Cambodia’s bancassurance market continues to consolidate around exclusive partnerships – and the latest signals that competition for bank distribution relationships is heating up.
Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia (FTB) and Manulife Cambodia confirmed the renewal and expansion of their exclusive bancassurance arrangement on September 30, 2026, extending a partnership in place since 2016. Under the deal, FTB’s branch network distributes Manulife products only, locking out competing insurers and other distributors from that customer base for the duration of the agreement.
Bancassurance is not a secondary channel in Cambodia – it is the primary one. The Insurance Regulator of Cambodia’s (IRC) 2021 Annual Report recorded bancassurance as accounting for approximately 39% of total insurance sales that year, making it the single largest distribution channel ahead of agents, brokers, and direct sales. IRC director-general Bou Chanphirou subsequently noted the figure had risen to 40% of total sales in 2022. No updated IRC breakdown by channel has since been published in English, but the direction of travel is consistent with the volume of exclusive partnerships being signed across the market.
Both the IRC and the National Bank of Cambodia have backed bancassurance as a mechanism for expanding coverage, giving bank-channel deals a degree of regulatory endorsement that other distribution models have not received at the same scale.
For brokers and independent intermediaries, that creates a structural problem. Exclusive arrangements effectively remove entire bank customer bases from the addressable market. As more banks sign exclusive deals, the pool available to non-bank distributors shrinks.
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The scale of Cambodia’s unmet insurance need explains why bancassurance has become the default vehicle for market expansion.
IRC director-general Bou Chanphirou told the dissemination seminar for the 2025-2030 strategic plan on April 20, 2026, that gross premiums reached more than US$367 million in 2025, as reported by Cambodianess.
Separately, the IRC reported at the same seminar that penetration stood at 1.11% of GDP in 2025, with density at $20.95 per capita, according to the Cambodia Investment Review.
“The growth of the insurance sector not only reflects the growth of the insurance market, but also reflects improvements in risk management, strengthening the social safety net, and enhancing socio-economic resilience,” Chanphirou said.
For context, the OECD’s Global Insurance Market Trends 2025 report recorded an average penetration of 5.4% across all reporting jurisdictions in 2024 – putting Cambodia at roughly one-fifth of that benchmark.
The IRC has reset its targets accordingly. The original 2021-2030 plan set goals of 5.5% penetration and $135 per capita density by 2030. The revised 2025-2030 plan scales those back to approximately 2% penetration and $45 per capita.
FTB, which describes itself as Cambodia’s first local commercial bank, operates 27 branches across Phnom Penh and major provinces, with total assets of US$2.47 billion. Manulife Cambodia, which entered the market in 2012, covers more than 440,000 policyholders.
FTB chief executive officer Dith Sochal framed the agreement as a basis for developing new products and services. “This exclusive partnership will create new opportunities for the development of innovative products, services, and solutions that will bring greater value to our customers and stakeholders. It reflects our shared commitment to providing customers with comprehensive financial solutions that not only help them achieve their financial aspirations but also protect what they value most,” Sochal said.
He added: “Through this collaboration, both parties will be able to maximise the strengths and resources, create added value, and drive sustainable growth. As the financial landscape in Cambodia continues to evolve, customers increasingly seek trusted partners who can offer integrated solutions for banking, wealth creation, and financial protection.”
Rotha Chan, CEO and general manager of Manulife Cambodia, pointed to FTB’s branch reach as the central rationale. “FTB’s strong market position, nationwide reach, and continued growth make it an important partner for Manulife in our efforts to extend financial protection to more Cambodians. This progress is reflected in the opening of the new FTB Tower, which has already become one of the landmarks on Phnom Penh’s skyline and symbolises the bank’s ambition, progress, and long-term commitment to Cambodia. We are proud to deepen our partnership at this important stage of FTB’s growth journey,” Chan said.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The announcement referenced Manulife’s AI positioning. The 2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance – which benchmarks AI maturity across 30 large insurers in North America and Europe across four categories: Talent, Innovation, Leadership, and Transparency – ranked Manulife as the top life insurer for the second consecutive year and third overall. Evident noted Manulife disclosed more AI use cases than any other insurer in the index.
The companies said the partnership incorporates Manulife’s AI-enabled customer insights into FTB’s distribution process. Specific applications were not detailed.
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The FTB-Manulife renewal is one of several active exclusive bancassurance arrangements in Cambodia. Woori Bank Cambodia and Daiichi Life Cambodia expanded their own partnership in July 2026, according to the Cambodia Investment Review.
The picture that emerges is a market where the most commercially attractive bank relationships are being claimed – and where the IRC’s revised 2030 targets reflect a more measured outlook on how fast penetration can realistically grow. For brokers and independent distributors, the question is whether the regulatory and market conditions that have favoured bancassurance begin to shift as the channel matures, or whether concentration continues to deepen.
