Prime Minister Hun Sen called on Credit Suisse, a leading financial services provider headquartered in Zurich, to set up shop in Cambodia and take advantage of the country’s fast growing financial sector as it expands across Southeast Asia.
The premier’s appeal was made during a meeting at the Peace Palace with Credit Suisse’s managing director Andreas Gerber, who is leading a delegation of Swiss companies from the financial, construction and real estate sectors.
Mr Hun Sen told the delegation that Cambodia is ideal for their expansion plans because of its political stability, strong economic growth and a range of potentially profitable, untapped sectors.
He singled out the financial industry, saying that it is undergoing impressive growth.
“Some of our sectors of economic activity could prove amply profitable for Swiss corporations. They should definitely consider the immense potential of our banking sector,” the Cambodian Prime Minister said.
According to the Central Bank, during the past 16 years, banking assets in the country have increased 41 times, reaching $32 billion. During the same period, the total loan portfolio of banks operating in Cambodia rose 93 times, reaching $18.8 billion in October this year, while deposits grew 52 times and now stand at $16.3 billion.
Cambodia now has 39 commercial banks, 15 specialised banks, seven microfinance deposit institutions and 66 licensed MFIs, as well as 2,431 money changers and 12 financial leasing companies.
Credit Suisse operates the Credit Suisse bank, an institution with more than 45,000 employees and offices in 50 countries around the world. The bank is already present in five Asean countries.
