CIMB Bank in Cambodia officially launched

CIMB Bank has received its license to fully operate a 100 per cent owned subsidiary in Cambodia.

Six months after CIMB received the approval-in-principle to establish and operate in Cambodia, H.E. Chea Chanto, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, officially handed over of the license to Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, Group Chief Executive, CIMB Group in a ceremony at the branch which also serves as the headquarters on Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh.

Nazir said that CIMB Group is optimistic about the long-term prospects of the Cambodian economy and this has been reaffirmed based on CIMB’s experience during its initial set up phase, interaction with the Government, the Central Bank and its people.

“We are very excited about building our presence here in Cambodia. With the nation’s able leadership, vibrant economy and young and capable population, Cambodia is poised to become a key regional market for us in the near future,” said Nazir. “We find ourselves at the beginning of an enduring two-way relationship. In establishing ourselves in Cambodia, we also bring with us our regional network of clients, customers and resources – businesses, corporates, vendors, trading partners, professionals and others. We will share our expertise, our financial solutions and best practices to contribute towards the Cambodian banking system and the economy as a whole,” he added.

Nazir elaborated that one of CIMB’s key differentiators is its multi-local business model – which CIMB has successfully implemented across its ASEAN franchise and intends to do the same in Cambodia.

“Our regional model enables us to fully leverage the reach and scale of our Southeast Asian platform whilst preserving aspects which identify us to the local population, allowing us to understand and cater for their specific needs. For example, we strongly believe in the empowerment of local leadership and the development of products and services which are familiar to local cultures and practices. In doing so, we hope that the population will treat us not as a foreign bank, but as a local bank with regional resources,” he emphasized.

With the establishment of CIMB in Cambodia, the Group is now present in 8 out of 10 ASEAN nations with access to 89% of its GDP and 82% of the region’s population.