, view credit reports and receive credit monitoring alerts. ...
Harrison White
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50787813/cbc-develops-wide-ranging-financial-app/
Blockchain cited as boost to public trust in financial institutions
At this week’s 2020 Global Blockchain Policy Forum, Assistant Governor and Director-General of Central Banking, National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Chea Serey stressed the need for building public trust in financial institutions and how the new Bakong payment system and infrastructure, built on blockchain technology, ...
Jason Boken
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/783940/blockchain-cited-as-boost-to-public-trust-in-financial-institutions/
Digitalisation ‘a key driver for small and medium businesses’
Speaking at the Global SME Finance Forum 2020 on moving into the future, the role of digitalisation in promoting SMEs’ access to finance, Chea Serey, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), said SMEs are considered to be a crucial sector for the economy ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50778833/digitalisation-a-key-driver-for-small-and-medium-businesses/
MFI credit risk relatively low, NBC’s Serey says
On the basis that non-performing loans stood around 2.3 percent as of August 31, 2020, credit risk in the microfinance sector remains relatively low, said National Bank of Cambodia assistant governor and director-general Chea Serey. ...
Sangeetha Amarthalingam
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mfi-credit-risk-relatively-low-nbcs-serey-says
NBC auctions $50 million
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has announced a $50 million auction this week to stabilise the local currency exchange rate in the market. The NBC has informed banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and licensed money exchangers that the minimum rate for auction will be announced ...
Sorn Sarath
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50775257/nbc-auctions-50-million/
NBC: Informal lenders shouldn’t tarnish all industry
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has made it clear that the whole microfinance industry should not be held accountable for some of the unregulated microloans that are pushing people deeper into debt. ...
Jason Boken
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50771437/nbc-informal-lenders-shouldnt-tarnish-all-industry/
NBC yet to issue ‘small banknote fee’
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is continuing to accept small denomination US banknotes ($1, $2 and $5) “free of charge” from financial institutions, despite the August 31 deadline it had set out in May. ...
Harrison White and Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50770277/nbc-yet-to-issue-small-banknote-fee/
New milestone for financial technology
Techo Startup Centre (TSC), under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the association of banks in Cambodia, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation to promote financial technology systems in Cambodia. ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50767710/new-milestone-for-financial-technology/
Book published on history of Kingdom’s microfinance industry
National Bank of Cambodia yesterday launched a book called “Building Inclusive Finance”. It traces the development of microfinance in Cambodia from its origins in rural development programmes in the early 1990s to the globalised industry it is today. The book was written by Ron Bevacqua, ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50762147/book-published-on-history-of-kingdoms-microfinance-industry/
Mr Hun Sen urges MFIs to sympathise with debtors’ difficulties
Prime Minister Hun Sen has reiterated his appeal to all financial institutions not to take tough actions against debtors as they (debtors) faced difficulties in repaying loans amid the COVID-19 pandemicwhich is wrecking havoc on the economy. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50755539/mr-hun-sen-urges-mfis-to-sympathise-with-debtors-difficulties/
More than $2billion in loans restructured from March
The banking sector saw loan restructuring of $2.16 billion covering 44,500 accounts as of June this year, according to a report from the Association Banks of Cambodia (ABC). ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50754440/more-than-2billion-in-loans-restructured-from-march/
Small banks ‘underperform’ in thriving sector
As the Kingdom’s energetic banking sector rockets at an average annual rate of 28 per cent and teems with an ever-increasing number of new players vying for a slice of the market, smaller banks have been left in the dust. ...
May Kunmakara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/small-banks-underperform-thriving-sector
Millions of dollars of loans dished out
A senior official from the SME Bank of Cambodia said it has approved around $22 million in loans under the SME Co-Financing Scheme for 175 clients as of Tuesday. ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50750368/millions-of-dollars-of-loans-dished-out/
NBC head underscores value of women’s access to finance
Unlocking greater access to formal finance for Cambodian women will play a strategic role in the process of the Kingdom’s economic development, National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) director-general Chea Serey said on Monday. She said this at the Training on the Trainers (ToT) Programme on Financial ...
May Kunmakara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nbc-head-underscores-value-womens-access-finance
Credit guarantee system approved in principle
MINISTER of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth approved in principle the concept of strategic framework for establishing the Credit Guarantee Corp Cambodia, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50748173/credit-guarantee-system-approved-in-principle/