The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) provided credit guarantees of $113.6 million to businesses as their working capital for expansion in the first quarter of this year.

CGCC said in a report that by the end of the first quarter it supported nearly 1,300 businesses by providing credit guarantees for their loan applications, amounting to $113.6 million.

The large portions of loan guarantees were used as working capital and other purposes of investment or business expansion, and capital expenditure, the report mentioned.

Various credit guarantee schemes played crucial roles in strengthening entrepreneurship and enhancing financial inclusion in Cambodia, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the smooth disbursal of loans, CGCC said.

For SMEs and MSMEs, it improves financial inclusion. It enables them to borrow without having the burden of providing collateral whenever their business capacity grows and they have higher loan requirements.

The CGCC has come up with three guarantee schemes so far — the Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) launched in March 2022, the Co-Financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS) unveiled in September 2021 and the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme, which was launched in April 2022, besides the extension of the CFGS to tourism.

The CGCC of the Ministry of Economy and Finance has extended the BRGS from January 1, 2023, until the $200-million scheme is fully utilized to support businesses including MSMEs as well as large firms by enhancing their access to formal loans from the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) for working capital investment and business expansion.

Updating some scheme features, including the scheme period, the definition of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and large firms, and the maximum loan amount for each guarantee are on the extension of BRGS.

BRGS aims to support businesses, including MSMEs and firms, to enhance their access to formal loans from Participating Financial Institutions for working capital, investment, and business expansion.

Credit to: Khmer Times, Published on 25 April 2023