Street vendors in Phnom Penh in 2024. Many similar businesses are financed by personal loans. Post Staff
As of the end of 2024, 5.04 million Cambodian citizens – or 51 per cent of the over-18-year-old population – had utilised credit or taken out loans. The total amount of credit equalled to almost $59 billion (236,429.266 billion riel).
According to the 2024 Credit Situation Report by Credit Bureau Cambodia (CBC), released on March 15, this represented a slight increase in the number of borrowers, with just under five million Cambodians in debt at the end of 2023, and total debt standing at almost $58 billion.
Phnom Penh, along with Kandal and Siem Reap provinces account for approximately 60% of the total credit balance.
Phnom Penh had by far the largest credit volume, exceeding $29 billion (119,021.947 billion riel), equivalent to 50% of the national credit balance, across a total of 696,000 borrowers.
Kandal Province ranked second, with a credit volume of more than $3.16 billion (12,697.649 billion riel). The province’s more than 394,000 borrowers accounted for 5% of the Kingdom’s credit balance.
Siem Reap Province, with more than 324,000 borrowers, ranked third, with a total loan amount of over $2.5 billion dollars (10,307.358 billion riel), equivalent to 4% of the national credit balance.
The total credit volume for the top- three locations was less than one per cent higher than the 2023 figures.
Slightly more than 6% of the 2024 loans were reportedly more than 90 days in arrears, a slight increase from the 4.5 per cent reported at the end of 2023.
The report was compiled by recording data from individuals, companies, or enterprises, sourced from the 197 banks and financial institutions which are members of the CBC.
Lor Vichet, vice-president of the Cambodia Chinese Commerce Association(CCCA), noted that the figures are high when compared with some neighbouring countries like Thailand, for example. He believed that Thais obtain business financing in different ways.
He explained that in countries like Thailand, a company or enterprise might borrow money, whereas in Cambodia, households and individuals often take out loans to run informal businesses. This would skew the figures, he suggested.
“If we compare our loan figures to those of Thailand or Vietnam, it will seem high because many Cambodians borrow money to start businesses in the informal sector,” he said.
He explained that a company in Thailand may sell bonds to raise funds, rather than borrow directly from a bank.
In Cambodia, if people want to expand a company, they need to borrow from a bank, which make the amount of loans and the number of borrowers appear high.
“For example in Singapore, the method they use to expand their company is by selling stock. So, we don’t see their debt as huge. Some companies have capital of $10 billion, but their debt is low because they sell stock,” he said.
“This is the difference,” he said.
