The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) has supported 1,566 businesses by providing credit guarantees for their loan applications, amounting to $132.74 million as of June 2023.

CGCC said in a statement yesterday that the total amount of outstanding guaranteed loans was $105 million, while the total amount of outstanding guaranteed amount was $75 million.

There are 1,432 micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSME) and 134 large businesses in Cambodia, the report said, adding that about 640 were women-owned.

The report stated that a significant portion of the loan guarantees were used for working capital, investment, business expansion, and capital expenditures.

CGCC, the first credit guarantee institution in the country under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, was established in August 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide timely credit to support the rehabilitation and sustainability of local businesses.

The credit guarantee scheme has contributed in strengthening entrepreneurship and improving financial inclusion in Cambodia by facilitating the smooth distribution of loans, said Mey Vann, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

“The CGCC has played a key role in serving the needs of SMEs in Cambodia, which are struggling in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis, and need credit from banks for their business,” Vann said.

The government will continue to implement supportive policies through credit guarantee mechanisms to ensure the development of small and medium enterprises, he added.

CGCC has so far guaranteed 40 percent of its total guarantees of $130 million to women-owned MSMEs, said Chief Executive Officer of CGCC Wong Keet Loong while signing a $3 million portfolio guarantee agreement for women entrepreneurs between CGCC and Prince Bank on July 13.

“The woman scheme comes with lower interest rates and guarantee fees for the 1st year.  These favorable terms will enable women MSMEs to obtain lower cost of financing,” he said.

The finance ministry has authorised the extension of the BRGS beyond December 31, 2022, until all funds have been utilised, an early-January CGCC statement confirmed, which noted that the terms of the scheme had also been updated, including the maximum guarantee amounts for different categories of businesses.

CGCC’s main mission is to provide credit guarantees to lenders on loans made to businesses based on international standards to share the risk with lenders and to improve financial inclusion.

Credit to: Khmer Time