News

Coronavirus Pandemic Deepens Cambodia's Microfinance 'Crisis'

Country has more than 2.6 million borrowers with loans of more than $10 billion

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

Mired in debt, Sok Khim and her husband Kai Vai face losing their land and business. They are far from alone.

The couple, in their 50s, run a roadside restaurant in Kampong Speu, a province west of Phnom Penh that has the highest number of microcredit loans in Cambodia.

"Many people, maybe 90% here, are in debt," Vai told the Nikkei Asian Review. "Some of them are able to sell their land and pay back their loan. [The lender] warned us they will just take the land for free if we do not sell it."

About this News Item

Published