“A rapidly growing share of financial transactions now passes through a state-built and state-operated centralised digital platform. Since its launch in 2020, the Bakong digital payment system has become Cambodia’s core national financial infrastructure and interfaces with major regional and global payment networks. By the end of 2025, Bakong had registered 30 million wallets — nearly double the country’s population — and processed over US$150 billion in transactions, more than three times the country’s GDP. Beyond payment efficiency, Bakong embeds the state within the architecture of an ever-expanding share of everyday domestic and transnational financial transactions.”
“Bakong and the airport form part of a broader portfolio of digital and physical infrastructure projects, including Cambodia’s first national expressway, the US$1.7 billion Techo Funan canal and platforms for data exchange and document verification. These initiatives demonstrate the Cambodian state’s growing technical sophistication and its increasing capacity to plan, finance and participate directly in large-scale projects.”
https://eastasiaforum.org/2026/01/22/cambodia-bets-big-on-state-led-development/