by Orichá » Fri May 17, 2019 3:11 pm
vladimir wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:43 pm
YaTingPom wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 4:56 pm
That’s why all of the big MFI are owned by large international banks now. It’s an untapped growing market.
Now? Meaning from when? I vaguely remember being shot down in flames by the usual suspects for even daring to suggest foreign bankers were heading micro-financing institutes, despite pictures of their public corporate structure being posted, with nary a Khmer face in sight..
And yet, it seems, history has proved me right. Doesn't happen every day.
Well, not many may have noticed, but about the same time that the prime minister decreed that MFI's could not lend at rates higher than 18%, many of them began selling large stakes to foreign banks, as you can see documented in this article from the Phnom Penh Post:
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ ... mfi-sector
However, I am a little bit worried that their enthusiasm may be temporary and the sector may not be as healthy as one other poster above assumes. For example, if EBA (Everything But Guns) favored-nation trade status is rescinded, then, well... maybe some things will change. A lot depends on the ability of local people to create a domestic economy.
https://www.just-style.com/news/eu-begi ... 35583.aspx
But where I live, for example, the branch office of AMK -- one of the major MFIs in Cambodia -- has been forced to move twice as rents in the city proper became too high. Now, the bank is way out on Highway 4, following the same pattern of displacement that has also forced Cambodian locals to move out of Sihanoukville, too.
Besides MFIs seeing foreign bank and business investment, ordinary Cambodian banks have also received a lot of foreign investment: a good example is the ABA Bank, which will soon be 100% Canadian-owned, as their board has just approved a buyout of the remaining 10% of all shares -- (the National Bank of Canada already owns 90% of ABA).
[quote=vladimir post_id=967837 time=1556631784 user_id=423]
[quote=YaTingPom post_id=967345 time=1556186168 user_id=38577]That’s why all of the big MFI are owned by large international banks now. It’s an untapped growing market.[/quote]
Now? Meaning from when? I vaguely remember being shot down in flames by the usual suspects for even daring to suggest foreign bankers were heading micro-financing institutes, despite pictures of their public corporate structure being posted, with nary a Khmer face in sight..
And yet, it seems, history has proved me right. Doesn't happen every day.
[/quote]
Well, not many may have noticed, but about the same time that the prime minister decreed that MFI's could not lend at rates higher than 18%, many of them began selling large stakes to foreign banks, as you can see documented in this article from the Phnom Penh Post:
[url]https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/foreign-banks-pouring-mfi-sector[/url]
However, I am a little bit worried that their enthusiasm may be temporary and the sector may not be as healthy as one other poster above assumes. For example, if EBA (Everything But Guns) favored-nation trade status is rescinded, then, well... maybe some things will change. A lot depends on the ability of local people to create a domestic economy.
[url]https://www.just-style.com/news/eu-begins-process-to-suspend-cambodia-trade-benefits_id135583.aspx[/url]
But where I live, for example, the branch office of AMK -- one of the major MFIs in Cambodia -- has been forced to move twice as rents in the city proper became too high. Now, the bank is way out on Highway 4, following the same pattern of displacement that has also forced Cambodian locals to move out of Sihanoukville, too.
Besides MFIs seeing foreign bank and business investment, ordinary Cambodian banks have also received a lot of foreign investment: a good example is the ABA Bank, which will soon be 100% Canadian-owned, as their board has just approved a buyout of the remaining 10% of all shares -- (the National Bank of Canada already owns 90% of ABA).