Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Oracle signs software agreement


Photo by: BLOOMBERG
California-based Oracle has seen its products supplied in three deals in Cambodia this month.

Written by Nguon Sovan
Tuesday, 30 June 2009

National Bank of Cambodia, microfinance institution Prasac and Advanced Bank of Asia all approve deals to purchase variations of Oracle's Flexcube software from local subsidiary

ASUBSIDIARY of California-based software giant Oracle has signed agreements to provide software under its Flexcube suite to the Kingdom's central bank.

A commercial bank and one microfinance institution (MFI) have also bought Flexcube software from Oracle, the world's largest business software company.

Oracle Financial Services Software Limited, which is a majority-owned subsidiary of Oracle, is to announce today that the National Bank of Cambodia has agreed to use the Flexcube Core Banking package, and that Prasac, an MFI, has agreed to use the Flexcube Universal Banking package.

The Post has also learned that the Advanced Bank of Asia has signed up for one of the eight available Flexcube packages, although CEO Madi K Akmambet would not elaborate.

In its press release, Oracle Financial Services Software predicted that the software would help the central bank to standardise its operations and incorporate best practices.

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Oracle Flexcube will help automate National Bank of Cambodia's ... processes.
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"Oracle Flexcube will help automate National Bank of Cambodia's current processes for operations across deposits, loans, foreign exchange, money markets, securities, funds transfer and asset management," it stated.

Thai Saphear, who heads the governor's office at the NBC, was quoted in the same press statement as saying that the central bank, which is also the nation's banking regulator, sees the technology as an important way to modernise its systems.

The general manager of Prasac said that his company was the first local microfinance institution (MFI) to use another of Oracle's Flexcube offerings, Universal Banking, for its transaction records.

"We are preparing ourselves to become a commercial bank in the next five years, so we are starting to get ready now," Prasac's Sim Senacheat told the Post. "That's why we decided to use the Flexcube Universal Banking software ... from now on."

Sim Senacheat said Prasac had selected the loans, savings and general accounting modules in the package.

"We have many offices and this software uses a centralised database, which makes it easy to administer transactions," he said, adding that the software cost US$1 million with annual fees of US$72,000.

Sim Senacheat said that modernising Prasac's systems would help it gain a competitive advantage, which would allow it to serve its clients better. He said staff software training would be finished by July.

Prasac has 95 offices and 1,250 staff in Cambodia. It has loaned US$53 million to 86,000 clients, and Sim Senacheat said that once the system was up and running the MFI would be able to take deposits from clients.

Two local partners - interFlex Co Ltd and Neeka Ltd - will help to implement the program for the NBC and provide hardware and support services.

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