A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is set to kickstart collaboration on building digital infrastructure to support cross-border trade and financial services for Singaporean and Cambodian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Financial Transparency Corridor (FTC) enables Singaporean and Cambodian financial institutions to exchange secure information on Singaporean and Cambodian SMEs for the purposes of financing support and facilitating a sale of business or change in ownership.

The corridor can assist SMEs in Singapore and Cambodia to access other digital trade networks such as the Business Sans Border Proxtera global network, fostering improved trade connectivity within the ASEAN region and externally.

“We are excited to partner with NBC to create the Financial Transparency Corridor, a first for our engagements in Asia,” Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer at MAS, said.

“The Financial Transparency Corridor will support open trade flows for businesses, in particular SMEs, through enhancing financial trust data for financial services between Singapore and Cambodia.

“This will lead to closer partnerships between our financial centres for better products and innovative solutions, and stronger growth together for our economies in the global digital economy.”

The FTC initiative will see financial institutions and SMEs participate based on consent, enhancing cross-border financial services and current processes regarding loan assessments for trade financing and anti-money laundering compliance.

“In March, Singapore and Cambodia collaborated on cross-border sharing of individual consumer credit profiles that makes it easier for citizens from both countries to access financial services in their country of residence,” Serey Chea, Deputy Governor of the NBC, said.

“We are also excited to take part in the creation of the Financial Transparency Corridor, which will further extend the two countries’ cross-border information sharing to businesses and SMEs.

“SMEs are the backbones of the Cambodian and Singaporean economies and their abilities to access financing beyond the border will greatly help them grow their operations and better contribute to both countries’ economic growth.”