VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：高成本的小額貸款會(huì)傷害柬埔寨人嗎?

Will High Cost of Small Loans Hurt Cambodians?

高成本的小額貸款會(huì)傷害柬埔寨人嗎?

The Cambodian government has ordered a limit on interest rates on small loans. The decision comes before local elections are set to take place in June.

柬埔寨政府下令限制小額貸款的利率，該決定是在六月份舉行地方選舉之前出臺(tái)的。

The 18 percent limit on the microfinance industry interest rates takes effect on April 1.

小額貸款行業(yè)18%的利率上限將從4月1日開始執(zhí)行。

Microfinance businesses operate in many developing countries. They accept deposits and provide small loans to people in the developing world.

小額貸款企業(yè)在很多發(fā)展中國(guó)家開展業(yè)務(wù)。他們接受存款，并向發(fā)展中國(guó)家的人們提供小額貸款。

In Sokai is a 32-year-old Cambodian garment worker. She recently received a microfinance loan of $5,000. She must repay it within four years.

In Sokai是柬埔寨一名32歲的制衣工人。她最近得到了一筆5000美元的小額貸款，這筆貸款必須在4年內(nèi)還清。

"I borrowed $5000 and I bought chickens, built the house, and my husband bought a boat, fishing nets and other items," she said.

她說，“我借了5000美元，然后我買了雞，建了房子，我的丈夫買了一條船、漁網(wǎng)和其它物品。”

She will pay interest at a rate of 22 percent a year.

她將以22%的年利率支付利息。

The new legislation will not reduce her loan payments because the law has not yet taken effect.

新法律不會(huì)減少她的貸款還款額，因?yàn)檫@項(xiàng)法律尚未生效。

Her loan is considered large for the Cambodian microfinance industry. Seventy percent of microfinance industry, of MFI, loans are under $500.

她的貸款對(duì)柬埔寨小額貸款行業(yè)來說是一筆巨款。小額貸款行業(yè)70%的貸款低于500美元。

Sokai had not heard of the new law. But it has caused a lot of concern among the private microfinance businesses in Cambodia.

Sokai沒有聽過這項(xiàng)新法律。但這項(xiàng)法律已經(jīng)在柬埔寨私營(yíng)小額貸款企業(yè)中引起了很大關(guān)注。

Small loans more costly to provide, lenders say

放貸機(jī)構(gòu)稱小額貸款放貸成本更高

Microfinance loans are usually for less than one year. Their interest rates are very high -- 30 percent or more. Microfinance industry supporters say this is necessary because the costs of servicing small, risky loans are higher.

小額貸款通常不到1年時(shí)間，它們的利率很高，達(dá)到了30%以上。小額貸款行業(yè)的支持者表示，這么高的利率是很必要的，因?yàn)樘峁└唢L(fēng)險(xiǎn)小額貸款的成本更高。

The high cost of the loans has not reduced demand, however.

然而這么高的成本并未減少需求。

Cambodia's microfinance industry is growing quickly. In 2015, there were 1.5 million depositors and more than two million borrowers. MFIs are in every province of the country of 15 million people.

柬埔寨的小額貸款行業(yè)正在快速增長(zhǎng)。2015年，該行業(yè)有150萬儲(chǔ)戶和超過2百萬的借款人。小額信貸機(jī)構(gòu)遍布這個(gè)人口1500萬的國(guó)家的每個(gè)省份。

Almost all the loans go to people living outside Phnom Pehn, Cambodia's capital. Most borrowers are women.

幾乎所有的貸款都流向了居住在柬埔寨首都金邊以外的人們。大多數(shù)借款人為女性。

The new law comes before local elections in June. A national vote is to take place in the middle of 2018.

這項(xiàng)新法律是在六月份地方選舉之前出臺(tái)的。全國(guó)投票將于2018年中期進(jìn)行。

Supporters of the new law say the limit is meant to protect Cambodians from paying high rates. Lawmakers also want to increase access to Cambodia's financial system.

這項(xiàng)新法案的支持者表示，這項(xiàng)限制是為了防止柬埔寨人承擔(dān)高利率。立法者也希望提高人們接觸柬埔寨金融體系的途徑。

Borrowers often use their land or home as a security for the loan. They can lose their property if they are unable to pay.

借款人通常用土地或房屋作為貸款擔(dān)保物。如果無法還貸，他們可能會(huì)失去財(cái)產(chǎn)。

Interest rate limits are not unusual. Many countries have them. But, the World Bank says they are becoming less popular.

利率限制并不少見。很多國(guó)家都有利率限制。但是世界銀行表示，利率限制越來越不受歡迎。

Some industry observers, however, say the law limiting interest rates will have a negative effect. Stephen Higgins is with Mekong Strategic Partners. The company gives business advice.

然而一些行業(yè)觀察家表示，限制利率的法律將會(huì)產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響。Stephen Higgins就職于湄公河戰(zhàn)略合作伙伴。該公司提供商業(yè)咨詢。

"Ideally we shouldn't have this cap. The interest rates in Cambodia for these small loans, they're actually amongst the lowest in the world. And people forget that."

他說，“理想情況下我們不應(yīng)該有這種上限。柬埔寨小額貸款的利率實(shí)際上是全球最低的，人們忘了這點(diǎn)。”

Higgins says the cost of lending for small loans is high. He says microfinance businesses need to charge a 30 percent interest rate for a $500 nine-month loan to make a small profit.

Higgins表示，小額貸款的借出成本很高。他說，小額貸款企業(yè)需要對(duì)期限為9個(gè)月的500美元貸款收取30%的利率才能小幅盈利。

Opponents of the limits say microfinance businesses may stop offering loans. That, they say, will force rural people to go to moneylenders who charge much higher interest rates.

利率限制的反對(duì)派表示，小額貸款企業(yè)可能會(huì)停止提供貸款。這會(huì)迫使農(nóng)村人投向收取更高利率的放貸人。

The Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) is a non-profit organization based in Phnom Penh. It supports microfinance businesses. It says its members will need to reduce costs and become more efficient in order to survive.

柬埔寨小額貸款協(xié)會(huì)是一家總部位于金邊的非營(yíng)利組織。它支持小額貸款企業(yè)。該組織表示，其成員將需要降低成本并且變得更高效才能生存下去。

Mey Kalyan is an economist and adviser to the government. He supports the law. He says it will help protect small farmers from agriculture-related debt. He says that farmers who take out high interest loans of 30 percent or more struggle to make a profit.

Mey Kalyan是一名經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家和政府顧問。他支持這項(xiàng)法律。他說，這將有助于防止小農(nóng)戶背上農(nóng)業(yè)相關(guān)的債務(wù)。他說，背負(fù)30%或更高利率貸款的農(nóng)民很難盈利。

CMA chairman Hout Ieng Tong says at least some CMA members will still offer small loans. But it is unclear whether the new interest rate limit will hurt deposits in microfinance businesses or will drive borrowers to higher-cost moneylenders.

柬埔寨小額貸款協(xié)會(huì)會(huì)長(zhǎng)Hout Ieng Tong表示，至少一些協(xié)會(huì)成員仍然會(huì)提供小額貸款。但是新的利率限制是否會(huì)損害小額貸款企業(yè)的存款，或是驅(qū)使借款人投向成本更高的放貸人，這點(diǎn)尚不明確。

I'm Mario Ritter.

馬里奧·里特報(bào)道。

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

阿什利·湯普森報(bào)道。