Microfinance
Cambodian NGOs slam World Bank division for “microfinance abuses”
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private development lending division, is faced with a complaint by two Cambodian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for...
Poverty still rampant in Myanmar, says UN report
Some 95 per cent of adults in Myanmar live on under $10 a day, with 10 per cent preferring to save money in gold...
Aeon Microfinance to expand in Cambodia
Aeon Microfinance plans to expand its branches in Cambodia this year and also diversify its products from the current base after two years of...
Myanmar microfinance loans capped at $500
Microfinance institutions in Myanmar are worried a new directive by the sector’s regulator that caps loans at 500,000 kyat (nearly $500) could stifle small...
Microfinance in Cambodia surged 44% in 2013
Cambodia's 38 microfinance institutions reported a 44 per cent increase in loan disbursements in 2013, according to a report of the National Bank of...
Cambodia’s Acleda Bank to expand in Laos, Myanmar
Cambodia's Acleda Bank, one of the country's largest, said it plans to expand in Laos and Myanmar as operations there performed well in 2013,...
Arab development fund targets the Philippines
The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) has decided to expand its programme to Southeast Asia and will launch first activities in the Philippines...
Thailand’s GL invests in Cambodian microfinance firm
Group Lease Plc (GL), a financial services company specialised on motorcycle lease and listed at the Stock Exchange of Thailand, plans to acquire a...
Thailand sets maximum rate for microfinance at 36%
Thailand's ministry of finance has set the lending rate for its upcoming microfinance programme at36 per cent annually or 3 per cent monthly, The...
Microcredits in Thailand can cost up to 33%
Microfinance lenders in Thailand may be allowed to charge interest at up to 33 per cent a year, as such rates are still "far...
Myanmar to borrow $2.3b from China
Myanmar is planning to borrow $2.3 billion from China to finance 22 infrastructure projects in sectors including telecommunication, electricity and construction, according to the...
Myanmar microfinance at 30% interest rate
A new private bank in Myanmar, Myanmar Microfinance Bank, is currently awaiting the central bank's approval to commence operations.
The bank will provide microfinance loans...
Myanmar requires up to $3b for microfinance programmes
To set up its planned microfinance programme in 60,000 villages across the country in order to fight rural poverty, Myanmar will need up to...
ADB’s anti-poverty projects in the Philippines slammed
Manila-based Asian Development Bank, an institution focused on economic support and poverty eradication in developing Asian countries, has been criticised by its own internal...
Laos’ Acleda bank starts SME lending initiative
Acleda Bank Lao Limited, the largest bank in Laos by assets, has launched an initiative to expand its lending to micro, small and medium...
DuPont sets sight on Myanmar farming
US-based chemical company DuPont wants to enter the agricultural sector in Myanmar by assisting local farmers after it opens its office in the country...
Microfinance as key poverty eradication strategy for Myanmar
Myanmar’s president Thein Sein has identified microfinance to tackle extreme poverty in the country. However, the country has still a long way to go to establish the necessary structures.
Philippines fourth in global microfinance
The Philippines has been ranked fourth in the global microfinance industry in a poll conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that included 55...
Latest
Thailand, Singapore most vulnerable to potential US recession
Southeast Asia could be seriously affected in case the US falls into recession, but some countries would be more badly hit than others, economists...