Cambodia Public Bank (Campu Bank), a subsidiary of the Malaysian Public Bank Group (PBB), posted strong gains during the first nine months of the year.

According to an October 23 financial statement, PPB’s Cambodian subsidiary posted a year-on-year profits increase of more than 45 per cent. Overseas operations contributed 7.5 per cent to before-tax profits for the firm.

“Cambodian Public Bank… registered a strong double-digit pre-tax profit growth of 48.7 per cent to USD $40 million as compared to the corresponding period in 2013 and is among the top three largest banks in Cambodia,” chairman of PPB, Tan Sri The, said in the filing.

Campu Bank loans also increased to $809 million at the third-quarter mark, up 10 per cent. Impaired loans in Cambodia, meanwhile, continue to decline year-on-year for PPB.

Phan Ying Tong, PPB’s regional head of Indo-China operations said a 22 per cent increase in Campu Bank customer deposits during the nine-month period and loan growth significantly contribute to the promising performance.

“Banks performed much better in tandem with [Cambodia’s)]much improved economy,” Ying Tong said in an email.

“Business sentiment and foreign investments are also on the increasing trend although prices for certain agriculture products such as rubber and rice have decreased drastically while exports of garments and textiles were reported to be lower as compared to the same period of 2013,” he added.