Cambodia Investment Review
As part of its robust strategy to provide financial solutions to every Cambodian, Phillip Bank Plc supports the full range of Cambodian entrepreneurs, including products catering to Small & Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs).
The bank believes this newly developing sector plays an increasingly important role in the growth of the Cambodian economy. Because of this, Phillip Bank sees great opportunities to strengthen and support the dynamic growth of SMEs in addition to its existing expertise and services to retail, corporate and micro-enterprise customers.
Phillip Bank’s Head of SME, Mrs. Duong Kimlang, told Cambodia Investment Review that the bank is currently offering a wide range of SME solutions including a term loan, overdraft, revolving credit, bank guarantee, as well as letters of credit.
The Royal Cambodian Government has stated that one of its aims is to increase the financial inclusion of its people, especially for women and minority populations.
In August, the Association of Banks in Cambodia, the Cambodian Microfinance Association, and the Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Association signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to promote financial inclusion and to raise awareness of access to finance among women entrepreneurs.
The MoA between the three associations was established to support the development plan of the Cambodian government, as well as to compliment the National Strategy for Financial Inclusiveness 2019-2025.
SME loans from Phillip Bank
According to Mrs. Doung, “What sets Phillip Bank apart from the rest of the commercial banks is that we are not only providing SME loans to the customer. In addition, we also offer professional advisory services to support SME clients to grow their business so they would receive the right loan product coming with flexible terms and conditions based on their SME business type.”
Phillip Bank prioritizes the unique needs of the SME customer. By building a trusting relationship with them, the bank is able to better understand their needs and add significant value to the customer that will ensure the success of their growing business.
As an example of this commitment, last year Phillip Bank was a major sponsor of the 20th Global Entrepreneurship Week Cambodia, held at Meanchey University in Banteay Meanchey province.
Phillip Bank staff were present at the event to explain to participants, mostly entrepreneurs, the various financial solutions of the bank that were well fitted to their businesses, including Micro SME and SME Loans.
“Phillip Bank provides financial and business advisory support to all shapes and sizes of businesses within the SME sector. No entrepreneur is too small to succeed! After providing financial solutions to SME businesses, we have found that most of their businesses have grown from medium to large scale businesses within two years,” said Mrs. Doung.
“With our hands-on support, SME businesses have been able to increase their market share and assets, and can successfully manage the cash flow of their business,” said Mrs. Doung, adding that the growth of small businesses also has indirect impact including providing more jobs for the community where those businesses are located. Expanding businesses also improves the standard of living of the community.
Phillip Bank Plc was established in Cambodia in 2009 under Hwang DBS and in 2014 Phillip Capital Group headquartered in Singapore bought it over and renamed it as Phillip Bank.
The bank offers a wide range of financial services and products catering to Corporate, SME, Microfinance and Retail customers. The Bank is a member of PhillipCapital Group which was established in 1975. In early 2020, Phillip Bank merged with Kredit MFI, becoming one of the largest commercial banks in Cambodia in terms of branch network with 88 branches throughout the country.
