Bun Yin, CIMB Bank’s Deputy General Manager (3rd from R), and the team at CIMB Bank.

One of the banks that identifies itself closely with ASEAN is CIMB Bank, which opened in Cambodia in late 2010 and has since grown to seven branches including those in Sihanoukville and Siem Reap.

“We are offering our customers a full suite of consumer banking products including savings and current accounts, fixed deposits, payroll services, trade finance, money transfer, business loans, term loans and housing loans, said Bun Yin, CIMB Bank’s Deputy General Manager.

CIMB Bank will open two additional branches in Phnom Penh and one each in Battambang and Kampong Cham including 24-hour ATMs with cash and check deposit terminals. This year, CIMB Bank has introduced Gold Deposit Accounts and Dual Currency Investments, Bun Yin said.

“The gold deposit account allows customers to invest in paper gold whereby all transactions (the buying and selling of gold) are recorded in the customer’s passbook. This provides customers with the ease and convenience of investing in gold, without the need to hold on to the physical asset itself,” he said.

“This innovative new product is a safe and simple way to buy and sell gold. However, just as any other forms of investments, customers need to be aware that the value of their investment can rise or fall over time,” he said.

Another type of account offered is the dual currency investment, which is designed to give customers a chance to earn higher returns compared to regular deposits.

“DCI offers the flexibility of choosing your preferred investment currency and an alternate currency. Upon maturity, the customer will receive the principal amount in either your investment currency or the alternate currency at the pre-agreed exchange rate,” Bun Yin said.

“The customer can choose from a wide array of currencies such as Australian Dollar (AUD), Great Britain Pound (GBP), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Euro (EUR), Thai Baht (THB) and Singapore Dollar (SGD).”

CIMB Bank has recently launched a regional ATM link which allows them withdraw their money at CIMB Bank ATMs in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia with no extra charges.

“ ‘ASEAN For You’ is CIMB Group’s tagline which reflects its diversity in people and culture, whilst operating across borders and expanding throughout the ASEAN countries in a single common identity,” Bun Yin said.

“Our customers are supported by local experts who understand each local market. This gives an edge to our Group so we can offer the most suitable products and services to facilitate customers’ access to the ASEAN markets.”

CIMB Bank has a network of more than 1,200 branches across 18 countries worldwide, including locations in nine out of 1the ten ASEAN economies, along with more 43,000 employees from diverse cultural backgrounds, serving more than 12 million customers.

“The vision of CIMB is to become the Leading ASEAN Franchise by 2015,” Bun Yin said.

“Being a member of ASEAN and WTO, Cambodia’s stability has gained much confidence from the global business community. The strength of Cambodia’s economy is an added potential to CIMB Group to develop a strong footing in ASEAN.''