MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia Restructured $1.7b in Loans During Early 2021, Requests for Restructuring Peaked in 2nd Quarter

Kaing Tongngy, the director of communications for the 114-member Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), reportedly has stated that CMA members restructured approximately USD 1.7 billion in loans during the first six months of 2021. At the beginning of 2021, around 1,000 loan restructuring applications were filed each week. However, with the onset of the third wave of COVID-19 infections in Cambodia, this number rose to 20,000 applications per week during April and May before declining back to approximately 2,000 weekly as of July.

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the country’s central bank, reportedly stated that financial institutions of all types have restructured loans worth KHR 22.2 trillion (USD 5.5 billion) for approximately 370,000 borrowers in the country from January 2021 to June 2021. This follows the restructuring of USD 4.2 billion in loans during 2020, in accordance with a directive issued by NBC during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restructuring has included extensions of credit periods, lowering of monthly payments and “in extreme cases” complete suspensions of repayments for up to 6 months. During this process, NBC has given priority to the transportation, garment, construction and tourism sectors as they have been impacted by the pandemic more than average.

CMA is an NGO that was established in 2004. The organization assists its members in accessing equity and loan funds, implementing the latest technologies, and resolving conflicts with other MFIs.

Established in 1954, NBC has the following responsibilities: formulating monetary and foreign exchange policies, regulating financial institutions, and issuing the national currency – the riel.

By Divya Deshmukh, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

The Phnom Penh Post article on restructuring loans, July 2021
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nbc-financial-institutions-h1-restructure-55-billion-loans

The Phnom Penh Post article on restructuring loans, March 2020
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nbcs-directive-restructure-credit-targeting-four-sectors

CMA homepage
https://cma-network.org/

NBC homepage
https://www.nbc.org.kh/

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