Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
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Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Many people take on loans they cannot pay back and do not understand what they are signing (thumb-printing).
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Busine ... my-at-riskChan Veang, a mother-of-three whose small village is about an hour's drive from the country's iconic Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province, epitomizes the stark contrast between the success of for-profit MFIs, and the dire situation of many rural borrowers.
At her home last week, the 47-year-old, who has no regular income, laid out the paperwork for three MFI loans totaling $10,000. The forms from LOLC and Prasac, two of Cambodia's biggest MFIs, make little sense to her, she said.
"I can't read. They just told me where to put my thumb print," Veang told the Nikkei Asian Review, explaining she tried to "memorize" what MFI officers told her she owed.
Like many indebted families, Veang's three daughters and husband work in Thailand to help make repayments. Left to care for two grandchildren, Veang says she was also pressured into being a guarantor for a neighbor's loan. She said no one read her the contract.
"I said I didn't want to do it, the man said 'it'll be OK,'" she recalled. Late last month, after the neighbor absconded, credit officers came to collect.
"Five men from the organization came to my house. I did not have the money so they drove me around the village to ask to borrow money from other people. I don't know what to do, next time I'll have to hide or move to Thailand to work."
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Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Genuinely curious how this would help - did you see how much it cost to transfer money, or how long it took before 2009? Likewise MFIs would charge higher rates to be able to afford to employ loan officers to go and reach places where now they can rely on Wing or others for collections.Kampoochie wrote: ↑Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:09 am On the less odious end, just getting rid of Wing would save them lots of money.
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
- CEOCambodiaNews
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Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Australia called to reassess ties to Cambodian microfinance amid reports of child labour, debt bondage
By Erin Handley
Updated about 4 hours ago
"It still hurts when the weather is cool," she said. "It's just too hard to play."
The 10-year-old was working in a Cambodian brick factory in March this year when her hand slipped into a clay-slicing machine, severing it.
"I felt nothing when I had the accident. I didn't feel any pain … I asked my mum if my hand would grow back," she said.
Pheak was working at one of Cambodia's dangerous brick factories after her family sank into debt after struggling to repay several microloans — small loans accessible to those shut out of corporate finance in the developing world.
Her mother, Khim Channa, told the ABC that she took out as many as four loans in recent years — one, of roughly $1,500, was taken from a microfinance institution called Thaneaka Phum Cambodia (TPC) using a land title as collateral.
After being unable to make the repayments, Ms Khim said loan officers came to the house to say that they would sell the land and their home.
"I was very stressed and worried that they would do it," she told the ABC. "That's why I decided to approach the brick factory owner and borrow money from them."
'Collateral damage' report links microloans to child labour
Over the last decade, Cambodia's microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been booming — proponents say that it helps alleviate poverty by giving the rural poor a leg up instead of a hand out.
But a new report by human and land rights groups titled Collateral Damage suggests that MFIs — some with ties to Australian aid — are complicit in the country's cycles of debt and land loss.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-11/ ... t/11386962
By Erin Handley
Updated about 4 hours ago
"It still hurts when the weather is cool," she said. "It's just too hard to play."
The 10-year-old was working in a Cambodian brick factory in March this year when her hand slipped into a clay-slicing machine, severing it.
"I felt nothing when I had the accident. I didn't feel any pain … I asked my mum if my hand would grow back," she said.
Pheak was working at one of Cambodia's dangerous brick factories after her family sank into debt after struggling to repay several microloans — small loans accessible to those shut out of corporate finance in the developing world.
Her mother, Khim Channa, told the ABC that she took out as many as four loans in recent years — one, of roughly $1,500, was taken from a microfinance institution called Thaneaka Phum Cambodia (TPC) using a land title as collateral.
After being unable to make the repayments, Ms Khim said loan officers came to the house to say that they would sell the land and their home.
"I was very stressed and worried that they would do it," she told the ABC. "That's why I decided to approach the brick factory owner and borrow money from them."
'Collateral damage' report links microloans to child labour
Over the last decade, Cambodia's microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been booming — proponents say that it helps alleviate poverty by giving the rural poor a leg up instead of a hand out.
