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| A customer transacts with Military Bank’s newly-opened branch in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh - Photo: Hong Phuc |
PHNOM PENH - Military Bank, or MB, on Tuesday inaugurated a branch in Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh with legal capital of US$39 million as part of the bank’s strategy to boost overseas operations.
MB is the fourth local bank that has set a foothold in Cambodia, following Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (Sacombank).
MB’s general director Le Cong told the Daily that opening the Phnom Penh branch is part of the bank’s business strategy to expand its operations in the coming time after it had the first overseas branch opened in Laos last December.
The branch in Laos with an initial investment cost of US$12 million has obtained some US$500,000 in profits and has recorded total outstanding balances of about US$100 million after one year in operation, added Cong.
Those enterprises that are MB’s traditional customers have greatly succeeded in doing business in Laos, an attractive destination which many local economic groups and firms also intend to invest in.
The bank, however, aims higher for the new branch in Cambodia, the CEO said.
Cong believed that “it is a right policy when investing in Cambodia, where the bank has set a target of US$200 million of total outstanding balances for the first year’s operations.”
The new branch will focus on credit activities, trade finance, factoring services, gold and foreign currency trading, money transfer, foreign exchange and card business. In addition, the bank will accelerate both wholesale and retail banking services concentrating on expanding a customer base of small and medium enterprises and individuals.
The presence of the new branch raises the total number of transaction offices and branches of MB to 170, helping it become one of Vietnam’s top ten lenders with total assets worth approximately VND120 trillion.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chea Chan To, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, reported that the nation has 31 joint stock commercial banks, including seven foreign-invested lenders and 24 local credit institutions, besides 27 people’s credit funds.
With a population of over 14 million people, Cambodia’s gross domestic product has achieved a growth rate of 6.4% this year and the Cambodian government is calling for foreign investors to further invest in the financial sector.
