Japanese Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) signed an agreement yesterday with local Canadia Bank to shore up Japanese growth in Cambodia and to demonstrate its confidence in the Kingdom’s financial sector.
BTMU’s managing executive officer, Takami Onodera, and Pung Kheav Se, chairman of Canadia Bank, yesterday signed the agreement with the... continue
The first time Leang Horng, a resident of Kandal province’s Saang district, made use of a micro-finance institution, a loan was the only service he needed. At that time, Horng had no idea about deposits or money transfers.
But things have changed in the past few years, and his family’s standard of living is getting better.
“Besides [taking] loans, I opened a savings account at a micro-finance institution,” Horng says.
His experience reflects a trend in the Cambodian MFI industry, as players have upgraded their tactics to remain competitive in the market.
Product diversification is becoming a key strategy to satisfy MFIs’ customers.
Technologies such as mobile banking and ATM services are becoming compulsory for leading MFIs.
Insiders say this is boosting competitiveness in the industry and opening up new sources of funding for micro-finance institutions. …
Lending by commercial banks in Cambodia grew by more than one-third last year, according to figures provided by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) yesterday. …
Banks lent out a total of $5.89 billion in 2012, compared with $4.39 billion in 2011, NBC figures show, meaning that credit growth was massive 34.2 percent in the year. …
An offshore financial services provider aiming to cater to expatriates in Cambodia hopes to tap into a market that has had its share of fly-by-night operators.
Tag Wealth International, a subsidiary of the Australia-based Tag Group, began operations last month, offering advice in areas such as life insurance, income protection, retirement planning and offshore banking. …
Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) yesterday announced plans to pay its first dividend to shareholders. …
Dividends from the stock will be given to investors next month in cash after the financial performance of the company is audited by an international firm.
Up until now, the company released neither the price of dividend per share nor the amount of revenue shareholders will get, as PPWSA is waiting for the audit be completed. …
Investment in Cambodia from overseas surged by at least 44 percent last year, according to an estimate from the central bank, despite figures suggesting a reduction in the overall flow of foreign currency into Southeast Asian economies.
Nguon Sokha, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia, said that foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country was thought to have reached at least $1.3 billion in 2012, based on early indicators. …
“[The 2012 figure] is an underestimate,” Ms. Sokha added. “We will have to revise it up, but I’m not sure by how much.” …
Cambodian-Japanese bank Maruhan Japan opened an office in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Saturday, making it the second Cambodian bank and the first Japanese bank to come to that country.
Maruhan’s presence in Laos would boost economic and investment ties between the two ASEAN member states, the bank said in a press release, adding that it hoped the move would attract more Japanese investors to both Laos and Cambodia. …
The minister of posts and telecommunications yesterday said he needs more time to investigate corruption and mismanagement allegations at state-owned firm Telecom Cambodia before involving other government institutions.
Telecom Cambodia director-general Lao Saroeun is officially on sick leave, but staff at the company say they were told he has been suspended after they went on strike last week to have him removed. …
Minister [of posts and telecommunications] So Khun met with Telecom Cambodia employees on Friday, but Mr. Khun said yesterday that he had declined to immediately forward the employees’ complaints to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“We need to question, to clarify the details and look at what documents the Telecom Cambodia staff have to show that Mr. Saroeun is corrupt. I need to question Mr. Saroeun,” Mr. Khun said. …
Telecom Cambodia has been considered a successful state-owned enterprise, and was expected to have listed last year on the Cambodia Securities Exchange. …
Malaysia-based Hong Leong Bank, a subsidiary of Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad, is planning to open a branch in Cambodia sometime this year, which would make it the fourth Malaysian bank and the 33rd commercial bank in Cambodia’s crowded banking industry.
Ngoun Sokha, director general of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), confirmed yesterday that the bank had applied for a licence last year. …
Hong Leong Bank has been operating in Malaysia for more than 100 years. In 2011, Hong Leong Bank completed a merger with EON Bank Group. …
More than 200 employees of Telecom Cambodia demonstrated yesterday morning, demanding the company’s general director step down and that the Anti-Corruption Unit investigate the company. …
The strikers claimed general director Lao Saroeun had been involved in large-scale embezzlement, other forms of corruption and disrespect of workers throughout his five-year tenure and such misdoings had delayed the company’s listing on the Cambodia Securities Exchange.
“According to the report of 2011 incomes, Lao Sareoun and his accountant and financial director took $2 million of Telecommunication Cambodia’s income,” the workers claim in a public statement.
The statement goes on to allege that in order to cover up the $2 million shortfall, Sareoun, his accountant and his financial director counterfeited a report to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. …
Telecommunication Cambodia is one of two state-owned enterprises the government plans to list on the securities exchange this year.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy on Thursday launched a four year project, aiming at promoting the development of biomass-fueled renewable energy generation technologies in industrial sector, officials said.
The 5.6 million US dollar project will provide technical and partial financial support for the implementation of biomass-based renewable energy projects in five sectors: food processing, garment factory, brick kiln, rubber factory, and rice milling, the national project coordinator Chea Chan Thou said. …
The project is technically and financially supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Global Environment Fund (GEF).
Cambodia spent about $200 million on food and beverage imports to supply the domestic market last year – an increase of more than 10 per cent from the previous year, official data from the Ministry of Commerce show.
Government officials and representatives of the private sector said they were not concerned by the hike, saying the imports are needed to supply the current surge in domestic demand, as local production lacks the capacity.
The data show that the country imported over 290,000 tonnes of food and 2.82 million liters of beverages worth a combined $183.65 million in 2012 compared with 254,000 tons and about 2.27 million liters worth $161.98 million in 2011. …
[Te Taing Por] acknowledged improvements in domestic production but said, however, that domestic supply still cannot meet the market demand.
“The rise is due to a sharp growth in domestic demand. Despite our local producers producing more and more, they still can not meet the rise in demand,” he said. “I don’t think the rise of imports of food and beverage is affecting the economy or we cannot produce domestically. Our local production is improving in both quantity and quality.” …
The largest local bank, Acleda, reported that it provided $54 million to nearly 80,000 small and medium-sized enterprises last year – an increase of 4.4 per cent.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the provision of technical support for Cambodia’s banking and financial supervision, according to a press release after the signing ceremony. …
“The MoU will strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area of financial supervision between the two institutions in order to contribute to sustaining economic development,” the press release said. …
Cambodia’s largest opposition party has expressed concern that China’s investment in the country is heavily skewed towards exploiting natural resources, wreaking havoc on the environment.
China is Cambodia’s largest investor by a wide margin, having poured U.S. $9.7 billion into the country over the past 18 years, a government report said Wednesday. …
But opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay warned that China is having excessive control over Cambodia’s natural resources as companies from the Asian giant carry out extensive mineral exploration and logging and embark on hydropower projects in the impoverished country. …
Cambodia, Beijing’s top Southeast Asian ally, has borrowed vast sums from China in recent years to finance road, hydropower and defense projects, many of which are contracted to Chinese firms.
“China gives us loans, but they allow companies to set high prices,” Son Chhay said.
Cambodia owes about U.S. $3 billion dollars in loans from China, he said, adding that the debt gives the giant neighbor too much political influence in the country. …
The Taiwanese-owned garment company Grand Twins International (Cambodia) Plc says it intends to list on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) next month, in a boost for the Kingdom’s nascent stock market.
Phnom Penh Securities (PPS), an underwriter for Grand Twins International (GTI), said yesterday the company would offer 12 million shares at $0.25 a share. …
The government has said it plans to list two other state-owned enterprises, Telecom Cambodia and the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, some time this year. Officials of both enterprises did not confirm that time frame yesterday.
PPS said that as of June last year, GTI’s total assets and total capital were about $31.6 million and $27.7 million, respectively. GTI is incorporated as a 100 per cent Taiwanese company. …
Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority’s price was unchanged at 6,200 riel yesterday, with 854 shares changing hands, according to data of the CSX.
GTI’s sales increased about 17 per cent, from $21.86 million to $25.56 million, between mid-2011 and mid-2012. …
Cambodia’s inflation rate fell to an annual three per cent last year, down from 4.9 per cent a year earlier, according to data from the National Bank of Cambodia released in late January.
Chea Chanto, the bank’s governor, told an annual meeting in late January that Cambodia’s economy had performed very well last year because of controlled exchange rates and prices of food and goods. …
“The stability of food prices and the riel currency is a big contribution to the economy,” Chanto said. …
“We have really stable prices for food and meat, as we can produce more — that’s why the inflation rate is really low, and we have no concern because it is manageable,” he told the Post, adding that the price of food had dropped from the second quarter of last year.
Chanto said the Kingdom’s currency had appreciated about 1.7 per cent against the greenback compared with 2011 and the gross official reserve had reached $3.7 billion, which could insure imports for about four and a half months. …
Loans and deposits at Cambodia’s 32 micro-finance institutions and four NGOs, as well as small loans from Acleda Bank, rose sharply last year compared with a year earlier.
Industry players say this is a result of the Kingdom’s rapid economic improvement and political stability.
Official data from the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) shows the value of loans outstanding rose about 38 per cent to $890 million in 2012, compared with $644.6 million in 2011. …
In early January, the International Monetary Fund highlighted Cambodia’s high domestic credit growth, which the IMF considered a risk, but officials and industry insiders raised no concerns about it last week. …
Almost 3,400 new businesses were registered in Cambodia in 2012, an increase of 9 percent on the previous year, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce.
In 2012, the ministry’s business registration department recorded some 3,385 new companies, compared with 3,104 new companies in 2011, the figures released by the ministry last week show.
The business registration department’s director, Him Hean, said about 60 percent
of companies were local firms, and 40 percent were companies set up in Cambodia by foreign investors. …
Cambodia’s Securities Exchange (CSX) on Monday broke ground for the construction of a 3-storey building in the heart of Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. …
“The construction of the building reflects the government’s firm stance in developing the stock market and the building will build more confidence among both local and foreign investors in the CSX,” Cambodian deputy Prime Minister and finance minister Keat Chhon said at the groundbreaking ceremony. …
The building will cost 4 million U.S. dollars and the construction will be completed in early 2014, he said.
It is located near the capital’s historical site Wat Phnom in Duan Penh district. …
The CSX was initiated by the Korean Exchange in 2007. It is a joint venture between the government of Cambodia holding 55 percent of the stakes and the Korean Exchange owning the remaining 45 percent. …
Cambodia’s inflation rate decelerated to 3 percent last year, down from 4.9 percent in a year earlier, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Chea Chanto said Saturday.
“This is a remarkable drop and the 3-percent rate last year is low and controllable,” he said in a speech during the annual NBC conference, adding that last year, Cambodian riel currency against U.S. greenback had appreciated about 1.7 percent. …
