Banking and financial services
Micro-finance
Observe 10 prohibitions or face punishment, finance officials warned
Finance officials are being warned to observe the newly imposed so-called 10-prohibition rule or be subjected to disciplinary measures and punishment under law. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Somdy Duangdy on April 10 issued a decision that imposed 10 prohibitions demanding officials follow ...
Banking shows steady growth
Cambodia’s financial sector saw healthy growth last year with increased deposits and profits amid slower credit growth, reflecting sustainable development and increased public confidence in the sector, according to a recently released central bank report. According to the National Bank of Cambodia’s (NBC) annual supervisory ...
Public debt up 0.5% in February
Thailand’s public debt outstanding as of February 28 was Bt6.09 trillion, up Bt30.58 billion or 0.5 per cent from January 31, while the Japan Credit Rating Agency has maintained Thailand’s credit-rating ceiling at “A+” with “stable” outlook, the Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Office reported on ...
MFIs predict lower earnings
With the interest rate cap of 18 percent in full force for all new and restructured microfinance loans after the National Bank of Cambodia issued a populist measure to curb high interest rates, microfinance institutions are starting to give predictions for lower profits this year ...
Cambodia’s microfinance shakeup: in whose interest?
On the river island of Koh Srolav in southern Cambodia, everything changed for the 300 or so families inhabiting the small fishing village about ten years ago, when the sand dredging barges arrived. Operating in the dark of night, they have plundered the Tatai river with ...
Betel farmers reap healthy profits this season
According to betel farmers from Shwegu Tesu village in Sagaing Region’s Khin-U township, this season’s prices are helping them reap healthy profits. “We were making profits because prices were good since the start of this season. So farmers didn’t face losses this year compared to ...
MFIs seek regulator’s support
The apex body for the nation’s microfinance industry announced yesterday that the central bank had tentatively agreed to a number of measures it had requested to ease the burden on microfinance lenders following last week’s unilateral decision to cap annual interest rates at 18 percent ...
Derivatives licensing capped by regulator
Cambodia’s capital market regulator announced on March 22 that it would suspend the issuance of new central counterparty licences to derivatives trading firms, claiming that capping the market at four was sufficient to serve current demand. The Securities Exchange Commission of Cambodia said in an ...
Govt seeks to regulate enterprises unlawfully raising capital
Proper investigation has been ordered into enterprises whose operations violate regulations and laws, notably those raising funds illegally from individuals for business operations, the government spokesman has said. The instruction was made at the government monthly meeting for March, which took place last week in ...
Microlender in monster deal
Hong Kong financial giant, The Bank of East Asia and Sri Lanka’s LOLC announced on March 17 that they have jointly acquired a majority stake in Prasac Microfinance, Cambodia’s largest microfinance institution by assets, in what could be the largest acquisition of a Cambodian lender to ...
