Acleda Bank Plc, Cambodia’s largest locally-owned commercial bank, has signed a $130 million long-term facility agreement with Chinese state-owned China Development Bank Corp (CDB), the world’s largest development bank by assets, it said in a press release on Friday.

CDB Guangxi branch deputy general manager Lyu Zhinan said Acleda Bank is the primary bank propping up the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom.

He said the newly inked cooperation deal will help more Cambodian SMEs tackle Covid-19 and resume operation, and have a positive influence in the Kingdom’s economic recovery.

Lyu said: “CDB is willing to develop further cooperation with Acleda Bank, undertaking a more important role in promoting rapid economic growth and releasing development potential in Cambodia.”

Acleda Bank president and group managing director In Channy said CDB’s financing will shore up his bank’s long-term growth prospects.

He said the deal will enable his bank to provide an additional 5,000 loans to the Kingdom’s SMEs.

Channy said: “The diversification of funding sources is very important to support sustainable and strategic growth of the bank

“As one of the listed companies on the Cambodia Securities Exchange, we can mobilise funding from the capital market to strengthen our capital, tap into savings and deposits from the financial market for short term funding needs.”