Maruhan Japan Bank announces Chinese Yuan transaction services in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Maruhan Japan Bank announced the formation of a "correspondent relationship" with the Bank of China in order to offer its customers in Cambodia payment settlement in Renminbi (RMB), or known as Chinese Yuan or CNY, according to the bank's press release obtained on Tuesday.
"This move will position Maruhan Japan Bank as one of only a few global banks that can perform financial transactions in Chinese Yuan," it said, adding that Chinese Yuan, already a globally significant currency, is fast becoming the ASEAN's second largest currency, after the U.S. dollar.
"With this relationship in place, Maruhan Japan Bank's customers will be able to settle payments and carry out currency transactions in RMB, subject to the standard controls applicable to such transactions in China, making them highly attractive as trading partners for those doing business in China," said the statement.
Maruhan Japan Bank remains committed to pushing the boundaries of the banking industry in Cambodia and ensuring that Cambodians, and others doing business in Cambodia, have access to truly international standard banking products and services, and fully functional and competitive regional banking networks.
It said the relationship with the Bank of China will not only contribute to people doing business with China in Cambodia, but also all people in the ASEAN countries due to Maruhan's regional expansion to Laos, Myanmar and Singapore.
Nguon Sokha, director general of the National Bank of Cambodia, said that the bank's offer of Chinese Yuan settlement services reflected growing demand of Chinese Yuan in Cambodia due to bigger trade and investment sizes between Cambodia and China.
"Maruhan Japan Bank is the first of all banks in Cambodia that adds Yuan transaction services to its customers," she told Xinhua by telephone on Tuesday. "This will help facilitate trade and investment activities between Cambodia and China."
China is the largest investor in Cambodia with the cumulative investments of 8.91 billion U.S. dollars between 1994 and 2011, according to the figures of the Council for the Development of Cambodia. On the bilateral trade, the two-way trade volume was 2.5 billion U.S. dollars last year. The two sides vowed to boost it to 5 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.