But a new report by human and land rights groups titled Collateral Damage suggests that MFIs — some with ties to Australian aid — are complicit in the country's cycles of debt and land loss.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-11/ ... t/11386962
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline
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- Kampoochie
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Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Blockchain solutions should/will do away with Wing, which I'm sure was a good solution when it first came about.Spigzy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:46 pmGenuinely curious how this would help - did you see how much it cost to transfer money, or how long it took before 2009? Likewise MFIs would charge higher rates to be able to afford to employ loan officers to go and reach places where now they can rely on Wing or others for collections.Kampoochie wrote: ↑Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:09 am On the less odious end, just getting rid of Wing would save them lots of money.
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Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Doesnt say how mum got into so much debt. Bit of blame to go round I'd say.CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:20 pm Australia called to reassess ties to Cambodian microfinance amid reports of child labour, debt bondage
By Erin Handley
Updated about 4 hours ago
"It still hurts when the weather is cool," she said. "It's just too hard to play."
The 10-year-old was working in a Cambodian brick factory in March this year when her hand slipped into a clay-slicing machine, severing it.
"I felt nothing when I had the accident. I didn't feel any pain … I asked my mum if my hand would grow back," she said.
Pheak was working at one of Cambodia's dangerous brick factories after her family sank into debt after struggling to repay several microloans — small loans accessible to those shut out of corporate finance in the developing world.
Her mother, Khim Channa, told the ABC that she took out as many as four loans in recent years — one, of roughly $1,500, was taken from a microfinance institution called Thaneaka Phum Cambodia (TPC) using a land title as collateral.
After being unable to make the repayments, Ms Khim said loan officers came to the house to say that they would sell the land and their home.
"I was very stressed and worried that they would do it," she told the ABC. "That's why I decided to approach the brick factory owner and borrow money from them."
'Collateral damage' report links microloans to child labour
Over the last decade, Cambodia's microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been booming — proponents say that it helps alleviate poverty by giving the rural poor a leg up instead of a hand out.
But a new report by human and land rights groups titled Collateral Damage suggests that MFIs — some with ties to Australian aid — are complicit in the country's cycles of debt and land loss.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-11/ ... t/11386962
Tragic situation though, whichever you look at it.
With interest rates falling everywhere, perhaps its time to reduce that 18% ceiling on MFI loans ?
Also put some restrictions on the MFI's offsetting lower loan interest with higher admin fees.
Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Can you elaborate on how you see that working sorry? Reduced system cost for Wing? Removal of the agent in the middle reducing cost for the consumer? I don’t see either working practically in the Kingdom of Wonder, but happy to be wrong!Kampoochie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:55 pmBlockchain solutions should/will do away with Wing, which I'm sure was a good solution when it first came about.Spigzy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:46 pmGenuinely curious how this would help - did you see how much it cost to transfer money, or how long it took before 2009? Likewise MFIs would charge higher rates to be able to afford to employ loan officers to go and reach places where now they can rely on Wing or others for collections.Kampoochie wrote: ↑Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:09 am On the less odious end, just getting rid of Wing would save them lots of money.
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
One of the other issues is the amount of credit provided pre-credit bureau. Now MFIs should be able to see that other MFIs have already lent to a customer and thus avoid lending more to a customer already saddled with debt. The other sad reality is that if those MFIs reject a borrower, that borrower is likely to go to an even worse loan shark and get into trouble even sooner.offroadscholar wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 1:47 pmDoesnt say how mum got into so much debt. Bit of blame to go round I'd say.CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:20 pm Australia called to reassess ties to Cambodian microfinance amid reports of child labour, debt bondage
By Erin Handley
Updated about 4 hours ago
"It still hurts when the weather is cool," she said. "It's just too hard to play."
The 10-year-old was working in a Cambodian brick factory in March this year when her hand slipped into a clay-slicing machine, severing it.
"I felt nothing when I had the accident. I didn't feel any pain … I asked my mum if my hand would grow back," she said.
Pheak was working at one of Cambodia's dangerous brick factories after her family sank into debt after struggling to repay several microloans — small loans accessible to those shut out of corporate finance in the developing world.
