The Ministry of Commerce and Wing Bank (Cambodia) Plc, a subsidiary of local conglomerate Royal Group of Companies Ltd, on August 30 entered into a partnership agreement to integrate digital payment systems into the ministry’s e-marketplace, CambodiaTrade.com, to help shore up Cambodian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

The ministry soft-launched CambodiaTrade in mid-June to open up new pathways for the Kingdom’s SMEs to sell their wares to a broader audience and capture a slice of the growing global digital economy.

Royal Group chairman Kith Meng said that efforts from the technical teams of the ministry and Wing guided the project to success, adding that the bank has played a critical role over the past 13 years as a payment platform to serve the banked and unbanked populations.

“Looking 13 years back, Cambodia was not as broadly developed as it is today. We have made it easier for our people, especially [SMEs], and our compatriots abroad, especially those in [South] Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, to send money – via Wing,” he said.

He voiced appreciation to the ministry for the development of CambodiaTrade, which he said “is in line with the digital age, and on par with other countries in ASEAN and around the world”.

“Now, if we don’t change course, our markets and distribution channel will remain comparable with other countries,” Meng said.

Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said Wing’s continued participation will drive digital payments on the online marketplace once it kicks off, lauding the bank for its support during the times of Covid-19 lockdowns.

He said the ministry opened pre-registration for CambodiaTrade to local SMEs as part of its mid-June soft launch, in the hopes that these businesses would use the platform to export domestic wares and widen their markets – in the Kingdom and abroad.

The official launch ceremony will be held “soon”, he said.

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Author: May Kunmakara

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Publication date: 30 August 2021