Maybank taps on Cambodia's tourism potential

Maybank opened its fourth branch in Cambodia to reinforce its international network of over 400 offices in 13 countries. In addition, it has 384 branches in Malaysia as well as associates in Pakistan—the MCB Bank, and Vietnam—An Binh Bank.

The new branch is located in Siem Reap, home of the world renowned Angkor Unesco Word Heritage Site. The branch is located in the city centre on Tep Von Street, Siem Reap City.

Maybank Head of International Abdul Farid Alias said that the opening of this branch in a provincial location of Cambodia is part of the Bank’s strategy to tap on the growth potential of the region as well as to support the development of the business and tourism sectors there.

"Siem Reap is one of the fastest growing towns in Cambodia and has the advantage of being the gateway to the famous Angkor Wat as well as many other ancient temples. The tourism industry has tremendous potential given the presence of many tourist facilities, namely hotels and businesses. Our branch will be able to serve the needs of the local businesses as well as Malaysian and Singaporean companies which have business activities in the region as well as the country," said Abdul Farid.

Siem Reap Province has a relatively large population of 1 million, and Siem Reap is the second largest city in Cambodia. An estimated 70 percent of its population consisting both local and foreigners live in Siem Reap City itself. The economy’s medium- and long-term prospects remain positive. The economy is gradually diversifying, and apart from the textile industry, there is significant potential in tourism, trading and general commerce, services sector, infrastructure development and in offshore oil exploration.

"As our first provincial outlet, the Siem Reap branch will enable us to expand our presence into the provinces of Cambodia. We plan to open four more branches in Cambodia by the end of the next financial year subject to approval from the authorities," added Abdul Farid.

The Siem Reap branch will offer full banking facilities and services including deposits, mortgage financing, trade financing, deposit, remittance services as well as foreign exchange services. It also offers ATM facilities which are linked to the Maybank ATM network in Phnom Penh.

"Maybank Cambodia has grown steadily over the past years, and we will continue in our effort to assist the people of Cambodia to attain greater success and prosperity," he said. "For the Siem Reap branch, we will focus on providing financing to manufacturing, tourism-related business and retail & wholesale as well as trade facilities in its first year of operations."

Maybank first established its presence in Cambodia in 1993 and has three other offices in the Kingdom which are all located in the capital city Phnom Penh. Maybank Cambodia registered a 22.37 percent growth in revenue for the 11 months of the current financial year compared to the previous corresponding period. Total loans to various sectors of the economy as at May 2009 grew 64.25 percent over the previous period. The top three sectors it provides financial support to are telecommunications, manufacturing and general commerce.