NBC, MoC call for wider use of Riel
NBC, MoC call for wider use of Riel
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) Wednesday organized a seminar aimed at promoting financial inclusion and encouraging the wider use of the Cambodian Riel (KHR) in the domestic economy.
The seminar held at the Center for Banking Studies was participated by officials from relevant parties and the private sector. It was aimed to promote the importance of the use of the riel and the financial environment and policies of the National Bank of Cambodia.
Speakers from the National Bank of Cambodia and the Ministry of Commerce, with representatives from ministries, institutions, companies, enterprises and banking and financial institutions spoke on the importance of the usage of riel.
Yim Leat, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, talked of the broad contours of the workshop. He said the main purpose of the workshop was to generate awareness of the importance and policies to promote the use of the riel and the financial environment of the people as well as companies in Cambodia.
“I would like to encourage companies, enterprises, business owners, banking and financial institutions, the private sector and all stakeholders to increase their use for the benefit of themselves and the national economy,” Leat said.
Paying riel salaries to employees and increasing the use of riel in their operations through the promotion of riel price tag and riel payment in exchange rate setting favourable exchange rates for riel users are key factors to promote the use of riel, he said.
Buon Sarakmony, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce, talked about the ministry’s efforts to promote the use of the riel.
“The Ministry of Commerce has been actively involved with the National Bank of Cambodia in promoting the use of the riel and continues to promote the use of the riel,” Sarakmony said.
The Ministry of Commerce has made significant contributions to increasing the use of the riel, especially the implementation of the Prakas, which requires price tags on shops in riel, he said.
Riel price tag has really provided many benefits such as strengthening public awareness of the riel price level, increasing the habit of using the riel, promoting the use of the riel and increasing transparency for users of the riel by reducing the cost of exchange operations, he added.
Along with the presentation of the speakers, participants also asked questions that helped contribute to the implementation of improving the environment and the use of riel more effectively.
The NBC and MoC will work together to implement initiatives that will foster a more inclusive and vibrant financial sector in Cambodia, Leat said.
According to NBC, dollarization in Cambodia currently accounts for about 85 percent of the economy.
Dollarization, the widespread use of a US currency as legal tender, has been a persistent challenge for Cambodia since 1993, the time when huge amounts of US banknotes were introduced in Cambodia.
The digital payment of ‘riel currency’ through the Bakong system touched 75.6 million transactions in the first semester of this year, an increase of 180 percent compared to the same period in 2023, NBC report showed.
The transaction was equivalent to 64.9 trillion riels, an increase of 140 percent compared to the first half of 2023, the report added.
