Japan to grant loan to Cambodia for private investment programs

July 24, 2007

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will grant Cambodia eight million U.S. dollars of soft loan to boost private sector investment programs, Cambodian daily newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea reported on Tuesday. These programs aim to attract new Japanese investors to Cambodia and protect those who have recently inked investment deals here, it said.

Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Katsuhiro Shinohara announced the bank's plan to offer the loan to Cambodia during a meeting with Keat Chhon, Cambodian Minister of Economy and Finance, at the ministry's headquarters in Phnom Penh on Monday morning.

The bank has to date offered soft loans worth around 123 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to help the kingdom construct telecommunication networks, and expand and upgrade the Sihanoukville Port.

Japan has been Cambodia's largest donor country for years, but lags behind other countries in the field of investment.

Source: Xinhua