2010-11-04 14:39

PHNOM PENH - The Bank of China and CIMB from Malaysia are close to get licenses for business in Cambodia, a central bank official said Wednesday.

"The Bank of China has nearly completed all criteria, and now they are preparing the location and staff for the operations," Thai Saphear, deputy director of the Cabinet and Head of the Governor's Office at the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), said Wednesday.

The main criteria for a bank for the license are the bank's registered capital, statutes, board of directors, office location and staff, he said, adding"and for CIMB, it has met all requirements in the NBC's law, it's expected to be granted the license soon. So does the Bank of China."

He said that as everything is almost in place, if the two banks want to launch their operations this month or by the end of this year, it will be possible for them.

Both the Bank of China and CIMB were granted the approval-in- principle in June by NBC to open branches in Cambodia.

Currently, there have been 28 commercial banks in the Kingdom. As the two new banks come, the total number will be 30.

According to NBC's regulation, by the end of this year, all the Cambodia's commercial banks will be required to triple their registered capital from now $13 million to $37.5 million, except banks with at least one influential shareholder as a bank or financial institution with a rating investment grade, provided by a reputable rating agency.