World Bank chief economist visits

MONDAY, 06 SEPTEMBER 2010 20:49
By: NGUON SOVAN
Source: The PhnomPenh Post

THE chief economist and senior vice president of World Bank, Justin Yifu Lin, began a three-day fact-finding mission in Cambodia yesterday.

The visit from one of the organisation’s top global officials was billed as a chance to learn about the Kingdom’s development and its challenges as part of a regional visit, according to Bou Saroeun, communications specialist at World Bank-Cambodia.

During the first day of the mission, Justin Yifu Lin met with ACLEDA Bank’s top management to discover more about the progress of the bank and the finance sector as a whole in Cambodia.

He was taken to the bank’s Monivong Boulevard headquarters by a motorcade, reportedly provided by the government, with sirens blaring. The delegation was accompanied Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who represented the government.

“His visit to our bank was to learn of our successful experiences in order to share them with other institutions in other countries,” ACLEDA President and Chief Executive Officer In Channy told reporters after the meeting.

In Channy said he told Justin Yifu Lin that ACLEDA’s lending had steadily grown in the last six years, from US$65 million in 2004 to $538 million last year.

It was expected to hit $632 million at the end of July this year, with 70 percent of the loans lent to rural borrowers, he said. The bank’s total assets reached $1.06 billion at the end of August…read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or the see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.