Ms. Delayne Weeks reports

ANGKOR RESOURCES RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION REGARDING ITS ESG PROJECTS

Angkor Resources Corp. has received international attention for its activities and facilitation of financial literacy (FinLit) training for indigenous communities, stemming from requests from local communities for assistance in dealing with debt load from overzealous microfinance institutions (MFI).

In February, 2024, the European Union's manager on governance, democracy and human rights, the chief executive officer of CORD United Kingdom and Cerise SPFT for Southeast Asia were on site in Banlung for first-hand view and discussion about the FinLit training and other activities undertaken by Angkor. The delegation was joined by upper management of Development and Partnerships in Action (DPA).

In early 2022, Angkor initiated the research for the project on the Andong Meas licence when it heard and saw the impact on the communities. Angkor then asked for collaboration with Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA), which is owned by National Bank of Canada, to provide financial literacy training to families of rural communities that were at risk of losing their homes, farms and land security. Due to the inability to repay microfinance loans with very high interest rates and fees and no analysis of the MFIs undertaken regarding the ability to repay, many of Cambodia's most vulnerable people have fallen into insurmountable debt with little chance of repayment in their lifetime.

The disturbing results of baseline surveys completed in communities provided results like the first community of 58 families, of which 90 per cent of the families completing the survey illustrated:

• Average household debt ($4,500) exceeded annual income;
• $243,000 total MFI debt for 53 households on Jan. 1, 2022 (not including informal debt);
• Increased stress, mental health issues, suicide and general health decline;
• Multiple loans, using one MFI to borrow from to pay another MFI;
• A lack of understanding of what people were signing and no explanation or discussion of repayment obligations and failure to pay.

Although several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were working with indigenous communities on the issue, the project appeared to only gain traction when Angkor, as a foreign investor company in Cambodia, became involved and drew in the ABA bank for collaboration. Angkor continues to work with the NGOs.

Therefore, the needs assessment and baseline data led to the development of the FinLit project. The program started in three communities and has grown to provide 46 training programs to 41 villages, each in their own native language. The results have been significant and initiated reforms by the government and MFIs while numerous other communities have requested the FinLit training as well.

Part of Angkor's environmental, social, governance (ESG) platform, which runs parallel to the exploration and development activities, is to undertake needs assessments with the surrounding communities and assist in activities for communities to gain control of their livelihoods and manage their needs. Angkor also integrated Cambodia's first national agreement between industry and indigenous communities for stakeholder benefits. The top requests from communities continue to be:

• Improved education especially in English and computer applications;
• Improved health care with clean water and sanitation solutions;
• Economic development and employment/skill set training;
• Security of land title and ownership.

The delegation was also interested in the practices of education and health access from the training centre to the latrine and clean water projects. Continuing collaborative projects like enhanced livelihood from bamboo and economic development with skill set development were discussed during the presentation.

About Angkor Resources Corp.

Angkor Resources is a public company, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, and is a leading resource optimizer working toward mineral and energy solutions across Canada and Cambodia. Angkor's carbon capture and gas conservation project in Saskatchewan, Canada, is part of its long-term commitment to environmental and social projects and cleaner energy solutions across expanding jurisdictions.

The company holds three mineral exploration licences in Cambodia and its subsidiary, EnerCam Resources, was granted an onshore oil and gas licence of 7,300 square kilometres in the southwest quadrant of Cambodia.

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