Mizuho Bank, one of Japan's largest banks, opened a representative office here Monday thanks to increasing interest in Cambodia by Japanese investors, a bank official said.

Takeshi Fukui, head of Mizuho Bank Phnom Penh Representative Office, said the bank's decision to open the office here was made after it observed that Cambodia was an emerging country in Asia and its economy had seen stable growth in recent years. "A number of Japanese corporations have expanded their businesses into Cambodia in the last couple of years and it is projected that more Japanese investors will come to Cambodia in coming years,"he said at the office opening.

"By establishing the office here, the bank creates a framework to collect and provide information regarding Cambodia and strengthens our ability to support our customers as they consider entering and expanding their businesses in the Cambodian market."

To date, Cambodia has five foreign banks' representative offices, 34 commercial banks, seven specialized banks and 37 microfinance institutions, according the National Bank of Cambodia.

Japan is one of Cambodia's key donors, however, the two countries' trade and investment volumes remain small.

Last year, the bilateral trade volume was worth 641 million U.S. dollars, up 25 percent year-on-year, according to the Japan External Trade Organization.

On the investment side, Japanese investors just expressed their interest in Cambodia in recent years. The Japanese Embassy in Cambodia said earlier this year that Japanese investors had invested about 300 million U.S. dollars in Cambodia in the last three years. Endi

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