AKP Phnom Penh, March 28, 2025 --

H.E. Dr. Chea Serey, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), participated as a guest speaker in a panel discussion on “Cross-border Electronic Commerce Cooperation” during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025, held on Mar. 27in Hainan province, China.

During the discussion, she emphasised the importance of payment system connectivity between Cambodia and China, and the essential role of cross-border payment systems in facilitating cross-border trade transactions.

H.E. Dr. Chea Serey also shared the NBC’s experience in expanding cross-border payments through the Bakong system with Cambodia’s trading partner countries.

As of 2024, registered Bakong users rose by 7 percent to some 642,500 with a total of 608.32 million transactions recorded.

Furthermore, the NBC governor provided recommendations to promote e-commerce and enhance the capabilities of local SMEs for cross-border markets. She noted that while cross-border e-commerce offers consumers cheaper alternatives and better choices, but is also presents challenges for policymakers.

“It creates better trade opportunities for SMEs, but if SMEs in small economies are unable to compete, it also means the end. Policymakers must reform customs and tax systems to better align with this evolving economic landscape,” she said.

“They also need to design a national SMEs policy to enhance their capacity and efficiency to better adapt to this new economic structure,” she said.

Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.

Running from Mar. 25 to 28, this year's conference is themed "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future."

By Chea Vannak