PHNOM PENH, Oct 19 (NNN-AKP) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a 40-million-U.S. dollar loan, to support Cambodia’s efforts to expand access to credit among micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and implement reforms, to boost financial stability, said its press release yesterday.
The third subprogramme of the Inclusive Financial Sector Development Programme, follows two previous subprogrammes, which were implemented from 2016 to 2019, to help the Cambodian government develop an efficient and stable financial sector, by bolstering financial inclusion and financial stability.
“Cambodia has made significant strides in preserving financial stability and improving crisis management amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said ADB financial specialist, Benita Ainabe.
“Under the new subprogramme, the government adopted key legislation, supporting a national financial inclusion strategy and launched several initiatives, to increase access to finance, including Cambodia’s first-ever small- and medium-sized enterprise public credit guarantee scheme,” she said.
In Cambodia, access to financial products and services for the poor is limited and financial literacy is low, the press release said, adding that, only 21.7 percent of the country’s adults have a bank account, and MSMEs struggle to access financing and micro-insurance.
Businesses are often hampered by limited access to long-term finance, because of a lack of collateral, the absence of government support, such as guarantees, and financial illiteracy, the press release said, adding that only 18 percent of Cambodians are considered financially literate.– NNN-AKP
