Saturday, 21 November 2009

Cambodia Strengthens Banking ASEAN Cooperation


Saturday, 21 November 2009 05:13 DAP-NEWS

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) on Friday urged cooperation on baking system integration with other ASEAN countries.

“I am rather optimistic that rational dialogue based on responsible and knowledgeable positions, between people acting professionally, is always a source of progress in the banking industry to support economic growth,” Neav Chanthana, deputy governor of NBC told the 39th ASEAN Bankers council meeting in Cambodia.

Close cooperation among ASEAN banks will certainly help to speed up the process of the integration of ASEAN financial services by 2015, she added.

As the 10th member of ASEAN, Cambodia enjoyed double-digit economic growth over the past decade. In 2009, however, Cambodia was severely hit by the global crisis, especially in garments, construction and tourism, previously main drivers of the economy, he noted. Agriculture remains a bright spot, with positive growth expected.

The economic prognosis for 2010 is optimistic, with positive growth, she stresses. I have noted that our program focuses on three major items on cooperation in finance, investment and trade, education and ASEAN inter-regional relations, Neav Chanthana added. The NBC will carefully follow international developments and consider implementation in a progressive manner and in line with domestic market developments and priorities, she said.

At the same time, Phung Kheav Se, chairman of Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), and president and CEO of Canadia Bank PLC, said that the occasion was of great significance since it was the first time a council meeting has been held in Cambodia. “Many of you are already familiar with Cambodia and are well aware of the impressive progress we have made, both in terms of economic development and political maturity,” he added.

“We are proud of how far we have come in the relatively short time that our country has been at peace, but we also recognized that we have great challenges and hard work ahead of us before we can realize our country’s potential.”

“Our industry’s affiliation with the ASEAN bankers association has been equally beneficial. We are very grateful to the association as a whole and to the individual banks that have worked with us. Members of the Cambodian association of the banks have been active participants in ABA committee and workshop and more recently helped organize the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam investment conference. This has been a wonderful experience for us. Cambodia is eager to participate in the continuing integration of ASEAN econo- mies. We banking sector in Cambodia has been a large number of new entries over the past few years … However we also believed that agriculture and medium scale manufacturing will be particularly attractive areas for new activity as we seek to diversify our economic base.”

“With the help of our investment of our international friends, much public and private investment has been channelled into infrastructure such as power and roads to enhance the overall investment environment, he noted. We have also streamlined our need to be competitive.”

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