The Kingdom’s first local commercial bank, Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia (FTB) – in collaboration with MSNH Investment Co Ltd – is embarking on building a $112 million headquarters on Russian Federation Boulevard near the Council of Ministers in the capital’s Prampi Makara district.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the 28-storey FTB Tower on April 22 was presided over by Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara, who is also one of the Kingdom’s 10 deputy prime ministers.

At a height of 157m, FTB Tower will have four underground floors with parking spaces for 338 cars and 251 motorcycles, and a rooftop helipad. The building will be one of the Kingdom’s few that are classified as Grade A office space, according to FTB senior adviser and vice-chairman Gui Anvanith.

Speaking at the ceremony, Gui noted that the tower was designed by Hong Kong-based Aedas, which bills itself as “one of the Top 10 architectural practices for 17 consecutive years”.

He said the tower will be built by China Construction Midland (Cambodia) Co Ltd (CCM) as the main contractor. Gui pointed out that CCM is a local subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corp, which he noted ranked 13th in last year’s Fortune Global 500.

“The Groundbreaking Ceremony of FTB Tower is a remarkable milestone of the bank’s journey in its business expansion to the next phase steadily forging ahead with the vision to be the preferred commercial bank in Cambodia.

“I hope that the FTB Tower will enhance further trust from customers and business partners. At the same time, will help promote local business, create more job opportunities, attract additional investment, and further contribute to the development of local market in line with development objectives of the Royal Government of Cambodia,” Gui said.

At the same event, the public works minister congratulated FTB, and revealed that the tower was expected to be completed in 36 months.

Sophara said FTB Tower would be a “proud” addition to the current catalogue of 2,433 buildings at least five storeys tall in Cambodia, providing services catering to the needs of the Kingdom’s youth as well as support for investment in all areas.

Established in 1979, FTB was Cambodia’s first local commercial bank in the post-Khmer Rouge era. As of end-2021, total assets reached $1.712 billion, with a total loan portfolio at $1.153 billion, total deposits at $1.462 billion, shareholders’ equities at $181 million, and net profit after tax of $21 million.