Chairman's Report

Mr. Chhay Soeun, Chairman of the Board of Directors

On behalf of ACLEDA Bank and the Board of Directors, I am pleased to present the 2024 Annual Report to all stakeholders.

The global economy shows resilience growth in 2024 despites faced a number of challenges from ongoing geopolitics tensions, issues in china’s property sectors, the extended Russia-Ukraine War, outbreak of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, and the escalating fragmentation of geo-economic dynamics. According to the latest IMF report, the estimated global economic growth for 2024 was 3.2%, nearly the same rate as 3.3% in 2023. Concurrently, global headline inflation dropped to 5.7% in 2024 from 6.7% in 2023. The U.S. economy outperformed expectations, expanding by 2.8% in 2024, nearly the same rate of 2.9% in 2023. The Eurozone grew at 1% in 2024, compared to 0.6% in 2023. Conversely, the Chinese economy expanded by 4.8%, lower than last year of 5.2% in 2023. The Japanese economy was estimated to regression in 2024 with a contraction growth of 0.2% from 1.5% in 2023, while ASEAN economies experienced better performance with a growth rate of 4.6% in 2024 compared to 4.1% in 2023.

In Cambodia, the economy sustained momentum amidst global challenges, experiencing estimated growth of 6% in 2024, up from 5% in 2023 according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance's latest projection. This growth is driven by domestic consumption, labour market, stable inflation and exchange rate, strong recovery in the service sector supported by tourism, stable new investment inflows, and substantial growth in garment and non-garment manufacturing exports as well as agricultural exports. However, the real estate and construction sectors continued to experience sluggishness.

In 2024, Cambodia’s banking system remains resilient and continues on a steady growth trajectory, supported by strong capital reserves, high liquidity, and the prudential policies introduced by the National Bank of Cambodia. However, the sector faces ongoing challenges, including rising non-performing loans (NPLs), high capital funding costs for banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs), and slower-than-expected loan growth.

During 2024, ACLEDA BANK became the only Cambodian bank to win The World's Safest Banks Award in 2024 (country winners) from the Global Finance Magazine. The award is claimed by Global Finance to have undergone a thorough evaluation of the long-term foreign currency ratings, or debt rating, rated by Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's financial institutions among the 500 largest banks worldwide. Simultaneously, ACLEDA BANK also stands out as the sole Cambodian bank ranked among the top 1,000 banks globally, as recognized in the Banker's "Top 1,000 World Banks 2024". Moreover, ACLEDA BANK received the report from Global Ratings Agency — Standard & Poor's (S&P) which has maintained the Bank's Credit Ratings at "B+/Stable/B". This stable rating outlook reflects that ACLEDA Bank has nourished its long-term financial profile with sufficient capital buffers to respond to all economic conditions. Furthermore, the BANK has signed numerous Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with public and private institutions in order to broaden the scope and facilitate the payment of goods and services in Cambodia and overseas.

In addition, ACLEDA BANK has continuously improved many functions of self-service operations on ACLEDA Mobile, QR codes, ATMs, and POSs in line with the needs of customers, and the evolution of digital technology to become AC Super App. Meanwhile, the Bank expanded its 206 self-service banking (63 locations in Phnom Penh and 143 locations in provinces) adding to its existing 265 branches. The Bank equipped 1,486 ATMs, 5,553 POS machines, and QR codes based on customers’ requests for transactions of transfers and settlements in markets, shops, hotels, educational institutions, hospitals, travel agencies, gas stations, and other businesses across the country. By the end of December 2024, the Bank had more than 4.22 million ACLEDA Mobile registers, especially among those the BANK had more than 0.49 million business partners.

As of 31 December 2024, total deposits increased by USD 1,131.24 million while total loan outstanding grew by USD 461.71 million, if compared to the year ended 2023. The annual performance 2024 compared to the year 2023, the Group achieved a profit attributable to the shareholders of USD 121.19 million, a decrease of 18.14% equivalent to USD 26.86 million.

Finally, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all shareholders, customers, employees, the public at large, and especially relevant authorities who always support the contribute to the good performance of the Bank, especially for the year 2024.

Mr. Chhay Soeun
Chairman of the Board of Directors
March 18, 2025