Banking and financial services
Micro-finance
IMF reminds Indonesia to balance financial deepening and stability
Financial development in Indonesia has evolved at a relatively slow speed in comparison to peer countries. Although this provides opportunities for financial deepening, the International Monetary Fund has been quick to remind Indonesia that deepening should be balanced with stability to avoid a crisis. “There is ...
Banking with a positive spin
A banking sector initiative launched on September 19 aims to advise Cambodia’s financial sector on best practices for sustainable lending while capitalising on the growing pool of international funds that could flow into green and socially responsible projects. The Sustainable Finance Initiative will conduct two years of ...
No sign of relief for rice industry
As the harvest season of Cambodia’s most important crop kicks off, a crisis is looming as both rice farmers and millers face crippling capital shortages and a promised industry lifeline has yet to materialise. Industry experts said on September 14 that these small farmers desperate to pay ...
Lenders come out of the dark
More than a year into a government-backed campaign to clamp down on unlicensed lenders, nearly 130 small lenders operating under the radar have come into the fold, officials said on September 8. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Bank of Cambodia launched a ...
Group Lease strengthens ties with Sri Lankan financial group
SET-listed microfinance company Group Lease plans to collaborate further with Commercial Credit & Finance, a Sri Lankan financial group, to strengthen its microfinance businesses in Indonesia and Cambodia after GL acquired a microfinance company in Myanmar from a Commercial Credit shareholder. GL on September 7 signed a ...
Asian firms increase footprint with Myanmar MFI expansion
Thai-listed firm Group Lease has brought a majority stake in BG Microfinance Myanmar, with plans to invest almost US$7 million into the business and ramp up the number of branches. Korean credit card firm Shinhan Card, meanwhile, is preparing to start its own microfinance services ...
Banks covering their assets
Cambodian financial institutions surveyed yesterday said they were in compliance with the central bank’s revised liquidity coverage ratio requirements as the deadline passed to increase their cash and highly liquid assets to weather any internal or external shocks. The National Bank of Cambodia announced an incremental ...
Lao Securities issues warning on dubious financing companies
The Lao Securities Commission Office is advising people considering making deposits with financial institutions to make a careful assessment before going ahead. Various financing companies in Laos are encouraging people to deposit with them by offering a higher rate of interest than that provided by banks ...
Credit life insurance provides a safety net for borrowers
Credit life insurance is a concept that dates back centuries but is still new to the Cambodian market. More Cambodians than ever are turning to microfinance for money to cover their small business endeavours or pay expenses, and, increasingly, they are looking to protect their ...
More Cambodians struggling to repay MFI loans
Banking industry insiders expressed concern on 11 July over a spike in the amount of delinquent debts reported by microfinance institutions across the Kingdom, which they attributed to farmers struggling to repay their loans after adverse weather conditions affected their crops. “Loans in the agricultural sector account ...
