COMMERCIAL banks yesterday said they welcome a better role for Microfinance Institutions in the Kingdom, following an announcement that the National Bank of Cambodia had granted a deposit licence to VisionFund Cambodia. VisionFund is at least the seventh MFI to receive a deposit licence, and has announced interest rates on certain deposits as high as [...]
Total lending from the Kingdom’s 23 microfinance institutions increased by 33 percent in 2010, while the average non-performing loan (NPL) rate edged downwards, according to data from the Cambodia Microfinance Association. Some US$647 million was total by the MFIs – including ACELDA Bank’s small loans – up from $485 million the year previously. CMA chairman [...]
THE Asian Development Bank has launched a US$250 million microfinance fund to support private sector institutions which lend to the poor. ADB said in a statement yesterday it would use the “large scale” fund “to partner with financial institutions that actively lend to microfinance institutions in the ADB’s developing member countries”. Peter Brimble, ADB Cambodia [...]
Owners of small and medium enterprises in Cambodia face a lack of capital and low-interest credit, which is hurting their ability to expand their businesses, a group of experts said Wednesday. More than 300 participants gathered Wednesday for a national forum sponsored by the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, [...]
Tough loan requirements and high interest rates were hindering growth among the Kingdom’s small and medium enterprises, some entrepreneurs said yesterday. Banks generally accept only buildings and land in Cambodia as collateral, restricting capital available for businesses to expand, according to Te Taingpor, co-preside over of the manufacturing and SME working group. Speaking yesterday at [...]
A NEW micro-finance institution from South Korea has opened in Phnom Penh, but as the 23rd MFI in Cambodia, some insiders say it faces a tough battle to secure business. Choi Sooho, chief executive of the newly established Angkor ACE Star Credits Limited, said yesterday that the firm – which has made an initial investment [...]