Banking and financial services
Banking and financial services policy and regulation
Burden of debt eats into incomes
While Cambodian households saw their debt increase just 2 per cent last year, rural household borrowings to service existing loans nearly doubled, new government research shows. Both total and disposable incomes across the 3.3 million Cambodian households rose 16 per cent year-on-year in 2014, with total ...
GH Bank's cheap loans a success
Potential mortgage borrowers lined up for the government’s 10 billion baht in cheap loans at all branches of state-owned GH Bank on 19 October, the first day of the scheme. Keep reading ...
Cambodia to invest $62M in China’s Asia Bank
The Council of Ministers agreed on 9 October to invest about $62 million in the fledgling Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is expected to start operating by the end of the year. Keep reading ...
Myanmar Central Bank issues directive on customer due diligence
The Central Bank of Myanmar has issued a directive on customer due diligence related to anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism. All banks and financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank must develop effective frameworks to manage these risks, said the note, issued on 5 ...
Cooperative Bank first to sign for ADB trade finance
Cooperative Bank has become the first local lender to sign with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under its Trade Finance Program, introduced to Myanmar last month. The program will help increase Myanmar’s international trade – the ADB will provide up to US$12 million per year to ...
Lao central bank to stop direct lending
The Bank of Laos has proposed the postponement of direct lending to new state investment projects as part of measures to safeguard the banking and financial system of the country, according to the central bank governor. Mr Somphao Phaysith made the proposal at a meeting between ...
ANZ Bank receives Myanmar licence just ahead of deadline
The Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group has become the last of nine foreign banks to receive a branch licence to operate in Myanmar. The Central Bank of Myanmar’s licencing committee announced it had awarded a licence to ANZ on 29 September, just days ahead ...
Vietnam scraps ceiling rate on corporate dollar deposits
Vietnam’s central bank said late on 27 September it was abolishing the interest rate ceiling on dollar deposits offered by banks to organisations and companies, in an attempt to avoid dollar hoarding. Keep reading ...
Thai banks face biggest default since 1997 crisis
Sahaviriya Steel’s UK steel business has failed with defaults on 50 billion baht of loans from Thai banks, biggest default for Thai banks since 1997 Asian crisis. Keep reading ...
Borrowing costs in Vietnam remain too high despite very low inflation: businesses
High borrowing costs have eroded profitability of many companies in Vietnam this year, a business group said, calling for a rate cut and better access to loans. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said at a meeting in Hanoi on 22 September that 60 percent of ...