PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cambodian Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT) in combination with the CamTech Powered by Prudential Cambodia, along with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Digital Economy and Business Committee, and Techo Startup Center co‑organized the Fintech stage for the Cambodia Tech Expo that was held last November 11-13, 2022.

Attended by both the public and private sectors, the FinTech stage aims to support and foster the digital economy and FinTech development in Cambodia by mobilizing national and foreign regulators, private enterprises and relevant stakeholders to connect and better understand Fintech trends and innovations, as well as discuss the opportunities and challenges with the purpose to strengthen and expand Cambodia's Fintech ecosystem. The FinTech stage also aims to gather more input for drafting a concise and flexible Cambodia's Fintech Development Policy.

The FinTech Stage was presided over by H.E. Vongsey Vissoth, Minister attached to the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy and Finance. He noted that "The remarkable increase in transactions in the banking sector and the growth in insurance sector clearly demonstrates that any financial institutions that are fast to adopt and use Fintech are transforming challenges into opportunities. Doing so can strengthen and expand their services to be more capable and resilient in solving these challenges."

Dr. Sovathana Hor, Deputy Director General of the Insurance Regulator of Cambodia said that "before Covid-19 pandemic, the insurance regulator has performed its operation in the traditional way and has yet focusing on any InsurTech development policies. However, after experiencing the disruption during the pandemic, the IRC saw the needs for the adoption of technology to maintain the growth of the insurance industry in a sustainable way. The fast adoption of digital financial technology by the Cambodian people had paved the way for the simple insurance products and services that are ready to be sold via digital platform. In 2021, with the new regulation on bancassurance in place, this allow more distribution channels for the insurance products to be distributed via banks and MFIs. In this regard, the insurance companies can also leverage the existing FinTech capabilities of banks and MFIs as well."

Mr. Huy Vatharo, Chairman of the Insurance Association of Cambodia said that "technology plays a very important role in the value chain of insurance starting from product development through to claim management. The Cambodian Insurance Association believes that there will always be a place for traditional insurance products and service however we understand the need for our members to especially increase digital channels to the public for example Prudential's Insurance Selling Machines recently introduced to the local market. Trust was core to the insurance industry and that technology could also play an important role in ensuring claims are properly paid in a fast and efficient manner."

Mr. Sanjay Chakrabarty, CEO of Prudential Cambodia, commented that Prudential has been committed to contributing to the growth of digital space in Cambodia through various initiatives, collaborations, and support. "This ongoing support showcases our vision and belief that combining new technology with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services is paramount to ensuring the best products and services to our customers and the community," he said.

Our very own CAFT Chairman, Mr. Remi Pell graced the FinTech stage and gave the welcome remarks alongside Mr. Sok Voeun, Chairman of Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), Mr. Raymond Sia Say Guan, Chairman of the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), Mr. Sanjay Chakrabarty, Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Cambodia and H.E. Ou Chandara, Assistant Governor/Secretary General of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). "Regarding our advocacy duties, we aim to continuously grow our role as a conduit between the private sector and public regulators and institutions. The great results we've accomplished allowed us to widen our scope and include our members not only PSIs but also many commercial banks, microfinance institutions, solution providers, social enterprises, big data, e-commerce, law firm, ICT, and of course, startups who are making CAFT stronger and more effective association every day," Mr. Pell stated.

Within these 3 days, there were 12 presentations on crucial topics such as FinTech Development in Cambodia and ASEAN, draft Cambodia FinTech Development Policy, Digitalization of the Banking Sector, KHQR and Bakong, Open Banking, Insurtech, Cybersecurity in Developing Economy, Launching of Cambodia Distributed Ledger (CamDL), and Demystifying Web 3.0. In addition, there were 5 panel discussions on topics such as One Fintech ASEAN Movement, Banking and Digitalization, Potential of Insurtech, Cyber threats in Financial Markets and Building New Financial Services with Web3.0.

Some of our partners were among the speakers for the FinTech Stage namely, Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); Mr. Michael Natusch, Chief Science Officer, Prudential Corporation Asia; Mr. Andrew Wong, Chief Health Officer, Prudential Plc.; Mr. Akhshy Thiagarajan, Innovation Manager, Prudential Singapore; and Mr. Andy Chun, Regional Director, Technology Innovation, Prudential Corporation Asia.

Marked by lively discussions, shared concepts, and deeply insightful information, the event was indeed a success.