Top 10 Cambodia lenders: Thailand among key road loan creditors
Cambodia’s government has taken out loans from Thailand on several occasions—amounting to more than one billion baht in total—to fund infrastructure development, particularly the construction and repair of roads across the country. Yet many Cambodians may be unaware of this financial support from their neighbouring country.
Back in 2009, Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance signed a loan agreement with Thailand worth over 1.4 billion baht to fund the repair of National Road No. 68, which runs from the Chong Chom border checkpoint to Oddar Meanchey province, covering a distance of over 113 kilometres.
However, shortly thereafter, tensions surrounding the Preah Vihear temple escalated into a border conflict. In response, Cambodia requested to withdraw from the loan agreement, citing that it had sufficient funds available.
Thailand had previously also helped finance the construction of Roads No. 48 and 67.
More recently, between 2019 and 2020, Thailand provided another loan totalling over 983 million baht to support upgrades to Road No. 67 (Siem Reap – Anlong Veng – Choam Khsant). The loan came with key conditions: at least 50% of the materials and equipment must be sourced from Thailand, and Thai nationals must be employed as contractors, engineers, and project consultants.
Cambodia’s loan repayment to Thailand:
2024: US$5.21 million in principal + US$900,000 in interest
2025: An additional US$1.72 million in principal + US$330,000 in interest
Cambodia is also due to repay Vietnam US$2.08 million, highlighting that the Kingdom has borrowed from multiple neighbouring countries.
Cambodia’s rising debt – China remains top lender
According to data from Cambodia’s Department of International Cooperation for Q1 2025, the country's total public debt has soared to US$12.18 billion, with 99.96% being external debt.
Cambodia’s largest foreign creditors in 2025:
China – US$3.981 billion
Asian Development Bank (ADB) – US$2.581 billion
World Bank – US$1.720 billion
Japan – US$1.328 billion
South Korea – US$689 million
France – US$686 million
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – US$170 million
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) – US$53.9 million
Thailand – US$53.15 million (approx. 1.724 billion baht)
Germany – US$15 million
Vietnam – US$7.29 million
India – US$6.38 million
