Demography is Destiny
Mekong Strategic Capital highlights why Cambodia will be the big winner from transformational demographic changes across Asia.
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In the News
Read our announcements and media coverage involving Mekong Strategic Capital.
29 MAY 2023
GCF Approves the MSC designed Cambodian Climate Financing Facility (CCFF) to Boost Cambodia’s Green Economy
PUBLICATION: MSC ANNOUNCEMENT
12 DECEMBER 2022
How Investors Decide to Invest in Start-ups
PUBLICATION: KIRIPOST
6 AUGUST 2022
‘Green Deal’ seen as good proposal at ASEAN meeting
Climate change and post-pandemic recovery were among Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s top priorities as his nation hosted the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings this week. “Climate change is the biggest long-term issue that the world is facing, and its effects are increasingly being felt here and now,” said Stephen Higgins, managing partner of investment management firm Mekong Strategic Partners in Cambodia...
PUBLICATION: CHINA DAILY
8 FEBRUARY 2022
Digital Financial Services Picks Up Steam in Cambodia
Over the past few years, digital financial services have seen greater adoption in Cambodia, a trend that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus...
PUBLICATION: FINTECH NEWS
8 SEPTEMBER 2021
What Explains Cambodia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Success?
The country is outpacing most of its Southeast Asian neighbors – and many of the world’s wealthiest nations...
PUBLICATION: THE DIPLOMAT
16 AUGUST 2021
ARDB mulled as green-financing mechanism
Cambodia is examining the possibility of selecting the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank of Cambodia (ARDB) as a green-financing mechanism, in a bid to attract green investment to the Kingdom...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
4 MAY 2021
Cambodia's COVID lockdown puts delivery drivers on the front line
In more ways than one, Foodpanda delivery driver Pros Savit has become an essential worker. With his garment worker wife furloughed, the 24-year-old relies on the 80 cents he earns per delivery to feed his extended family of 10 and repay a loan...
PUBLICATION: NIKKEI ASIA
23 NOVEMBER 2020
Spreading the concept of financial technology
Despite experiencing rapid growth in the last few years, financial technology (fintech) services in the Kingdom are still underdeveloped and underused. To fulfill its potential in the Cambodian economy, fintech must overcome a number of challenges...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
22 OCTOBER 2020
USAID Convenes Bank CEOs in Cambodia for Climate Risk Talk
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Green Invest Asia and the Association of Banks in Cambodia convened more than 60 senior representatives from Cambodian banks on October 20 to examine climate risks and opportunities for the lending community...
PUBLICATION: USAID GREEN INVEST ASIA
6 JULY 2020
Cambodia’s First Offshore Oil Extraction Delayed Again Amid Pandemic
Cambodia has aspired to draw oil since deposits were discovered off Preah Sihanouk province’s coast more than 15 years ago...
PUBLICATION: VOD
2 JUNE 2020
Cambodia to phase out US dollar denominations
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia will soon not accept smaller denominated US dollar banknotes — US$1, US$2 and US$5 — due to low demand...
PUBLICATION: NEW STRAITS TIMES
30 APRIL 2020
Kellogg GIM Class Flies on Zoom Airways
One of my great joys of working at Kellogg is that I’ve served as a faculty advisor for our Global Initiatives in Management classes for the last eight years...
PUBLICATION: INSIDE KELLOGG
15 JANUARY 2020
Cambodia: The stock exchange takes baby steps
Even on a busy day, you can hear a pin drop at the Cambodia Securities Exchange, but with a handful of new share listings and more bond issues expected in 2020, investors can hope for a slightly livelier scene...
PUBLICATION: EUROMONEY
11 DECEMBER 2019
Nine Countries “Take Flight” With Green Banks for Climate Action
MADRID, SPAIN - As pressure builds for stronger country-level action to curb climate change, nine countries and partners are demonstrating that leadership...
PUBLICATION: NRDC MEDIA RELEASE
8 AUGUST 2019
USAID Green Invest Asia Formalizes Green Finance Work With Association Of Banks In Cambodia
USAID Green Invest Asia signed a memorandum with the Association of Banks in Cambodia to support the creation and national roll-out of risk management and sustainable finance principles...
