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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 16 March 2026, reviewing regional and global markets, and covering the daily business news you shouldn’t miss.
Watch the video in English above.
- We start with a quick look at regional markets. Asian stocks advanced after oil erased its earlier gains as markets attempted to stabilise following the US strike on Iran’s main export hub.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1%, while stocks in South Korea advanced 1%.
- Japan’s Topix was little changed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was up 0.41 points or 0.1%, to 430.73.
- Total trade volume was up with 242,966 shares changing hands at a total value of 1.4 billion riel, or close to $360,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, only one stock, CAMGSM, was up, while only one other stock, ACLEDA Bank, was down. The rest of the main board stayed flat.
- Over on the growth board, DBD Engineering and Picasso City Garden were up while JS Land stayed flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the KHR stayed flat at 4,013 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar Index hovered around 100.16.
- Turning to global commodities, oil prices rose early on Monday as the Iran conflict entered its third week. Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed to $105 US dollars a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was around $100 dollars a barrel in early trading. (1037 GMT)
- Gold prices dipped on Monday, pressured by concerns that surging oil costs could stoke inflation further and prompt a more hawkish policy stance by major central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve, dulling the appeal of the non-yielding asset.
- Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,983.17 US dollars per ounce.
- U.S. gold futures for April delivery fell 1.5% to $4,987.30 US dollars. (0944 GMT)
- Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin is trading around $73,000 dollars. A decisive move above $74,000 US dollars on strong volume could trigger a rally toward $80,000 dollars, a former support level from November.
- Moving on now to other business-related news:
- APD Bank has announced the gradual restoration of its banking services following five days of system maintenance and a total suspension of its core banking system. Following the five-day service outage, which began on March 11, APD Bank announced a transitional phase of limited service availability scheduled to run until March 20. During this period, customers can only access certain essential digital features, such as account inquiries, transfers between own accounts, and fixed deposit placements.
- With recent news of several bank closures, and the latest APD Bank outage, many have rushed to withdraw their funds, with hundreds of people lining up outside APD Bank branches on March 16. In response to these growing fears, the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, Her Excellency Chea Serey, issued a video statement to reassure the public about the strength of the Cambodian banking sector. She stressed that banks have sufficient cash to pay depositors. However, when depositors rush to withdraw their funds from banks at the same time, triggering a bank run, the banks will not be able to give everyone their money because the funds are issued out as long-term loans. She urged the public not to rush to withdraw their money at once if it is not necessary, and to allow the National Bank time to work with the relevant banks to find solutions for all depositors.
- The Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), with support from Oxfam, has officially launched the "Green Loan Playbook," a framework designed to advance sustainable finance and climate resilience in Cambodia's microfinance sector. The initiative, developed under the "Resilience for All" (CREFA) project, was formally introduced at an event in Phnom Penh on March 13. The playbook provides microfinance institutions (MFIs) with a practical toolkit to design, pilot, and manage green loan products, integrating environmental considerations into their core lending operations.
Watch the 16 March 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: