AMRO’s Technical Assistance team organized a two-day workshop on 23-24 November 2023 for staff from the General Secretariat of the Cambodian Non-Bank Financial Services Authority (NBFSA). This was a part of AMRO’s on-going Technical Assistance consultancy project being undertaken for the authority on analysing the non-bank sector and developing appropriate supervisory recommendations. The workshop covered key risk issues and challenges in the Non-Bank Financial Sector in Cambodia and shared global best practices in managing these and broader risks in the financial sector. It is envisaged that the training will help to further develop the capacity of the staff attending to better understand and properly apply the information and advice that will be provided as part of the Technical Assistance project.  The delegation was led by Dr. Phay Som, the Deputy Secretary General of the NBFSA. Both the project and the training have been possible through the kind extension of donor funding from the Chinese Ministry of Finance. This is the second such training AMRO has provided to the NBFSA. Almost a year ago, AMRO welcomed a delegation from Cambodia’s Real Estate Business & Pawnshop Regulator, under the NBFSA, to participate in a tailored training course on macroeconomic surveillance and regulatory framework for the real estate market.

The training programme was delivered by Nicholas Wood, from FinTorque, which is also the consultancy delivering the Technical Assistance project for the NBFSA. In addition, Dr. Jinho Choi, Deputy Group Head and Principal Economist, AMRO, gave a summary of findings from AMRO’s recent annual consultation visit to Cambodia. Dr. Sean Craig, Consultant, AMRO, also delivered a session on Oversight and Challenges for NBFIs in the ASEAN+3.

AMRO Deputy Director, Tetsuya Utamura, in his welcoming remarks, commended the collaborative efforts and dedication of the NBFSA for their pivotal role in shaping a resilient financial landscape in Cambodia. Acknowledging the generous support of the Chinese Ministry of Finance, he emphasized the importance of the training program in sharing global best practices in risk management and expressed gratitude to all the speakers for sharing their experience and insights. This initiative, he noted, fosters meaningful dialogue, learning, and collaboration, thereby enhancing the financial sector across not only in Cambodia but also across the broader ASEAN+3 region.