Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Japan will sign a memorandum of understanding with Acleda Bank Plc this weekend for mutual business co-operation.

Senior Acleda officials said the agreement would help to improve investment and trade from Japan to Cambodia.

SMBC is one of two Japanese mega-banks, out of three, to officially open a representative office in Cambodia in mid-February, after an absence of 45 years.

The agreement will be signed by Masayuki Shimura, director and head of the Asia- Pacific division of SMBC and In Channy, Acleda’s president and CEO on Friday, according to the statement from Acleda.

In Channy told the Post yesterday SMBC had selected the bank to be its partner after seeing the wide business operations Acleda had to offer.

“They’ve already opened their representative office here in Cambodia. Meanwhile, we are the biggest bank in the Kingdom, thus we were selected to be partners,” he said.

Acleda will also give Japanese investors and businesses advice on the economy, investment information and additional help so they may invest in a wide number of sectors across the country, he said.

“Whether or not they use our financial services; it depends on their decision. We don’t require them to use Acleda’s service or products.

“If SMBC has clients who are looking to do business in Cambodia, they will recommend us to them first,’ he added.

Both banks will provide mutual support for their respective clients, as well as promote economic co-operation between Cambodia and Japan on the activities such as: loans, deposits, money transfers, cash management, and other trade finance services, said the statement.

Both banks will mutually exchange information on their own country’s economy, industries, financial products, banking etc as well as clients’ credit information with each other, it continued.

Hiroshi Suzuki, CEO and Chief Economist at the Business Research Institute for Cambodia said the limited number of Japanese customers had led SMBC to decide not to open a branch in Cambodia. However, the MoU will be the main drive for the improving of investment from Japan.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at [email protected]