The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) provided credit guarantees of nearly $17 million in the first quarter of this year to 49 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as their working capital for expansion.

“In the first quarter of January to March, we saw a positive trend in the issuance of guarantees. We recorded a 30 percent increase in guarantees issued from 166 (4th quarter of 2023) to 215 with the amount of guaranteed loans increasing by 8.5 percent to $ 16.8 million,” a CGCC report issued recently showed.

The first quarter figure brought total credit guarantees to $181 million as of the end of March, supporting 2,143 MSMEs since its service launched in 2021, read the report.

As of March, the outstanding guaranteed loan was US$121.32 million while the outstanding guaranteed amount was $87.63 million.

There are 1,988 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 155 large businesses in Cambodia, the report said, adding that 881 of the businesses were women-owned.

2024 marks the 4th year of operations for CGCC. CGCC is optimistic that the credit guarantee will continue its momentum to increase annually, its CEO KL Wang said.

“Our participating FIs are beginning to find importance in the guarantees as a form of risk sharing for supporting their loans to MSMEs. Also, with the recognition of guaranteed loans to be zero-risk weighted, it will improve the FIs capital adequacy ratios,” Wang said.

The CGCC scheme involves 28 participating financial institutions (PFIs) to extend credit as working capital investment and business expansion to SMEs.

Established in November 2020 with a state budget of $200 million, the CGCC is the preferred credit guarantee institution in Cambodia set up to improve financial inclusion and develop the growth of SMEs.

CGCC, operated under the technical and financial guidance of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, launched the first guarantee scheme on 29 March 2021.

CGCC’s credit guarantee is instrumental in aiding MSMEs to obtain sufficient financing, enabling the enterprises to capitalize on investment opportunities, boost employment and increase income.

In January this year, CGCC launched its guarantee for corporate bonds listed on the Cambodian Stock Exchange. This marks the diversification of our guarantees beyond bank loans to guarantee corporate bonds issued by larger-sized SMEs.

Credit to: Khmer Times, Published on 10 May 2024