The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) provided credit guarantees of $113.6 million to businesses as their working capital for expansion in the first quarter of this year.
CGCC said in a report that by the end of the first quarter it supported nearly 1,300 businesses by providing credit guarantees for their loan applications, amounting to $113.6 million.
The large portions of loan guarantees were used as working capital and other purposes of investment or business expansion, and capital expenditure, the report mentioned.
Various credit guarantee schemes played crucial roles in strengthening entrepreneurship and enhancing financial inclusion in Cambodia, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the smooth disbursal of loans, CGCC said.
For SMEs and MSMEs, it improves financial inclusion. It enables them to borrow without having the burden of providing collateral whenever their business capacity grows and they have higher loan requirements.
The CGCC has come up with three guarantee schemes so far — the Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) launched in March 2022, the Co-Financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS) unveiled in September 2021 and the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme, which was launched in April 2022, besides the extension of the CFGS to tourism.
The CGCC of the Ministry of Economy and Finance has extended the BRGS from January 1, 2023, until the $200-million scheme is fully utilized to support businesses including MSMEs as well as large firms by enhancing their access to formal loans from the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) for working capital investment and business expansion.
Updating some scheme features, including the scheme period, the definition of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and large firms, and the maximum loan amount for each guarantee are on the extension of BRGS.
BRGS aims to support businesses, including MSMEs and firms, to enhance their access to formal loans from Participating Financial Institutions for working capital, investment, and business expansion.
State-owned Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia Plc (CGCC) and Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) are joining forces to foster better access to guaranteed loans for the development of the Kingdom’s micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME), and to provide support to these smaller businesses, “mainly CCC members”, according to a statement.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to this effect between CGCC CEO Wong Keet Loong and Nguon Meng Tech, director-general of the CCC – the Kingdom’s apex trade body, at a ceremony last week, the statement noted.
“This cooperation will provide support to MSMEs – mainly CCC members – for greater access to finance despite collateral challenges, and to promote financial literacy, including credit guarantees to CCC members across the country,” it said.
Meng Tech underlined the damage wrought by the Covid-19 crisis on regional and global economies, especially how MSMEs have struggled to procure sufficient funds to keep their doors open.
“The MSMEs play significant roles in economic development. However, they face a lot of challenges, particularly financial constraints. In this regard, the MoU signing [by] CCC and CGCC today aimed specifically to promote access to guaranteed loans for the development of MSMEs.
“The MoU signing is also a positive sign that will help strengthen and deepen the cooperation between the two institutions,” he said in the statement.
The CGCC’s Wong added in the statement: “This MoU signing with the [CCC] is an important milestone for CGCC, as it enables CGCC to reach out to the members of CCC across the country.
“CCC, being an established business chamber with many SME [small- and medium-sized enterprises] members, will be a key partner to CGCC in promoting the understanding of the benefits of the credit guarantee,” the Malaysian said.
“Together with CCC, we can support the development of SMEs in Cambodia by improving financial inclusion and financial literacy,” he added.
The statement lauded the CGCC-CCC partnership as a demonstration of “a shared commitment to promoting economic growth and development” in the Kingdom. “By working together, the two organisations will help SMEs overcome financing challenges and unlock their potential to drive economic growth in the country,” it said.
Cambodia Post Bank Plc (CPBank) CEO Toch Chaochek commented to The Post on April 30 that the CGCC’s credit guarantees have played an “important role”, as collateral for loans, in ensuring access to formal finance among MSMEs.
“With the CGCC’s support, our MSMEs have been able to access more funds to support their businesses after being hit so hard by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years,” he said.
Incorporated in November 2020, the CGCC is run under the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s technical and financial assistance. The state-owned enterprise’s (SOE) central mission is “to provide credit guarantees to lenders on loans made to businesses based on international standards to share the risk with lenders and to improve financial inclusion”, its website says.
