July 29th, 2010
Banking sector
DEPOSITS in Cambodia’s microfinance institutions surged almost 150 percent during the first six months of this year, compared to the same period of last year, in a trend that MFI officials said was likely to continue.
Although the significant growth was measured against a low base, by June this year total MFI deposits hit 71 billion riels (US$16.7 million).
Deposit numbers were taken from the four companies that hold deposit-taking licences, according to statistics released by the National Bank of
Cambodia.
Deposit-taking MFIs were introduced early last year when the NBC issued permits to Sathapana and Amret.
Hattha Kaksekar Ltd and AMK received licences in February 2010.
Chea Phalarin, president of the Cambodian Microfinance Association and Amret’s general manager, said yesterday that deposits in MFIs were on the rise as customers were drawn by higher interest rates than those offered by commercial banks.
Amret’s deposit base had increased to $7.5 million by the end of the June, up from only $1 million a year earlier, he said.
“We offered interest rates higher than the commercial banks,” of 8.5 percent per year for US dollar-denominated deposits and 10 percent per year for riel-denominated deposits, he said. Read more »
July 16th, 2010
Banking sector
ACLEDA Bank is set to launch its mobile-banking service Unity today. The new technology will allow customers to transfer funds between separate Acleda accounts and complete bill payments via phone.
It runs in both Khmer and English, with currency transactions in riel, US dollars and Thai baht. Bank chief In Channy said in a statement that the service was available anywhere in the country and globally for those with international roaming.
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
July 12th, 2010
Banking sector
PROFITS at Cambodia’s fifth-largest microfinance institution Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea grew 56 percent to US$322,000 during the second quarter, compared with $206,000 for the first quarter of the year.
“Quarter-on-quarter profit growth is due to an increase in the size of the loan portfolio and a drop in the rate of bad loans,” AMK CEO Paul Luchtenburg said yesterday.
The firm’s outstanding loans totalled $28.3 million at the end of June, up 8 percent from $26.2 million at the end of the first quarter, he said, and its rate of non-performing loans fell to 2.54 percent for the latest quarter, from 2.76 percent previously.
“The drop in non-performing loans was due to continued efforts to work with clients,” he said. He also said the firm had not written off any bad debts in the last three years, apart from clients who had died.
He added that the firm is committed to cutting its NPL rate to less than 2 percent by year’s end. AMK’s outstanding portfolio would continue growing until the end of the year, he said, as the firm extended loans to remote areas it presently does not serve. Read more »
