CAMBODIA,
LAOS, VIETNAMDecember 2004
| CAMBODIA,
LAOS, VIETNAM December 2004 |
| Microfinance in the Mekong river region shows a great
diversity of approach and methodologies, specific to each of the three
countries, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This diversity is a result of a
combination of different factors impacting the delivery of financial services
to low-income population. There are very distinct political
regimes and history in the three countries, moreover the business
environment and the different stages of development of regulatory
frameworks for microfinance have also an influence.
In Cambodia, microfinance has experienced a tremendous growth in the outreach and number of microfinance institutions since the establishment of a favourable regulatory framework in 2000. ACLEDA was the first successful examples of an NGO transforming into a licensed MFI, leading the way for ten other organisations to be regulated by the central bank. Since December 2003, ACLEDA operates under a commercial bank license. In Vietnam, diverse microfinance initiatives have been developed through government programs and public institutions, while mass organisations such as the Women's Union constitute the main vehicle to channel finance at the grassroots level. The People's Credit Fund provides a good example of credit union development. In Laos, microfinance has been implemented through public institutions (unions and development banks) while other development projects have included credit components. Alternative microfinance models in Vietnam and Laos have also been experimented, with limited outreach for the moment. In November and December 2004, in partnership with CARE International in Cambodia and Vietnam, the Banking with the Poor Network Secretariat conducted a series of individual consultations with leading practitioners and other supporters (wholesalers, government, central banks, training and networking organisations, commercial banks and regulated companies), in Cambodia and Vietnam. Microfinance stakeholders in Laos were interviewed during their visit to Cambodia and Vietnam. This regional research project was the opportunity to build the base for a collaborative relationship with local organisations operating in the Mekong region, but also to establish a link with the microbanking experience in Indonesia, as one representative from Bank Rakyat Indonesia attended the regional workshop concluding the activities in the Mekong region. Thus, it was a way to integrate Mekong and Indonesian experiences in microfinance in the regional information sharing platform put in place by the BWTP network, the "Asia Resource Centre for Microfinance" (ARCM), and to collect essential and updated information. These consultations focussed on the the topics discussed in the workshop organised on the 8 and 9 December in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and presented below. Local experts and leading practitioners were asked to present relevant papers and to participate to discussion panels. The central theme of the workshop was "Sharing microfinance resources and knowledge in the Mekong region". For each topic included in the workshop agenda, speakers provided their views and perspectives through a short presentation, summarising in some cases a more elaborated paper. Wednesday 8 December Opening speeches · Sharon Wilkinson, Country Director, CARE International in Cambodia · Pascal Marino, Program Coordinator, Banking With The Poor Network · H.E. Mr. Son Koun Thor, Chairman and CEO, Rural Development Bank (Cambodia) Session I – Practices and standards in microfinance in the Mekong region · Hout Leng Tong, General Manager, Hattha Katsekar Ltd. (Cambodia) · Souphith Darachanthara, Chief of Development Research Division, National Economic Research Institute, and Manager of Microfinance Capacity Building and Research Project (Laos) · Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, Senior Design Officer, CARE (Vietnam) · Duong Thi Nam, Chief Family Economy Section, Women’s Union of Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) · Nguyen Bich Vuong, Director, TYM Fund, Vietnam Women’s Union (Vietnam) presentation part 1, presentation part 2 Session
II – Commercialisation of microfinance and linkages between microfinance
and commercial banking In Channy, General Manager, ACLEDA Bank (Cambodia) · Sulaiman Arif Arianto, Regional Manager Jakarta, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, paper, appendices Thursday 9 December ·
Paul Luchtenburg, World Relief (Cambodia),
'Global trends in microfinance' Session III – Development of alternative financial institutions · Phal Pisey, CEO, Cambodia Community Savings Federation (Cambodia) · Vinh, DGRV, Peoples Credit Fund (Vietnam) · Sisaliao Svengsuksa, President, CCSP
(Laos)
Session IV – Microfinance innovations in the Mekong region· Nguyen Hong Hanh, Microfinance Program Manager, Save the Children US (Vietnam) · Keolabthavong Songsamayvong, National microfinance adviser, Oudomxay Community Initiatives Support Project (Laos) · Cedric Salze, Project Manager, Health Insurance Project, GRET (Cambodia)
Session V – Microfinance regulations and public intervention in microfinance · Phan Ho, Director of supervision Department, National Bank of Cambodia · Phanthaboun Sayaphet, Deputy Managing Director, Agriculture Promotion Bank (Laos)
Note: If you have difficulties downloading the documents, you can receive them by email, please contact anasantos@fdc.org.au |
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