Major Banks To Provide Loans for Smaller Enterprises

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 June 2009

Cambodia Public Bank and ANZ Royal will provide loans to small and medium businesses, through a program with the UNDP and International Trade Center.

The loans will be available from October 2009 and will focus on 100 agricultural-related businesses. The two banks were selected from some other banks that had an interest in offering loans to small and medium enterprises, said Hin Wisal, UNDP assistant country director.

The UNDP is working with the International Trade Center to provide technical support to banks and businesses for the 18-month project. The Agence France de Development will provide credit guarantees for two partner banks.

“It is very important for SMEs to get formal loans from commercial banks to extend their growth,” Wisal told VOA Khmer. “To support policy development, we need to promote formal access to credit.”

Trade experts and economists say Cambodia’s small and medium enterprises are currently driving the economy. But these businesses lack the formal financial support they need to expand, because banking and finance in rural areas are not fully developed.

Studies show that of around 64,000 small and medium enterprises in Cambodia, only 80 percent get loans from banks. Informal loans, meanwhile, lead to financial problems down the road.

The bank-loan project will provide financial management training and guidance to enterprises. Under the project, the two banks will be able to evaluate strength and weakness of the businesses.

“More and more customers will seek a loan from a bank rather than other sources,” Stephen Higgins, chief executive officer of ANZ Royal said. “We make money, and they make money.”

Robert van Zwieten, director of capital markets and the financial sector for the Asian Development Bank, encouraged more banks to turn their eyes to small and medium businesses.

“It’s going to be far more interesting when you provide loans to SMEs, because they grow quicker, and SMEs are seen as the biggest generators of jobs,” he told VOA Khmer by phone from Singapore. “As a bank, if you have done a great service to your respective customer then you will have a long relationship for a long time to come and hopefully a profitable one. It will be beneficial for the country.”

Donors plan to give $1 billion in aid to the private sector in Cambodia

31 May 2009
By Savyuth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

An official at the International Trade Center (ITC) revealed that donor countries from Europe plan to give about $1 billion to Cambodia next year to help private businesses strengthen export of products in order to pull up the falling Cambodian economy caused by the worldwide economic crisis.

Mrs. Patricia Francis, executive director of the ITC, indicated that recently, France Development Agency (with the French acronym AFD) signed an agreement with ITC to provide funds to the private sector in Asia, in order to help secure the economic situation in these countries. Cambodia also features among those countries that will receive about $1 billion in aid.

Mrs. Patricia Francis said through a translator: “AFD signed an agreement with our institution to provide funds to help the private sector move forward. $1 billion will be provided to Cambodia.”

This news was revealed following the break of the regional meeting for Asia Pacific commerce, organized in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, on 29 May 2009.

Mrs. Patricia Francis added that a large number of private businesses in Asia Pacific play an important role, but they become economic victims of situation which is beyond their control, therefore, ITC is looking for means so that major countries that initiated the economic crisis continue to provide aid to the Asia Pacific private sector strengthen their export and help their country’s economy at the same time.

Sok Siphana, director of the ITC and an expert in economy of Cambodia, said that when rich countries, like the US, the EU and Japan suffer economic crisis, Cambodia’s export market also suffers, especially in the garment sector, the tourist sector, and small-scale industry also drops. Nevertheless, the private sector plays an important role to help the economy when it focuses on the export of agricultural products to neighboring countries.

Khaou Phallabotr of the Khaou Chuly Group said that when the world is facing this financial crisis, the private sector in Cambodia is also facing lack of funding because banks are afraid to lend them the money it needs.

Khaou Phallabotr said: “In general, we are facing financial problem, and secondly, we are facing a market problem.”

Khaou Phallabotr said that difficulties from funding shortage cause some companies to stop production, and some of them had to slash down the number of employees. Nevertheless, he said that businessmen hope and expect a return to golden economic time.