Her mother, Khim Channa, told the ABC that she took out as many as four loans in recent years — one, of roughly $1,500, was taken from a microfinance institution called Thaneaka Phum Cambodia (TPC) using a land title as collateral.
After being unable to make the repayments, Ms Khim said loan officers came to the house to say that they would sell the land and their home.
"I was very stressed and worried that they would do it," she told the ABC. "That's why I decided to approach the brick factory owner and borrow money from them."
'Collateral damage' report links microloans to child labour
Over the last decade, Cambodia's microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been booming — proponents say that it helps alleviate poverty by giving the rural poor a leg up instead of a hand out.
But a new report by human and land rights groups titled Collateral Damage suggests that MFIs — some with ties to Australian aid — are complicit in the country's cycles of debt and land loss.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-11/ ... t/11386962
Tragic situation though, whichever you look at it.
With interest rates falling everywhere, perhaps its time to reduce that 18% ceiling on MFI loans ?
Also put some restrictions on the MFI's offsetting lower loan interest with higher admin fees.
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
- Kampoochie
- Expatriate
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:36 pm
- Reputation: 30
- Location: TTP
Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
https://www.asiablockchainreview.com/na ... nt-system/Spigzy wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 2:42 pmCan you elaborate on how you see that working sorry? Reduced system cost for Wing? Removal of the agent in the middle reducing cost for the consumer? I don’t see either working practically in the Kingdom of Wonder, but happy to be wrong!Kampoochie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:55 pmBlockchain solutions should/will do away with Wing, which I'm sure was a good solution when it first came about.Spigzy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:46 pmGenuinely curious how this would help - did you see how much it cost to transfer money, or how long it took before 2009? Likewise MFIs would charge higher rates to be able to afford to employ loan officers to go and reach places where now they can rely on Wing or others for collections.Kampoochie wrote: ↑Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:09 am On the less odious end, just getting rid of Wing would save them lots of money.
Correct about reducing the agents in the middle part — just get rid of the banks, get rid of Wing, all transactions are done digitally.
- newkidontheblock
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Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
Blockchain financing is being heavily pushed by the PRC with promotion centers set up in the Middle East and around the world, also requiring their loans be paid in blockchain, etc.
Saw an insightful report by NHK. The reporter asked one of the CEOs of blockchain finance if a national government could hack the blockchain, see all the transactions, and then manipulate them.
The promoter’s reply. Yes, it’s theoretically possible, but no government would morally ever do such an act.
Saw an insightful report by NHK. The reporter asked one of the CEOs of blockchain finance if a national government could hack the blockchain, see all the transactions, and then manipulate them.
The promoter’s reply. Yes, it’s theoretically possible, but no government would morally ever do such an act.
Re: Cambodia Has a Big Problem With Small Loans
So how do you move (a) illiterate people to use the technology, or (b) change the deeply embedded culture of "middle-men" pervasive in the country? I think you're right, but you're perhaps looking at 2059 for Cambodia, not 2019. Also there is a challenge that no blockchain in existence can handle the trillions of transactions per annum in the USA alone, let alone a country with a massive population, or a truly global financial system. Lots to be done.Kampoochie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 5:48 amhttps://www.asiablockchainreview.com/na ... nt-system/Spigzy wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 2:42 pmCan you elaborate on how you see that working sorry? Reduced system cost for Wing? Removal of the agent in the middle reducing cost for the consumer? I don’t see either working practically in the Kingdom of Wonder, but happy to be wrong!Kampoochie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:55 pmBlockchain solutions should/will do away with Wing, which I'm sure was a good solution when it first came about.Spigzy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:46 pmGenuinely curious how this would help - did you see how much it cost to transfer money, or how long it took before 2009? Likewise MFIs would charge higher rates to be able to afford to employ loan officers to go and reach places where now they can rely on Wing or others for collections.Kampoochie wrote: ↑Wed Oct 03, 2018 1:09 am On the less odious end, just getting rid of Wing would save them lots of money.
Correct about reducing the agents in the middle part — just get rid of the banks, get rid of Wing, all transactions are done digitally.
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
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