Locally owned Canadia Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) to provide its customers with health tourism services in Malaysia.

MHTC chief operating officer Nik Yazmin Nik Azman said at the signing ceremony in Phnom Penh on Thursday that the MoU means quality healthcare services will be available to Cambodians – particularly Canadia Bank customers – who travel to Malaysia.

She added that as well as tourist destinations that attract millions of visitors every year, Malaysia is becoming well known for its health services.

“We would like to invite all travellers looking for healthcare services to come and enjoy a comfortable healthcare experience from the beginning to the end in Malaysia,” Nik Yazmin said.

MHTC is the government agency responsible for Malaysia’s healthcare travel scene.

Founded in 2009, it works to streamline industry players and service providers to grow Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry under the brand “Malaysia Healthcare”. The goal is to make Malaysia the leading global healthcare tourism destination.

Canadia CEO Raymond Sia said that in addition to being responsible for their assets, the bank has always considered the wellbeing of its customers as “health is wealth”.

He said Canadia believes Malaysia offers a wide range of healthcare services, with internationally renowned medical expertise and modern equipment.

On the sidelines of the MoU ceremony, Malaysian Ambassador Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim said Malaysia possesses the latest healthcare facilities.

“The MoU will help in strengthening the friendship and health cooperation between Malaysia and Cambodia.”

He added many Malaysians are currently investing in Cambodia, while the number of tourists between the two countries has been increasing steadily.

Malaysians ranked eighth for tourists to the Kingdom in the first nine months of this year, with 138,371 visitors. This is an increase of 2.3 per cent on the same period last year, with 135,301 visitors, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism.