The volume of goods shipped has grown steadily in the three months since South Korean sea shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine began calling at Sihanoukville port, and cargo sizes are expected to double in the coming month, a local company representative said yesterday. ...

Land prices in central Phnom Penh’s Tonle Bassac and Boeung Keng Kang (BKK) districts remained stable in the first half of the year due to overdevelopment and a slowdown in new investments, according to research by a local real estate agent. ...

Turkey’s ambassador to Cambodia alleged on Monday that a top international school in Phnom Penh is overseen by the “terrorist organization” behind last week’s thwarted coup in Turkey—prompting a threat of legal action by the school.   ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday announced that he had instructed Takeo provincial governor Lay Vannak to give land titles to 31 families after they had asked him via Facebook to intervene in their long-running land dispute with the provincial department of commerce. ...

Almost two weeks after the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) announced that it was accepting applications for the newly approved liquidity providers (LPs) option, it admitted yesterday that no one had yet applied, as insiders said they were still unsure of the program. ...

Amid deteriorating relations with Western countries due to the government’s suppression of critics, Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit Cambodia this month for the first time since taking office, according to a Facebook post by National Police chief Neth Savoeun. ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, is holding a second Asia Women Leadership Program (AWLP) event starting today to help senior women government officials develop their potential to become future leaders. ...

The rate at which the population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River is declining has dropped dramatically in recent years, although more dolphins must be protected into adulthood to save the species from extinction, according to a new report released Tuesday. ...

Cambodians generally accept media reports as fact and, despite a surging reliance on the Internet for news, many are still getting information from traditional media outlets aligned with the ruling CPP, according to new research conducted by two freedom-of-information organizations. ...

Garment factory owners in Cambodia asked the government on Thursday to help stop a strike by workers for higher wages, saying the labor action is damaging the investment climate for the industry, the country’s main source of exports. ...

Sara Lamsam, president and chief executive officer, said yesterday that the company has formed a 49:51 joint venture called Sovannaphum Life Assurance with its partner Canadia Investment Holding, the holding company of Canadia Bank, Cambodia’s second-largest bank. ...

The watchdog coalition Electoral Reform Alliance (ERA) yesterday voiced concern after the National Election Committee short-listed its incumbent secretary-general Tep Nytha as a candidate to hold the position, accusing the nine-member body of lacking transparency in its selection process. ...

The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) on Thursday met with the Ministry of Commerce to discuss policies for strengthening the country’s ailing rice industry, and unveiled a plan to develop a price-support mechanism to guarantee Cambodia’s rice export price, officials said. ...

Drought in Southeast Asia is raising concerns in the Cambodian and Vietnamese countryside where salinity levels are rising in the Mekong River and people are skeptical about fresh promises from Laos that it will respect the rights of downstream countries in dam construction. ...

Amret Microfinance Institution, one of the largest in Cambodia’s crowded market, yesterday announced it had received an A- rating from independent rating agency Microfinanza, which is based in Italy, for improving its operation and for its strong performance over the past year. ...

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with South Korean Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Kim Hyoung-zhin at the ministry yesterday morning to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as a host of regional issues, according to ministry spokesman Cham Sounry. ...

More than 200 people representing three Preah Vihear province communities were set to discuss land disputes yesterday when police broke up their public forum, according to Tork Hong, a representative of a local community from nearby Prey Lang forest.   ...

Defence Minister Tea Banh will lead a delegation of about 10 other senior military officials to Vientiane, Laos, to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting from May 24 to 27, which will focus on regional cooperation in defence technology and natural-disaster response. ...

The Foreign Ministry last Thursday secured the release of 23 Cambodians who had been arrested and detained last month for overstaying their visas and working illegally in Malaysia. Another 16 Cambodians detained by Thai authorities for lacking passports were released as well. ...

Cambodia Angkor Air, the Kingdom’s flag carrier, inked an agreement with Singapore-based aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation Ltd yesterday to dry lease two Airbus A320s, with the new planes scheduled for delivery by the end of the year. ...