Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary recently floated corporate bonds worth $10 million, becoming the first South Korean financial institution to do so in the Southeast Asian nation, the lender’s holding group, JB Financial Group, said Monday.

Phnom Penh Commercial Bank issued the bonds with a maturity period of three years and an annual interest rate of 6.5 percent. They are worth $25 in par value.

The plan was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, which regulates the securities market there.

PPC Bank plans to issue an additional $10 million worth of corporate bonds in six months, in consideration of the state of the financial market and the risks stemming from the coronavirus, JB Financial said.

“Through our latest issuance of corporate funds, we were able to become a key financial institution in Cambodia that could provide long-term funds,” PPC Bank President Shin Chang-moo said.

In 2016, JB Financial acquired Cambodia’s PPC Bank via its flagship lender Jeonbuk Bank to offer loan services to local retail customers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to JB Financial, PPC Bank’s net profit for fiscal 2019 jumped 40.5 percent on-year to 20.7 billion won ($17.4 million), logging record-high annual net profit amid intensifying competition in the Cambodian commercial banking sector.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)