Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia Plc (CGCC) has issued credit guarantees totalling $45.5 million as of May 31, to 448 companies, the state-owned enterprise reported.

CGCC was established by Sub-Decree No 140/ANKR/BK on September 1, 2020 to support businesses – especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) – in taking out formal loans, by guaranteeing lenders that principal and interest payments will be made.

Through its ongoing schemes, CGCC provides credit guarantees on loans disbursed from participating financial institutions (PFI), which include both banks and microfinance institutions (MFI).

CGCC, however, asks applicants to fully understand the PFI’s requirements and make the necessary preparations before taking out loans with credit guarantees.

CGCC deputy CEO No Lida said: “Bridging the gap between credit supply and funding demand supports economic growth and CGCC’s missions of: providing credit guarantees to businesses and sharing the risk with crediting institutions; and increasing financial inclusiveness.”

In September, CGCC launched the Co-Financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS), which is specifically designed for co-financing loans disbursed under the SMEs Co-Financing Scheme Phase II (SCFS II), of Small and Medium Enterprise Bank of Cambodia Plc (SME Bank).

The Co-Financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS) is the second credit guarantee scheme offered by the CGCC. The enterprise launched the $200 million Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) in March 2021 in a bid to spur economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The CFGS provides a way for CGCC’s PFIs to offer unsecured loans, or those that don’t require any form of collateral, to SMEs.