For more than two decades, Cambodia has achieved high economic growth which contributed to remarkable poverty reduction and increasing people’s living standard. However, there remain major challenges for the country. The still narrowly based economic foundation, high degree of dollarization, and fiscal constraints have raised more attention to what are the responsibilities that NBC, the Central Bank of Cambodia, can do to promote economic growth and employment as well as supporting to diversify the economic base in the context of dollarization. This study analyzes the contributions that NBC can provide towards Cambodia's strategy for promoting sustainable economic growth, create employment and diversifying its economy through the analysis of the current and other possible roles of the NBC. The previous studies revealed that Central Banks in some advanced and emerging market economies had promoted the development of their economies in different methods. In many cases, these Central Banks provided credit subsidies, enforced capital controls, and applied asset-based reserve requirements in order to manage the allocation of credit. Often these policies resulted in the excessive growth of money and credit, which produced high rates of inflation. Also, these policies distorted credit markets, harmed the development of the financial institutions, and hindered growth. The literatures on finance and economic growth have illustrated the importance of the Central Banks as regulators and supervisors over financial system aiming to maintain financial system stability and sustainable financial system development. This can facilitate the accumulation of productive investments and human capital enhancement which leads to the increase in the country’s total productivity and hence people’s higher income. Central Banks can also support growth and employment through over-sighting and developing national payment system. Efficient and effective payment system can enhance timely financial transaction and reduce the cost as well as risks from failure of payments in economic transactions. Besides payment system, promoting financial inclusion is also a method used by many Central Banks in developing countries to contribute to economic growth by helping businesses expand their size leading to increase in total production and employment generation in their own country. Through financial inclusion, individual households can have higher income and raise their living standards. Today, monetary policy fosters growth and employment by seeking low rates of inflation and by promoting stable financial institutions while payment system ensures efficient payment and settlement transactions for the economy and financial inclusions help to expand financial services to further reaching more population and reduce poverty. According to the analysis on NBC’s roles based on the explicit mandate (by law), the NBC has been pursuing four main policies that indirectly contribute to economic growth and employment. First, NBC conducts monetary and exchange rate policies to maintain price stability. Within its mandate, the NBC manages the exchange rate and banks' reserve requirements to stabilize the value of the riel and the liquidity of banks. Second, NBC regulates and supervises both banks and MFIs and is custodian of the interbank payments system leading to financial system stability which financial resources in the country are being allocated in a more efficient and effective manner. This has been contributing to increase in investment and consumption in Cambodia. The NBC is also actively promoting financial inclusion in Cambodia through promoting banking system expansion, especially MFIs. However, in the current situation, the NBC is still facing the challenges of combating high degree of dollarization which limits monetary policy effectiveness, financial infrastructure is still poor in the rural areas which has been constraining the development of financial inclusion, banking system is still relying mainly on foreign funding contributing to high interest rates on lending and also exposing it to risks. The NBC can provide more supports for Cambodia's development by improving financial infrastructures and extend it further to reach more areas, revise and update regulation to ensure efficient and sustainably developed financial system and that can protect public interest. Moreover, NBC would introduce policies to promote the use of riels in the short term while de-dollarize in the long-term to increase the monetary policy effectiveness aiming to well anchor price stability in Cambodia.

The study is aimed at exploring the effects of microfinance institutions (MFIs) on the survival of SMEs in Ibadan south-west L.G.A, in Nigeria. One of the major challenges of SMEs business despite its importance to economic development is finance. It is however discovered that micro finance banks through their various micro finance schemes, can play significant role in small business development. This work therefore examined the effect of micro finance scheme on the performance SMEs Enterprise in Ibadan South West Local Government. The methodology adopted in this study is mainly from primary source which includes questionnaire and personal interview. In the area of secondary sources, documented materials used include textbooks, journals, conference and seminar papers, newspapers, the internet and other non-classified documents. Simple percentage and Chi-square statistical method were used to analyse the data collected before reaching conclusion. The findings of the research indicated that micro finance banks financing scheme positively affected the SMEs enterprises in Nigeria. The recommendation is that it is important for SMEs to understand the source of its funds and the costs associated with the funds.

This paper provides an overview of concepts, issues and research on the relationship between financial inclusion and inclusive rural transformation. When considering how the growth of demand for financial services is related to the broader processes of structural and rural transformation, the evidence shows that agricultural credit provides positive returns, but still with small farm and gender biases. Liberalization of financial markets may not have had the desired spillover effects into rural credit, so there may be justification for public intervention. Effective microcredit programmes might also need to be coupled with outreach and technical assistance in order to achieve desired goals and objectives. In addressing how innovations in rural finance contribute to making access to financial services and rural transformation more inclusive, the report focuses on demand relationships. Farmers who use credit have moderately inelastic to elastic demands. Policies that curb interest rates or otherwise lower the cost of credit may encourage credit demand. Research on risk rationing suggests a behavioural aspect to credit that needs to be considered. Policies that fail to consider collateral and risk may fail if risk-rationed farmers will either not borrow at all, or borrow less than optimal amounts of credit. Policies targeting inclusive finance for inclusive transformation should be targeted towards specific problems. If subsidies are required, they must be smart – in the sense of minimizing market distortions – and are best targeted towards lenders as incentives to increase loans in poverty or underserved communities, women borrowers and indigenous peoples. When markets fail, agriculture governments should consider state-run government-sponsored enterprises. Finally, agricultural lenders, including microfinance institutions, must reconsider their approach to disciplined savings and lending activities. Many farmers with credit demand will not borrow because the payment terms do not consider the risk or match the liquidity cycle of planting and harvesting.

The research study was aimed at exploring the inhibitors of micro financing institutions in Zimbabwe. The research objectives of the study were to find out the challenges faced by Zimbabwean MFIs in providing services to the informal sector, to investigate how MFI requirements are inhibiting their performance and to determine strategies that need to be adopted by MFI to stimulate better performance. Descriptive research design was used to get data and Closed and open ended questionnaires were administered in six provinces of Zimbabwe targeting government institutions, microfinance institutions and beneficiaries of microfinancing. In-depth interviews were conducted to policy makers in Zimbabwe. The target population for this study was 298 (comprising of MFI managers, beneficiaries and government institutions) and 5 policy makers respectively. A sample size of 169 was used. The study revealed that, microfinancing operations in Zimbabwe are being crippled by poor management skills which is blocking them to achieve their goals and objectives, again minimum capital requirements levied to them by the policy makers is also a stumbling block for MFIs performance, lack of sound capacity to attract long term loans from foreign direct investment and non-performing loans are also among the stumbling block for MFIs performance.

Shari'ah Investment

During the colonial period, the zakat system in both Uzbekistan and Malaysia experienced serious changes due to imperial powers’ intervention. The zakat system was an important source of economy for these states. This paper highlights the zakat practices of pre-colonial and colonial Uzbekistan and Malaysia and clarifies the nature of encounters of different civilizations such as Islamic and Christian in these regions. The main objective of this study is to find similarities and differences in the imperialists’ influence on the structural level of taxation and zakat systems between the countries studied. This study reveals that there are similarities such as in the administration of zakat collection after the arrival of the imperial powers, wherein both countries, the colonial powers appointed supervisors over local zakat collectors, in order to control revenues. This research also found some important differences that arose because of the intervention of the colonialists, where the British helped in establishing centralized zakat collection, whereas Russians totally abolished the zakat system by turning it into conventional taxation. Keywords: Zakat, Zakat institution, colonialism, Muslim society