PUBLICATION: USAID MEDIA RELEASE
23 APRIL 2019
Cambodia launches its first technology startup report
Cambodia’s digital startup ecosystem is vibrant and dynamic, with strong opportunities as well as entrepreneurial culture, according to a report by Mekong Strategic Partners and Raintree...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
22 OCTOBER 2018
Logistics startup Joonaak wins Seedstars Cambodia 2018
Global early stage startup competition for emerging markets Seedstars World made its debut in the kingdom...
PUBLICATION: e27
12 DECEMBER 2017
Searching for sustainable energy in the Mekong
Southeast Asian governments are starting to wake up to the vast potential of solar energy, under pressure from civil society groups that insist it is time to get on board with a global revolution in renewable energy...
PUBLICATION: THE INTERPRETER
20 SEPTEMBER 2016
Banking with a positive spin
A banking sector initiative launched yesterday aims to advise Cambodia’s financial sector on best practices for sustainable lending while capitalising on the growing pool of international funds that could flow into green and socially responsible projects...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
2 FEBRUARY 2016
Report recommends actions to increase Cambodia’s renewable energy use
The Cambodian National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD), in collaboration with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners, launched a report today that highlights Cambodia’s need to set a formal target for renewable energy generation for sustainable and secure economic growth...
PUBLICATION: MEKONG EYE
29 MAY 2023
MSC successfully completes US Government’s flagship climate finance program for South East Asia
PUBLICATION: MSC ANNOUNCEMENT
4 OCTOBER 2022
Cambodia’s outstanding loan balance forecast to hit $119B in 2027
Credit Bureau of Cambodia (CBC) has made a medium-term outlook for Cambodia’s total loan balance forecasting it to grow from $48 billion in 2022 to $119 billion in 2027, representing a 147% growth over five years...
PUBLICATION: CAMB INVESTMENT REVIEW
15 JULY 2022
Inflation to remain ‘manageable’: National Bank of Cambodia
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) expects the country’s inflation to remain at “manageable” levels, guided by prudential monetary policy, despite recent sparks of geopolitical conflict that have spurred the rise of global oil and food prices...
PUBLICATION: ASIA NEWS NETWORK
25 OCTOBER 2021
Green Project Finance Training to build the Bankers’ Capability
The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) and USAID Green Invest Asia delivered a Green Project Finance Training session to ABC’s member banks...
PUBLICATION: ABC
27 AUGUST 2021
2nd Sustainable Finance Forum touched on Green Credit Guidelines for Cambodia
The Association of Banks in Cambodia together with USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) on August 24, 2021 organized the 2nd Sustainable Finance Forum on the topic “Green Credit Guidelines Discussion for Cambodia”.....
PUBLICATION: ABC
28 JUNE 2021
The secret to advanced fintech in Southeast Asia’s poorest countries
In Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, three of Southeast Asia's least-developed and most unbanked nations, unique socio-economic contexts have contributed to the growth of fintech that wouldn't look out of place in some of the world's most developed economies...
PUBLICATION: SOUTHEAST ASIA GLOBE
21 JANUARY 2021
Powering up on coal but at what cost?
The haste to expand economic growth and achieve rural electrification has drawn Chinese interest and though China is closing down fossil fuel plants in its country as emissions rise, Cambodia prefers to look the other way...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
12 NOVEMBER 2020
PPAP maintains stable revenue in pandemic
Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX)-listed Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) has maintained a stable financial position during the first 10 months of 2020, despite the economic headwinds posed by the pandemic...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
10 AUGUST 2020
Small banks ‘underperform’ in thriving sector
As the Kingdom’s energetic banking sector rockets at an average annual rate of 28 per cent and teems with an ever-increasing number of new players vying for a slice of the market, smaller banks have been left in the dust...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
16 JUNE 2020
Cambodia rolls out online business registration to slash red tape
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia has launched a new online business registration system that it says will reduce the time to start a company from three months to eight days...
