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CIPS membership to promote Cambodia-China trade, tourism
Cambodia has applied for membership in the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) initiated by China, which is believed that the system will facilitate and promote Cambodia-China’s trade, investment, and tourism.
Becoming a CIPS member will add an option and facilitate payment as Cambodia is one of the tourism sites for Chinese tourists, said Chea Serey, General Director of the National Bank of Cambodia.
The application for membership in China’s CIPS was made during Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to China last weekend.
CIPS membership will provide a wide range of options for Cambodian traders in cross-border cash transactions, as well as facilitate regional and international payment transactions, she said at a media briefing held earlier this week.
“As China has reopened the country and more tourists have started to travel beyond the borders, CIPS can boost trade, investment and tourism with China and other yuan-denominated countries”, she said.
Cambodia has optimized that the application for CIPS membership will be successful due to the understanding of the requirements for CIPS membership and the positive aspects of the recent bilateral meeting between Chinese and Cambodian leaders, the director-general said.
According to Serey, NBC has studied in detail the requirements for CIPS membership since the system was initiatively established in 2015, so the central bank of Cambodia knows what they need.
Cambodia has already allowed domestic Chinese Yuan payments through the banking system via WeChat and Alipay at some tourist and business sites.
The number of Chinese Yuan transactions through the banking system as of July 2021 totalled 120,000 transactions with a total value of more than 3 million, according to the central bank of Cambodia.
There were 2,428 merchants who received payments via WeChat and 2,514 merchants who received payments via Alipay.
Currently, transfers or cross-border payments through Belgian-based SWIFT that connects more than 11,000 financial institutions in about 200 countries, is available in Cambodia.
Serey said when there are two options, the lower-cost transaction will be the point of thinking of when to make money transfer.
China officially launched its new global clearing platform for real-time renminbi (RMB) settlement, known as the Cross Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in 2015 and some of the big international banks have been quick to enact business under the platform for their trade customers.
During a meeting with the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping during an official visit to China on February 11, 2023, the Prime Minister requested to become a member of CIPS.
CIPS membership is very important, which will facilitate cross-border payments, as well as attract Chinese investors, business and tourism, he said.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501239506/cips-membership-to-promote-cambodia-china-trade-tourism/