MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nonghyup (NH) Bank Acquires Microfinance Institution Samic of Cambodia, Plans More Lending for Agricultural Equipment, Housing, SMEs

NongHyup (NH) Bank, which is controlled by South Korea’s NongHyup Group, recently obtained regulatory approval to acquire Samic, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Cambodia, for an undisclosed price. NH Bank reportedly plans to change the name of the MFI to NongHyup Finance Cambodia.

Samic’s 18 branches are mainly located in smaller cities, and NH Bank plans to expand the organization’s presence in the larger cities of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap. It also plans to boost lending for housing, agricultural equipment, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Samic was founded in 1994 as the nonprofit Cambodian Health Committee. It converted into a for-profit company in 2005, the same year it acquired an MFI license from the National Bank of Cambodia. In addition to loans, Samic provides microinsurance services, but it does not accept deposits. Samic has total assets of USD 15.4 million and total capital of USD 5.3 million as of 2018.

NH Bank’s network includes one branch each in China, India, the US and Vietnam as well as a microlending subsidiary in Myanmar. NH Bank is a unit of the NH Financial Group, which has eight members offering banking, insurance and investment services. NH Financial Group, in turn, is a member of the NongHyup Group, which is also known as the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

Sources and Additional Resources

Khmer Times story
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50527681/korean-bank-acquires-local-microfinance-firm/

MIX Market data on Cambodia
http://www.mixmarket.org/mfi/country/Cambodia

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