AKP Phnom Penh, February 10, 2025 --

The international reserves of Cambodia rose to US$22.5 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase by 12.6 percent, according to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).

“Cambodia’s current international reserves are considered to be at an appropriate level, equivalent to about 7 months of imports of goods and services for any emergency,” said NBC Governor H.E. Dr. Chea Serey in the NBC’s annual meeting held here last Saturday.

International reserves are a country's cash and other assets that are held by its central bank. These reserves are used to influence a country's currency value, meet international payment obligations, and maintain financial market confidence.

International reserves under the NBC's control include foreign currencies, gold and SDR (Special Drawing Right).

The NBC governor said that lending at the Kingdom's banking and financial institutions continued to grow at a slower pace last year due to the slow recovery of sectors such as construction and real estate, tourism, and wholesale and retail.

On the deposit side, she added, the banking and financial institutions saw the good growth of 16.3 percent last year, reflecting that the banking system was resilient with strong confidence from the public.

By Chea Vannak