Vietnam opens bank in Cambodia to promote bilateral trade

PHNOM PENH, (Xinhua News Agency) -- Vietnam's commercial bank Sacombank opened its first branch in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, bringing the total number of commercial banks in Cambodia to 30, local media reported on Wednesday.

Bank officials say that Cambodian operation will not compete with local banks, but will assist cross-border transactions between Cambodia and Vietnam.

"We are here to improve cross-border business, especially between Cambodia and Vietnam," John Vong, deputy CEO of Sacombank, was quoted by the Chinese language newspaper the Commercial News as saying.

The bank's Chairman Dang Van Thanh said that "the bank is aiming to provide loans to Vietnamese enterprises investing and operating in Cambodia, overseas Vietnamese, especially those running small and medium-sized enterprises."

The government figures showed that bilateral trade between Cambodia and Vietnam is projected to rise to two billion U.S. dollars in 2009, up from 1.62 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

Chea Chanto, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), said at Tuesday's launch that "the investment of Sacombank in the Cambodian market is an expression of confidence by Vietnamese investors in Cambodia's banking sector."

"Cambodia is a good location for banking because it is an economy open for investment from other countries," he added.