A group of 10 armed soldiers stormed a Forestry Administration office in Oddar Meanchey province on Monday and attempted to seize a military truck that had been confiscated from them after they used it to transport illegal timber, leading to an hourslong standoff, officials said.​ ...

The government decided to drop a 10 percent value added-tax (VAT) for rice products during a meeting on Wednesday between representatives of the rice sector and government officials at the Council for the Development of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, officials said.   ...

State-owned Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), one of three companies listed on the stock exchange, will pay out more than $3 million in dividends for 2015 on April 18, a 50 percent increase on 2014, reflecting its improved performance, company officials said. ...

As protesters were being arrested during peaceful demonstrations in Phnom Penh on Monday morning, the new chairman of the government’s human rights committee held a press conference to reassure the public that the country’s human rights situation was stable.   ...

Cambodia’s ambassador to Australia was told by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday to respond to allegations that he and his staff have been illegally selling large quantities of tax-exempt alcohol and tobacco to a store in Melbourne.   ...

The Thai government plans to build a special economic zone (SEZ) worth about $141.6 million in Sa Kaeo, which borders the Kingdom’s Banteay Meanchey and Battambang provinces, to serve SMEs that aim to expand their business into Cambodia, according a Thai media report. ...

A senior Interior Ministry official tasked with investigating the 170,000 thumbprints submitted in support of a CNRP petition to the king said on Thursday he had received samples of the prints but would be unable to proceed with his work without more money. ...

Garment manufacturer Gran d Twins International (GTI) will pay out a reduced cash dividend for 2015 as a result of net profits dropping by 70 per cent last year compared to 2014, the company said yesterday in a filing to the Cambodian Securities Exchange (CSX). ...

Widespread corruption among government officials is thwarting Cambodia’s efforts to combat human trafficking, the U.S. State Department said in an annual assessment that upgraded the country’s ranking, but found that it still failed to meet minimum standards.   ...

Election officials toured the country during this week’s Water Festival holiday to investigate a recent sharp drop-off in the pace of voter registrations, but no glaring issues were found, a National Election Committee (NEC) spokesman said on Wednesday.   ...

While stakeholders have lauded the government’s move to establish a bond market, in a bid to raise more funds from domestic sources, they, however, expressed concern that not enough has been done to inform the public on how debt security can support government spending. ...

Private sector industry leaders speaking at an investment conference yesterday in the capital railed on the high cost of electrical power, which they said was sapping their competitiveness, while state officials offered assurances that state-backed power generation schemes would soon bring prices down. ...

The government will spend at least $12 million to relocate the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) and build a cultural center on four hectares of land in Chroy Changvar district, while the old university buildings will be used to expand the National Museum. ...

Mong Reththy Group, an agro-industrial conglomerate that invested heavily in the mango sector, is expanding markets for exports to Russia and Hungary. Group president Mong Reththy said the new markets will increase group exports from Cambodia to 5,000 metric tons a year. ...

In celebration of World Water Day on Wednesday, the US embassy held the Cambodian premiere of the US documentary “A Plastic Ocean” – an award-winning documentary on the impact of plastic waste around the world – at Aeon Mall’s Major Cineplex.   ...

The government has lashed out at the U.S. and E.U. over their criticism of the detention of five current and former rights workers in Cambodia for more than a year, adopting the language of its critics by calling their statements “politically motivated.” ...

A second ship accused by the NGO Mother Nature of illegally exporting dredged ocean sand last week is expected to arrive at a port in China today with a cargo of silica sand, which is exempt from the ban, the ship’s owner said yesterday. ...

A CNRP television spot featuring former party president Sam Rainsy may have been rejected on Monday, but the country’s main opposition has found other ways to promote the exiled leader in its campaigning ahead of the June 4 commune elections.   ...

Two of the country’s biggest garment workers’ unions have asked the government to make factories give their workers three days of paid leave and provide loans for travel expenses to allow them to return to their hometowns to vote in the upcoming local elections. ...

As the country now focuses its attention on the commune elections, the real estate sector has quietened down slightly to observe the situation. However, Worldbridge Land’s chairman Sear Rithy is unperturbed as he prepares to launch another large-scale development in the capital. ...