The CGCC was established by Sub-Decree No 140/ANKR/BK on September 1, 2020, and its $200 million Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) was launched on March 29, 2021 in a bid to widen access to formal loans from participating financial institutions (PFI) for working capital, investment and business expansions.
The enterprise announced that it had issued a total of 1,275 Letters of Guarantee (LG) for loans worth $113.6 million equivalent as of March 31 – up eight per cent from end-February and up 258 per cent year-on-year, in terms of value. MSMEs accounted for 1,173 – or 92 per cent – of the LGs.
As of March 31, the outstanding guaranteed amount was $65.4 million out of the $90.7 million worth of loans covered by the LGs, as noted by the CGCC, remaining in the 70-80 per cent target range at just over 72 per cent.
PHNOM PENH, April 28 (Xinhua) — State-owned Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote access to guaranteed loans for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), said a joint statement on Friday.
The cooperation will provide support to MSMEs, mainly CCC members, with greater access to finance despite collateral challenges, and promote financial literacy, including credit guarantees to CCC members across the Southeast Asian country, the statement said.
The CGCC is a state-owned enterprise providing credit guarantees on loans disbursed by participating financial institutions to support viable businesses that lack collateral when applying for loans, the statement added.
CGCC Chief Executive Officer Wong Keet Loong said the MoU will make it easier for CCC members to access financing, and demonstrate a shared commitment to promoting economic growth and development in Cambodia.
“Together with CCC, we can support the development of SMEs in Cambodia by improving financial inclusion and financial literacy,” he said. “By working together, the two organizations will help MSMEs overcome financing challenges and unlock their potential to drive economic growth in the country.”
CCC Director-General Nguon Meng Tech said the MSMEs play significant roles in economic development, but at the same time, they face a lot of challenges, particularly financial constraints.
“The MoU is a positive sign that will help strengthen and deepen the cooperation between the two institutions,” he said.
Incorporated in 2020, the CGCC had supported 1,275 businesses by providing credit guarantees for their loan applications in a total amount of 113.6 million U.S. dollars as of March 2023, the statement said.
On 03 April 2023, CGCC organized the first Annual Town Hall meeting, a gathering of all CGCC staff to report on progress and milestones to the Executive Committee (Exco) of CGCC as well as sharing with the staff on the previous year’s and the first quarter of 2023 progress, especially on the strategy and action plan of each respective departments in 2023.
CGCC Town Hall Meeting 2023 on “Milestones and Strategy Plan”
This town hall meeting is not only for sharing the progress report and plans from all departments, but also for a dialogue platform to openly discussion and obtain recommendations from management on the direction of CGCC’s operations and vision in improving financial inclusion and develop SMEs in Cambodia.
Within the 2 years of operation, CGCC is strongly supported by the Royal Government, and under the direct guidance from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). CGCC operates with the strong leadership of management, who has extensive experiences in banking and financial sector. As such, CGCC has grown steadily, and as of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the CGCC has more than 40 employees working in solidarity and same goal to achieve the vision of the company.
CGCC Town Hall Meeting 2023 on “Milestones and Strategy Plan”CGCC Town Hall Meeting 2023 on “Milestones and Strategy Plan”
The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) provided credit guarantees of $105 million as of February to businesses as their working capital for expansion.
In a factsheet issued on March 10, CGCC said that as of the end of February it has supported 1,155 businesses by providing credit guarantees for their loan applications, amounting to $104.9 million.
Large portions of the loan guarantee were used as working capital and other purposes of investment or business expansion, and capital expenditure, the report mentioned. As of January 2023, the outstanding guaranteed loan was $81.6 million while the outstanding guaranteed amount was $58.8 million.
Various credit guarantee schemes have played a crucial role in strengthening entrepreneurship and enhancing financial inclusion in Cambodia, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the smooth disbursal of loans, CGCC said.
The CGCC has come up with three guarantee schemes so far — the Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) launched in March 2022, the Co-Financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS) unveiled in September 2021 and the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme launched in April 2022, besides the extension of the CFGS to tourism. The CGCC of the Ministry of Economy and Finance has extended the BRGS from January 1, 2023, until the $200-million scheme is fully utilised.
