ABA Bank, the country’s leading commercial bank, and Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia Plc. (CGCC), a state-owned enterprise of the Royal Government of Cambodia officially signed the Credit Guarantee Agreement on 11 November 2021. Under the Agreement, ABA will provide loans guaranteed by CGCC to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and large companies in Cambodia on business expansion, investment, and working capital.

This partnership enables ABA Bank to support and assist business entities who are financially viable but lack collateral when requesting loans by using guarantees under the CGCC’s Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS). Through this Agreement, ABA Bank can assist more businesses, especially SMEs, by offering them more accessible and quicker applications and higher loans to prioritized sectors.

ABA’s Chief Executive Officer, Askhat Azhikhanov commented, “SMEs play a vital role in the economy, and traditionally are in the focus of Cambodian financial institutions. Due to the regulation and risk management,  banks require potential borrowers to comply with a list of criteria, including credit history, financial condition, and collateral. Not all of them meet those criteria, while the pandemic affected even more businesses. The Credit Guarantee Scheme initiated by the Royal Government provides a beneficial risk-sharing mechanism between ABA and CGCC whereby businesses not fully eligible for a bank loan can still access formal financing from ABA. The Bank will consider such requests based on its credit policy and loan application assessment, while the priority will be given to agriculture, industry, and services sectors of the economy.”

“We at ABA Bank partner with CGCC in providing SME businesses with easier access to loans and restate our commitment to benefit Cambodia and its people in line with our corporate mission and values,” he added.

Mr. Wong Keet Loong, Chief Executive Officer of CGCC, mentioned that “CGCC was set up with the objective of increasing loan growth in the banking sector.  With the credit guarantee, financial institutions can provide higher loan margins.  As the economy is reopening, there will be higherdemand for loans from SMEs to increase their business.”

“CGCC’s guarantee will act as part of the collateral for the bank loans, thus, reducing the collaterals required from the borrowers.  ABA Bank, being one of the top banks, has a strong loan growth and its wide network of branches will be strategic for CGCC to accomplish its objectives. We look forward to ​this partnership to reach out to more SMEs”, he added.

In March 2021, the CGCC launched the $200 million Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) to help businesses, including micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs), as well as large corporations, to gain better access to formal loans from participating financial institutions (PFIs). To expand support to SMEs, Co-financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS), the second credit guarantee scheme was launched in September 2021, for guarantee on loans under the SME Bank’s Co-Financing Scheme Phase II. Under this Agreement, ABA becomes one of the 19 PFIs committed to these schemes in providing easy access to loans for businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Call the CGCC Call Center at 023 722 123 or the ABA Call Center at 023 225 333 for more information on the services offered by CGCC and ABA.

Credit to: Khmer Times