ACLEDA Bank’s loan portfolios in 2022 saw double-digit growth of about 18 percent, while domestic savings and deposits rose by 12 percent, in spite of global economic challenges.

On Thursday, In Channy, President and Group Managing Director, said the loan asset quality is as good as 2021. He added that ACLEDA has the potential to grow further, giving high credit to the government and National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) on rules and regulations, especially allowing banks to restructure loans.

Channy said the growth came during turbulent times, with the war in Ukraine causing oil prices and inflation to soar. However, he added that the government has put in place measures to keep oil prices relatively stable while managing inflation rates.

He also praised the government for its handling of the Covid-19 crisis, which saw Cambodia become a global leader in the roll-out of its vaccination programme. This led to the country being one of the first in the region to open borders.

“As we have seen, global economic growth was impacted by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, causing increasing oil prices and high inflation,” Channy told Kiripost via email.

“Cambodia cannot escape these impacts, but Cambodia is better than many other countries because our government has the full capacity to handle it [and keep it] under control,” he added.

Channy said that a recent announcement from Prime Minister Hun Sen that GDP rose by 5.5 percent in 2022 shows signs of healthy economic growth under the current circumstances, and also lays a strong foundation for 2023.

“We have aimed at two digits for both major bank financial products, loans and savings and deposits,” he wrote.

Channy said that the number of digital transactions increased by almost double, from 77 million transactions ($88 million) in 2021 to 137 million transactions in 2022 ($159 million).

He said that ACLEDA expects the numbers of digital transactions to grow 100 percent in 2023, adding that pricing is not regarded as important, whereas service quality and security are.