PUBLICATION: NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW
1 JUNE 2020
Central Bank Moves to Remove Small U.S. Dollar Bills out of Circulation
PHNOM PENH — The National Bank of Cambodia announced on Friday a new plan to phase-out circulation of small-denominated U.S. dollar bills in the country’s highly-dollarized economy, creating some confusion among citizens if these bills had been banned outright...
PUBLICATION: VOA
31 MARCH 2020
GDP Growth to Shrink to 2.5% Amid Pandemic, World Bank Projects
Cambodia’s GDP growth this year could drop to its lowest rate in more than a decade, the World Bank projects...
PUBLICATION: VOD
15 JANUARY 2020
ABA's makeover into a Cambodian digital leader
Central Asian expertise and North American money made for a powerful mix: together they have turned ABA Bank into a digital entrepreneur and propelled it to the top tier of Cambodia’s banking industry...
PUBLICATION: EUROMONEY
4 OCTOBER 2019
Cashless society closer but hard money will remain in widespread use, analysts say
More than 50 payment companies are offering cashless services to customers, a rise from between five to 10 payment companies in the past two years...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
24 JULY 2019
SmartScale to conclude with a Demo Day
A Demo Day will be held on July 25 to mark the conclusion of the SmartScale startup accelerator program...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
15 MARCH 2019
SADIF to transform digital ecosystem
SADIF stands for Smart Axiata Digital Innovation Fund. It is Cambodia’s first venture capital fund focusing solely on digital companies. Managed by Mekong Strategic Partners (MSP), with investments from Smart Axiata, as well as Forte Insurance, the priority for SADIF is Cambodia focused technology companies...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
7 SEPTEMBER 2018
Former refugee bets on Cambodia's early-stage startups
PHNOM PENH -- The chairman of Cambodia's largest logistics group has raised $55 million to invest in the country's growing stable of early-stage start-ups...
PUBLICATION: NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW
17 NOVEMBER 2017
A Bright Future in Cambodia’s Energy Sector?
Rather than ecologically harmful dams, Cambodia should explore solar power to fill its energy gap...
PUBLICATION: THE DIPLOMAT
24 JUNE 2016
Cambodia: Russia’s Gateway to ASEAN?
On May 17, 2016, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen held bilateral talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to strengthen economic linkages between Moscow and Phnom Penh...
PUBLICATION: THE DIPLOMAT
11 JANUARY 2023
Leader Talks: Stephen Higgins on Cambodia’s post-COVID financial sector outlook
Founder and Managing Partner of Mekong Strategic Capital, Mr. Stephen Higgins spoke with CIR Leader Talks about his financial advisory firms latest market report detailing Cambodia’s financial sectors strong loan growth during COVID-19, the emergence of the new ‘Big 4’ and rising interest rates coupled with tightening liquidity...
PUBLICATION: CAMB INVESTMENT REVIEW
20 AUGUST 2022
Environment ministry considering establishing Cambodian climate finance mechanism
Cambodia has been studying a proposal to establish a Cambodian climate finance facility for it to contribute to the development of a low-carbon national economy and to respond to climate change...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
10 FEBRUARY 2022
Digital Lending Shakes Up Cambodia’s Over-indebted Banking Sector
Even before the pandemic, Cambodia had established itself as one of the most loan-saturated markets in the world, thanks largely to the proliferation of microfinance institutions and weak oversight of the sector...
PUBLICATION: VOA CAMBODIA
30 SEPTEMBER 2021
USAID focuses on mobilizing climate finance in Cambodia Climate Change Summit
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its sustainable land use finance technical assistance hub in Southeast Asia, USAID Green Invest Asia, organized two sessions focused on climate finance for the September 28 Cambodia Climate Change Summit 2021. Hosted by Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment and supported by a number of private sector and donor organizations....
PUBLICATION: GREEN INVEST ASIA
19 AUGUST 2021
Among global vaccine leaders, Cambodia on track for more than 6% growth in 2022
Cambodia is on track to achieve GDP growth of more than six percent next year thanks to its “well strategised and rapidly executed” vaccine rollout, according to an investment advisory firm....
