H.E. PEN Thirong, is currently an Under Secretary of State, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and a Deputy Secretary-General of the General Secretariat, Steering Committee of the Public Financial Management Reform, who leads the preparation of draft rules and regulations for managing public investment projects. He is also a member of the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC), Director for Cambodia at the board of directors of the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF), and Alternate Director for Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
H.E. PEN Thirong received, in 1991, a Bachelor Decree in Trade Economics from the Economic Science Institute (now renamed to "National University of Management"), Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In 1997, he obtained his Master's in Financial Economics from the University of London, England. In 2005, he also held another Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Ateneo De Manila University, Graduate School of Business, Manila, Philippines. From late 1991 to 1994, he started working as an Accountant in the Provincial Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce. In 1995, he joined the Ministry of Economy and Finance as a Financial Officer and then as a Chief of ADB Unit in 1996-2000 and was a deputy director of the department of investment and cooperation in 2000-2001. Later, H.E. PEN Thirong was appointed as the First Deputy Director, Department of Investment and Cooperation upon his return from the ADB where he served as an advisor to ADB’s Board of Directors, Manila, Philippines, during 2002-2005. H.E. PEN Thirong used to serve as a Head of Technical Secretariat for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in MEF and played an active role in the negotiation process for establishing AIIB while he was a Deputy Director-General of the General Department of Budget. In 2016, he was promoted to Director-General of the General Department of International Cooperation and Debt Management of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and served as the position until mid-2020. Currently, he has been appointed as an Under Secretary of State, MEF. He is also a Permanent Deputy Head of the Technical Working Group on Formulation Policy Framework on Development of Government Securities.