Japan-based Mizuho Bank (MHBK) has signed an agreement with two
well-established banks in Cambodia that is designed to help Mizuho leverage a
wider range of financial services when dealing with Japanese clients.
The memorandum of understanding was inked on Friday in Phnom Penh between
Mizuho’s president and CEO, Yasuhiro Sato, Maybank (Cambodia) CEO Lee Tien Poh,
and Canadia Bank CEO Michael Lor.
“We have been providing information to Japanese corporations entering the
Cambodian market,” Sato said on Friday. “As a bank with a reputation for
strength in the Greater Mekong subregion, MHBK will use this memorandum of
understanding to provide high-quality financial services to meet the diverse
needs of our customers.”
In July, MHBK, one of the largest banks in Japan, opened a Phnom Penh
representative office – the usual first step for banks looking to establish
local branches in other countries.
Mizuho Bank is now the third Japanese mega-bank with a representative office
in Phnom Penh. The other two are Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and Simitomo Mitsui
Banking Corporation.
Mizuho isn’t the first to seek out cooperation. In May, Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
signed a similar agreement with Canadia.
In the past couple of years, Japanese investment in Cambodia has surged. Data
from the Japanese embassy in Phnom Penh shows that investment totalled $330
million in 2012, a big jump from the $75 million in 2011.
At the end of March, there were 115 members of the Japanese Business
Association of Cambodia, compared to 101 at the end of 2012.
But the country still lags behind investors from China and South Korea.
According to data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia, Japan
ranked 14th in terms of foreign direct investing in Cambodia, having spent $154
million in the country from 1994 to 2011.
The Japanese-funded, 68,000-square-metre Aeon mega-mall is expected to open
next to Phnom Penh’s Sofitel hotel in July of 2014.
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