Cambodia’s micro-lenders see 44 pct lending growth last year

Cambodia’s 38 microfinance institutions reported a 44 percent increase in loan disbursements in 2013, according to a report of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the regulator of banking and finance institutions in the country.

The microfinance institutions had lent a total 1.17 billion U.S. dollars to customers last year, up 44 percent from 813 million U.S. dollars in a year earlier, said the NBC’s annual report posted on its website on Sunday. …

NBC’s Governor Chea Chanto said the current assets at the microfinance institutions represented about 10 percent of the current assets in the whole banking sector. …

Cambodia sees microfinance institutions as a key player in helping the government reduce poverty in rural areas and the sector has been well developed in recent years.

Generally, the maximum size of a loan micro-lenders offer is 10, 000 U.S. dollars.

 Shanghai Daily News Staff
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=199165