Japan’s second-largest bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, officially opened a representative office in Phnom Penh Tower (a building managed by CBRE) on Friday the 17th February. 

The office is intended to serve as an information centre for potential investors and it is hoped that more Japanese companies will be attracted to engaging in business enterprises within the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Masato Miyachi, general manager of the bank’s Asia and China division, said. “We will further develop in Cambodia by offering effective information geared towards the needs of our Janpenese customers,”

CBRE are pleased to welcome Bank of Tokyo, now the second Japanese bank to take-up their office in Phnom Penh Tower and are pleased to welcome such a prestigous tenant to the building and Cambodia.

The total approved investment in Cambodia has jumped approximately 159 percent from 2010 to 2011 from $2.7 billion to US$7.021 billion , official data from the Council of the Development of Cambodia (CDC) showed.

The tourism industry and agricultural sectors saw dramatic increases of 1,993.57 per cent and 203.48 per cent respectively, the data showed.

It showed total investment in the tourism sector reaching $2.760 billion with 8 projects, up from $132 million the year before. Industry attracted $2.869 billion with 113 project, of which 78 were in the garment sector, compared to $945 million in 2010. The agricultural sector with 24 projects took in $725 million compared to $554 million in 2010, according to the data.

Experts said political stability and open economic policy were the two main factors behind the rise. Moreover, good economic performance in the region also contributed to the growth.

Stephen Higgins, CEO of ANZ Royal Bank, wrote in an email that positive growth in the economic outlook led naturally to a higher levels of investment.

“We are seeing a significant expansion in the manufacturing industry, which is a real positive for Cambodia,”he said.

The approved investment in the service sector declined by around 38 per cent from $1.059 billion to  $658 million in 2011, according to the CDC data.

Higgins said it was not a sector requiring an intensive level capital investment.

According to the data, investment from the United Kingdom stood at number one worth $2 billion on nitrogen-based chemicals, followed by local investment worth $1.93 billion. China came in third at $1.191 billion and Vietnam reached $631 million.

CBRE were out to support the opening of Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) on the 14th February, 2012.  SMBC has opened a representative office in Phnom Penh Tower, a building managed by CBRE, who among excellencies and other guests of notoriety welcomed the prestigious bank into the building and were all pleased to support the latest Japanese bid to expand investments and pursue interests in Cambodia’s still untapped markets.

Cambodia’s location at the heart of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) is enticing to foreign companies, General Manager of Planning at SMBC Hiroshi Irie said.

“Japanese banks are now coming back to Cambodia after 45years. Cambodia is located in the centre of the GMS, which is a strategic position for trading in the region,” he said.

Chairman of the Japanese Business Association of Cambodia Hiromitsu Iwatate said that SMBC’s new opening reflected a growing trend amongst Japanese businesses looking to expands in Cambodia.

“Japanese companies have been increasing sharply in Cambodia over the last three years. It has risen from 50 companies [in 2009] to 100 now, even though the numbers remain small compared to Thailand and Vietnam.”

According to Suzuki Hiroshi President of the Business Research Institute for Cambodia (BRIC), the SMBC office will function primarily as an information office for Japanese investors.