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
3 JUNE 2021
Covid-19 loan restructuring driving bank profitability
Cambodia’s banking system reported higher earnings despite the pandemic as strong fundamentals sustain growth...
PUBLICATION: CAMBODIA NEWS WATCH
26 NOVEMBER 2020
Unicorn firms in Cambodia akin to mythical creature’s being
As overall fund size expand so does the pressure on venture capitals and private equities to secure quality investments, essentially making unicorns an unlikely sighting for now...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
5 NOVEMBER 2020
The Anakut podcast: Leapfrogging and the future of work in Cambodia
In episode five, we talk leapfrogging. Not the children’s game, but the idea that developing states can skip old tech to get up to speed with the latest and greatest. To learn more, we spoke to Kem Bora of investment group Mekong Strategic Partners, and Manu Rajan, CEO of digital money transfer service Wing...
PUBLICATION: SOUTHEAST ASIA GLOBE
6 JULY 2020
USAID Supports Cambodian Banks’ Gender-Lens Investing
More than 50 members of the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) discussed the benefits – and business necessity – of gender criteria in Cambodian banking practices...
PUBLICATION: USAID MEDIA RELEASE
4 JUNE 2020
SEZs prepare for ‘post-Covid’ era recoil, expansion
Although Cambodia’s economic growth is widely forecast to contract this year, several factories in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ), the Kingdom’s second-largest industrial zone after Sihanoukville SEZ, are preparing for expansion...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
12 MAY 2020
Cambodia's stock market marks a milestone amid crisis
PHNOM PENH -- After languishing for years with fewer than half a dozen listed companies, the Cambodia Securities Exchange is set for a "game changing" IPO by one of the country's largest domestic banks...
PUBLICATION: NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW
15 MARCH 2020
Banks, MFIs asked to delay loan repayment
Industry insiders and financial experts are urging local banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to temporarily suspend the repayment of loans to give borrowers breathing space as the spread of Covid-19 takes its toll on the economy...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
14 JANUARY 2020
Pi Pay to merge with SmartLuy to be leading payment platform
Smart Axiata Co Ltd’s subsidiary SmartLuy will soon be merging with the country’s leading payment platform, Pi Pay Plc...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
2 OCTOBER 2019
Kingdom’s fintech adoption soars, digital payments rise
Cambodia's adoption of financial technology (fintech) has been showing rapid growth recently, despite the current low rate, Mekong Strategic Partners Co Ltd (MSP) said on Wednesday...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
8 JULY 2019
Grab takes on Cambodia's PassApp for ride-hailing supremacy
PHNOM PENH -- Grab's push to dominate Cambodia's nascent ride-hailing market is squeezing local leader PassApp and fueling a brutal price war that has drivers caught in the middle...
PUBLICATION: NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW
19 FEBRUARY 2019
Investment Law to be revised
The government is gathering input from the private sector and development partners to amend the country’s Investment Law and make the country a more attractive destination for foreign investment...
PUBLICATION: KHMER TIMES
9 JANUARY 2018
Employers required to pay more into NSSF for workers
A government policy that went into effect at the start of the year requires employers to pay more into their employees’ government-managed social security funds, a move that could have wide-ranging effects on the country’s nascent private- and government-run health care systems...
PUBLICATION: SMART MEDIA RELEASE
5 DECEMBER 2016
Financial sector is on the radar
A growing interest in Cambodia’s financial sector has led to some recent high-profile mergers and acquisitions. The Post’s Kali Kotoski sat down with John McGinley, managing partner for Mekong Strategic Partners, to discuss the investment opportunities in the sector...
PUBLICATION: PHNOM PENH POST
7 APRIL 2016
Phnom Penh SEZ Gets Green Light for Listing
MThe Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been given the go-ahead to launch its initial public offering (IPO) this month on the Cambodian Securities Exchange (CSX), according to the company, which would make it the fourth firm to list on the bourse...
PUBLICATION: MEKONG MIGRATION NETWORK
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