AIIB Watch Cases

Status: Approved (but loan agreement not signed yet)
Timeframe: 2022-2023
Area: Cambodia
AIIB Investment Amount: US$ 100 million
Total Project Cost: Up to US$ 100 million

E&S Category: FI

Project Details: The project is a non-sovereign backed loan to ACLEDA Bank (ACLEDA), to expand its lending to eligible private sector micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Cambodia.

Resettlement: The frequent use of land titles as collateral for microloans in Cambodia, combined with reports of predatory lending and abusive collection practices, has been widely criticized for dispossessing borrowers of their land without the use of legal foreclosure methods and contributing to poverty and involuntary resettlement. Reported abuses include the microloan activities of ACLEDA Bank Plc., which this AIIB project will be funding.

Organizations monitoring: Equitable Cambodia; Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)

AIIB interactions to date: In November 2022, a number of CSOs released a joint statement to ensure that necessary reforms are made to Cambodia’s microfinance sector prior to any new investments, including the return of land titles to borrowers and remuneration for victims of predatory lending and collection practices. In a response statement, AIIB representatives acknowledged “systemic issues” in the market and stated that those issues are under “internal review.”

Further information: AIIB Page; China.Table Article (German); Cambodia News Today (Chinese); MFICambodia (Khmer, English, German); südostasien (German)

Last update: 31.12.2023