Phnom Penh: Cambodia has welcomed an initial application by the Bank of India to open in Phnom Penh, local media reported Tuesday.

The Cambodia Daily newspaper quoted Finance Ministry director of investment Chan Sothy as saying the nationalised Indian bank, which has a presence in all the major trade centres of the world, applied to open a branch in April.

The paper quoted Sothy as saying he and Finance Minister Keat Chhon met outgoing Indian ambassador Aloke Sen Friday and "welcomed the Bank of India to open a branch in Cambodia".

The officials discussed various ways of increasing Indian investments in Cambodia, the report said. It quoted banking officials as saying the Bank of India application was still being processed and therefore no concrete date could be set.

The two nations have close historic ties and Cambodia has been keen to foster closer economic t