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Neak Oknha Pung Kheav Se
ពុង ឃាវសែ
Pung in 2022
Born	1948 Cambodia, French Indochina
Nationality	Cambodian
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Cambodia ( DBA)
Occupation(s)	Businessman, investor, philanthropist
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Founder and Chairman of Canadia Group, Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation (OCIC), and Canadia Investment Holdings (CIH)
Board member of	Canadia Bank
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	方僑生
Traditional Chinese	方侨生
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Fāng qiáo shēng
Website	OCIC

Pung Kheav Se ( Khmer: ពុង ឃាវសែ; Chinese: 方侨生) is a Cambodian businessman, investor and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Canadia Group, a multinational conglomerate which counts among its sectors OCIC and CIH. In addition, he founded Canadia Bank, one of Cambodia's oldest and largest commercial banks in terms of assets and net holding. ^[1]

Early life

Pung was born in the early 1940s and is a Cambodian of Chinese Teochew descent. With the country taken over by the Khmer Rouge in 1975, Pung fled to neighbouring Thailand to seek refuge in a Thai refugee camp. After leaving the camp in 1980, Pung soon secured a job as a salesman and later became a goldsmith in Montreal, Canada where he would spend the next eleven years of his life until his return to Cambodia in the early 1990s.

Business career

Early business career

Pung started his career as a goldsmith operating from a small kiosk in a grocery shop in Montreal, Canada's Chinatown. Later on, his business would continue to expand and include other services such as remittances and money transfer services as more and more Overseas Cambodians from Canada began to remit money back to Cambodia. ^[2]

Returning from Canada to Cambodia

In 1991, Pung returned to Cambodia, where he began offering financial services and issuance of gold coins with the establishment of the Canadia Gold & Trust Corporation, a joint venture between Pung and the National Bank of Cambodia which would later become Canadia Bank. In the years that followed, Pung served as a longtime Chairperson of the Association of Banks of Cambodia and has since been renowned as Cambodia's banking pioneer and foremost financial magnate. ^[2]

Canadia Bank

Upon his return to his country of birth, Pung returned to the Kingdom and in that same year opened the Canadia Gold & Trust company, a joint venture between Dr. Pung and National Bank of Cambodia to provide services such as issuance of gold coins and other financial services. ^[3]

In 1995, the Canadia Gold & Trust business would become Canadia Bank after securing a commercial license to operate one of Cambodia's first commercial banks. Since its inception and privatisation in 1998, Canadia Bank has grown into one of the largest commercial banks in the Kingdom with total assets amounting to US$7.6 billion with a net profit of US$129 million as of 2021. ^[1]

Canadia Integrated Group

In 2000, with a business steadily rising together with the stabilization of the country, Pung began to create two segregated business portfolios, namely Canadia Investment Holdings (CIH) tasked with all financial services and Canadia Non-Financial Group consisting of the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation (OCIC) and its affiliates tasked to steward all non-financial assets collectively known as Canadia Integrated Group (CIG). Today, it is one of Cambodia's largest multidisciplinary conglomerates with its financial services, real estate, engineering & construction, agriculture exports and social infrastructure sectors driving growth nationwide.

Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation

With a diversified business interest, Pung's venture into non-financial services and solutions led to the creation of one of Cambodia's largest investment and development companies with various property development projects such as Sorya Shopping Center, Cambodia's first ever mall, Canadia Tower, the Kingdom's first skyscraper, Koh Pich, Chroy Changvar Satellite City, the 2,600 hectare Techo International Airport slated to become one of the world's largest airports. ^[4]

Since 2020, Dr. Pung's OCIC Group and its affiliates has invested an estimated US$5 billion in numerous public and social infrastructure projects throughout Cambodia with more projects in works such as Norea City, the Kong Sam Ol Overpass, ^[5] the Russey Keo Bridge and Russey Keo Flyover, the Koh Norea Bridge ^[6] and more to come. ^[7]

Philanthropy

In 2020 and 2021, Pung made significant contributions in support of Cambodia's fight against COVID-19 by donating a total of US$8 million in the purchase of vaccines, support of general activities and the expansion of health-related facilities. ^[8]

Awards

In 2002, Pung was awarded the Mahaserey Vattanac Award by the His Majesty, the late Norodom Sihanouk, King-Father of Cambodia, and The Highest National Contribution Medal awarded by His Excellency, Prime Minister Hun Sen and presented by His Majesty, King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia in 2012. ^[9]

References