Updating some scheme features, including the scheme period, the definition of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and large firms, and the maximum loan amount for each guarantee are on the extension of BRGS.
BRGS aims to support businesses, including MSMEs and firms, to enhance their access to formal loans from Participating Financial Institutions for working capital, investment, and business expansion.
Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia Plc (CGCC) reportedly issued a total of 1,155 Letters of Guarantee (LG) for loans worth $104.9 million equivalent as of February 28 – up 13 per cent year-to-date – as part of its mission to improve financial inclusion among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and promote the sustainability and expansion of businesses worst hit by Covid-19.
As of January 31, the outstanding guaranteed amount was $58.9 million out of the $81.6 million worth of loans covered by the LGs, as noted by the state-owned enterprise in a new report, remaining in the 70-80 per cent target range at just over 72 per cent.
The CGCC was established by Sub-Decree No 140/ANKR/BK on September 1, 2020, and its $200 million Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) was launched on March 29, 2021 in a bid to widen access to formal loans from participating financial institutions (PFI) for working capital, investment and business expansions.
Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) chairman Sok Voeun lauded the CGCC’s credit guarantee arrangements as important tools for SMEs to access formal unsecured loans to keep their businesses afloat and expand in light of Covid-19 bruises.
He told The Post on March 13 that commercial banks accounted for 80 per cent of loans covered by the 1,155 LGs, while microfinance institutions (MFI) “partnering with the PFI” constituted the rest.
On the other hand, banking institutions accounted for about 95 per cent of the $104.9 million loan value, he said.
“We’ve provided credit to most of the priority sectors, including services, agriculture and manufacturing,” he affirmed.
“We are happy to join the CGCC because risks are guaranteed. We’ve noted that since the beginning of the project, the rate of bad loans has been minimal because the businesses have the potential to stimulate economic activity, although they may not have collateral.
“Hence the credit guarantee scheme has been a big help for them to expand their businesses,” he said.
The finance ministry has authorised the extension of the BRGS beyond December 31, 2022, until all funds have been utilised, an early-January CGCC statement confirmed, which noted that the terms of the scheme had also been updated, including the maximum guarantee amounts for differing categories of businesses.
The statement disclosed that loans, mostly unsecured, totalling about $89 million were guaranteed by the CGCC as of December 31 under the BRGS.
Cambodia Post Bank Plc, one of the PFIs, accounted for roughly $1 million of that, all of which went to SMEs, confirmed its CEO Toch Chaochek, telling The Post on March 13 that the plan is to increase that to $5-10 million in 2023.
To this end, the bank aims to shift its focus, from large SMEs with adequate collateral that are seeking to expand, to smaller ones without the assets needed for the secured loans to do the same, he revealed.
“The CGCC project is great for SMEs that do not have the collateral to obtain the loans – they have a shot at rehabilitating and expanding their businesses,” Chaochek said.
On 01 March 2023, CGCC’s team led by Mr. Wong Keet Loong, CEO of CGCC, is honored to witness and attend the Graduation Ceremony of 129 trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” program, initiated by Sathapana Bank, co-supported by CGCC to improve financial literacy for entrepreneurs’ business development and Cambodia’s economy.
Graduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” Program
In September 2022, IFL was launched in partnership with likeminded partners such as Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC), and 2 more partners. The program was aimed to promote and improve financial literacy for women entrepreneurs in SMEs and MSMEs by providing networking opportunities and training sessions in areas like project management, financial management, marketing, sales, and more.
Graduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” ProgramGraduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” Program
Through this program, CGCC is delighted to contribute to creating a community classroom where SMEs and MSMEs could come together to learn and networking, also sharing the best practice/experiences for capacity building and accelerated the long-term entrepreneurship conceptual & practical.
Graduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” ProgramGraduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” ProgramGraduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” Program
On 27 February 2023, Mr. Wong Keet Loong, CEO of CGCC participated as a panelist in the panel discussion on “Intervention programs of related stakeholders in promoting and developing women entrepreneurship” in the seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs: Expanding Opportunity for Women Entrepreneurs in Digital Economy and Society”, organized by the Ministry of Women Affairs, with more than 100 participants from Ministry and Provincial Departments of Women Affairs, related ministries, private sectors, and development partners.
CGCC in the Seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs” of Ministry of Women Affairs
This seminar is organized to promote the focus on women entrepreneurs in business development in the digital era and review the mechanisms of relevant institutions to support women entrepreneurs more effectively.
During the Panel Discussion, CGCC’s CEO shared with audiences about CGCC’s credit guarantee scheme for women entrepreneurs, as well as the positive trend of providing credit guarantee to women entrepreneurs. He also highlighted CGCC’s additional support mechanisms for increasing credit guarantees, as well as supporting access to finance for women entrepreneurs in response to capital requirements and other skills, especially digital skills for business development through various training collaborating with partner banks/microfinance institutions.
CGCC in the Seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs” of Ministry of Women AffairsCGCC in the Seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs” of Ministry of Women Affairs
The 11th Give a Day has featured the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia as its keynote as well as enabled Cambodia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to connect at the new Khmer Enterprise Headquarters for the first time in 2023.
Khmer Enterprise CEO Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin delivered the welcoming remarks highlighting the ongoing progression of the initiative which was first piloted in 2021 before receiving its full funding for monthly and quarterly meetings in 2022 and has now been renewed for 2023.
“The Give a Day monthly meetings and quarterly ecosystem builder events have been greatly welcomed by Cambodia’s entrepreneurial community – and have provided both learnings and networking opportunities between various sectors,” he told over 50 attendees from the ecosystem at KE headquarters.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentSabine Joukes Pact Cambodia Country Director and WE Act Chief of Party, Khmer Enterprise CEO Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin, Rajiv Pradhan Country Director at Swisscontact in Cambodia.
“We also wanted to welcome everyone to our new headquarters at the Business Development Center in Chroy Changvar, Phnom Penh, and advise that our open working space is available to everyone in the ecosystem as well as both our meetings’ rooms and event space,” he added.
Rajiv Pradhan Country Director at Swisscontact in Cambodia and Sabine Joukes Pact Cambodia Country Director and WE Act Chief of Party echoed this statement adding it was fantastic to reconnect the ecosystem for the first time in 2023.
Increase credit guarantee issuance by 50% in 2023
Delivering the keynote CGCC CEO, Wong Keet Loong commented the scheme was looking to increase the number of transactions it underwrites by 50% in 2023 as the organization looks to increase its outreach to the country’s micro and small and medium businesses, (MSMEs).
CGCC received its sub-decree on September 2020 and was fully incorporated in November 2020 its guarantees are intended to expand the availability of credit to smaller enterprises that may not have the collateral which banks typically require to advance working capital loans.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentConversations after the keynote presentation.
Initially launched as a tool to close the credit gap that emerged between small businesses during the pandemic, the CGCC issued its first guarantee in April 2021 and has since given a total of 985 Letters of Guarantee (LG) for loans worth $92.7. Mr Loong said that the CGCC had even more ambitious targets for 2023.
“My biggest goal for this year is to increase the outreach of our guarantees. The CGCC wants to provide guarantees to 1500 SMEs this year. We want to guarantee $100 million of loans in 2023. I know that is optimistic but I believe it can be done,” he said in response to a question from Cambodia Investment Review.
Rising interest rates may impact growth
Mr Loong said that the main barrier to reaching this target was the global macro picture, particularly the impact of rising US interest rates.
“The main issue right now is that external factors are affecting the cost of funding, which is going up as US interest rates rise and this is affecting a number of financial institutions (FIs). They see that fixed deposit rates are going crazy which is good for depositors, but not FIs and this impacts their lending,” he added.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentAttendees at the 11th Give a Day.
