The Cambodia Development Bank, Cambodia's newest, opened its doors on July 26. The

bank is the result of a joint venture operation between the National Bank of Cambodia

and C.O.E. Co., Ltd. (Hongkong). Registered as a local Cambodian bank, initial paid-up

capital is U.S. $10,000,000.

The bank's major (90 percent) shareholder, C.O.E. Co., Ltd., is an affiliated company

of the Wang Petchaboon Group, one of Thailand's large corporate entities, which owns

the World Trade Center Bangkok Co. Ltd.

At present the bank offers deposit services for riels, baht and U.S. dollars, as

well as foreign exchange services. Shortly, the bank will expand services to include

wire transfers, credit and lending facilities, as well as a variety of services tied

to import and export activities.

The bank's corporate brochure includes comment from its chairman, Viroon Tejapaibul,

who says the bank's two main goals are "to make the bank as strong as possible

both in its financial structure and in its ability to be a full-service banking institution"

and "to keep the bank growing in pace with the economic development of Cambodia."

The bank plans to open offices in Siem Reap, Battambang, and other major Cambodian

cities in the near future. Phnom Penh offices are located on the ground floor at

246 Achar Mean Blvd.

Forty banking companies-many of them Thai-have received permission to open in Cambodia

recently. To date six of the banks approved have started operations.