PRASAC says its registered capital raised 33% to $0.4B. SUPPLIED
Prasac Microfinance Institution Plc announced that it has increased its registered capital by one-third to 1.6 trillion riel ($400 million) as it seeks to emerge as a full-fledged commercial bank after spending many years in the pursuit.
The move is “an orchestrated effort to undergo the transformation process from an MFI [microfinance institution] to a full-fledged commercial bank, to expand loans portfolio and business operations, and to build up its strengths for serving depositors and public”, the institution said in a May 13 statement.
PRASAC president and CEO Oum Sam Oeun said in the statement: “This increase will support the institution’s growth strategy and strengthen position in the market. It will also enable us to extend our financial service outreach and diversify more financial products and services especially our digital footprints.
“We are very pleased and would like to express our sincere thanks to the National Bank of Cambodia and the Ministry of Commerce for the official approval on the increment of the registered capital,” he added.
Initially an NGO, PRASAC was wholly bought over 2020-2021 by South Korea’s Kookmin Bank Co Ltd, Seoul-listed KB Financial Group Inc’s commercial banking unit, for more than $925 million.
One share, among the exactly 300 million, is held by the bank’s local unit Kookmin Bank Cambodia Plc, PRASAC has affirmed.
Shortly after the acquisition, many top-level executives and high-profile financial veterans – including then-CEO Sim Senacheert – stepped down.
On May 5 last year, Prasac listed a corporate bond on the Cambodia Securities Exchange, allocating 1,272,000 shares in the public offering, with a total issue amount of 127.2 billion riel.
As of March 31, Prasac’s total assets, gross loan portfolio and deposit balance amounted to $4.5 billion (up 21.3 per cent year-on-year), $4.0 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively, according to the statement.
On the Korea Exchange, KB Financial Group’s share price fell 700 won ($0.55) or 1.19 per cent to close at 58,000 won on May 17 for a market capitalisation of 22.51 trillion won, with 812,789 shares traded. The stock’s 52-week range is 50,100 to 66,400 won, respectively recorded on July 20 and February 11.