Global factors may act as a drag on the CGCC’s work in the near term, but fellow speaker H.E. Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin, CEO of Khmer Enterprise, said that if credit guarantees become more widely used in Cambodia it would make it much easier for firms to do business internationally.
“In their current state, a lot of Cambodian companies are unable to demonstrate a track record of success, however, if they run through the credit guarantee program with CGCC it provides a history of how well they managed issues such as shipping and cash flow.
So this is one of the things that we support them to expand their market internationally,” he said.
40% of its guarantees go to female-owned businesses
The CGCC currently offers four different guarantee products and in April last year, it launched it’s third the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme (WEGS), a $50m capped fund that is aimed at supporting women and female-owned businesses.
According to the CGCC’s data up to 40% of its guarantees go to female-owned businesses, whereas Mr Loong said that up to 65% of Cambodian MSMEs were run by women. An audience member, who didn’t identify herself, suggested that this gap was partly due to issues over lack of financial knowledge.
“One reason is that we know most women entrepreneur’s businesses are not registered and one way to improve that is via financial literacy, and this will have many benefits. If financial literacy is growing then entrepreneurs are more confident, more informed, and able to negotiate good loans,” she said.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentQuestions and answer session.
Mr Loong responded that the CGCC did support unregistered businesses, for the first year at least and that expanding awareness of credit guarantees should in turn increase the number of registrations by female business owners.
“However, we tell customers that you need to be registered after a year, because when the anniversary comes, if you’re not registered, then we charge you an additional 0.5%. So, in a way, it incentivizes businesses to be registered. But when they come on board, they can be unregistered,” he said.
The Give a Day program returns in 2023
Give a Day is an initiative within the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Building Project (EEB) which is jointly funded by Khmer Enterprise, USAID’s WE Act Project through Pact Cambodia and Swisscontact.
In addition, to monthly meetings, the initiative also included a quarterly Ecosystem Builders Network (EBN) event that focused on mapping the six pillars of Isenberg’s Model of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentThe 11th Give a Day program at Khmer Enterprise Head Office on February 10, 2023.
The quarterly meetings created a space through which ecosystem builders and government agencies can share information, foster best practices, identify market gaps and opportunities, and explore collaboration or complementarity to strengthen the ecosystem.
Cambodia’s ESO ecosystem, broadly defined as groups that support, train, and fund entrepreneurs is still in the nascent stage with many new organizations launched to help nature and develop the sector.
On 10 February 2023, Mr. Wong Keet Loong, CEO of CGCC, provided a Keynote Presentation on “Credit Guarantee Schemes of CGCC and its Role in Enterprise Development” at “Give a Day” event, co-organized by Swisscontact, Khmer Enterprise, and Pact Cambodia, and presided over by H.E. Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin, Mr. Rajiv Pradhan, Country Director of Swisscontact, Ms. Sabine Joukes, Chief of Party, WE Act/Pact Cambodia, and participated by almost representatives from Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs), investors and business associations.
CGCC and Role of Credit Guarantee Schemes in Enterprise Development of “Give a Day” Event
“Give a Day” is a forum gathering the entrepreneurial ecosystem community in Cambodia that are mutually supporting each other with the willingness to bring any open discussion related to entrepreneurship for effective solutions. Today’s “Give a Day” event theme is credit guarantee schemes that are a gateway for SMEs to access formal loans, therefore it is crucial that SMEs and ESOs understand the schemes.
Mr. KL Wong introduced credit guarantee schemes’ journey in Cambodian Financial Ecosystem and its role in supporting potential MSMEs to be able to obtain an easier and larger amount of loans under CGCC’s credit guarantee through CGCC’s participating financial institutions. Participants were pleased to learn about the benefits of credit guarantees and how this financial instrument could address the challenges in access to finance that their members and network are currently facing.
CGCC and Role of Credit Guarantee Schemes in Enterprise Development of “Give a Day” EventCGCC and Role of Credit Guarantee Schemes in Enterprise Development of “Give a Day” Event
