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Japanese finance bodies build services at Lao bank
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| Mr Norady Sirattana ( centre ) shakes hands with Mr Hideyuki Furikado after signing the memorandum of understanding. |
The Lao Development Bank will receive technical support from the Japanese financial sector, including the Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance and the Japan Finance Corporation Macro (JFC-Macro), to develop loan services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Laos.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the involved parties at a ceremony held in Vientiane on Wednesday.
The event was attended by Head of the State Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance of Japan Mr Khounyon Khammany, President of the Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance of Japan Mr Hideyuki Furikado, and JFC-Macro representative Mr Yasushi Yamazaki.
General Director of the Lao Development Bank Mr Norady Sirattana said “Since 2008 the central bank of Laos has encouraged our bank to provide more loans for SMEs, which make up a major component of the Lao economy. However, we lack experience and have limited knowledge in such service provision so we are pleased to be receiving support from Japan.”
“This project will help to develop staff at the bank. The Lao Ministry of Finance and the central bank of Laos agreed that the Japanese Ministry of Finance's Policy Research Institute would help us to conduct a survey in March to investigate the possibility of assisting us and also to organise a workshop for people from various financial fields,” Mr Norady said.
The project also aims to teach bank staff more about providing loans to SMEs, which are considered high risk loans that are complex to assess because most small enterprises in Laos are family run businesses.
Mr Norady said he hoped staff at the Lao Development Bank will benefit from the project, especially as JFC-Macro has extensive experience working with SMEs in Japan as well as in Vietnam and Malaysia.
vientiane times
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