A national car for Cambodia
UK-based BIW automotive company on Friday signed a US$2 billion join venture investment with ACICA Automotive (Cambodia) to build a factory in Preah Sihanouk province for a Cambodian-made vehicle within the next three years.
The agreement was made between BIW’s director Robin Bowyer and ACICA’s Group
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091758751/Business/a-national-car-for-cambodia.html
Changing a culture of impunity
Despite the recent spate of high-profile arrests and deportations, analysts, attorneys and civil society groups are divided on whether the Kingdom is finally beginning to live down its reputation as a haven for the fugitives and criminals who have long been drawn to the country
A migrant state of mind
A lone Cambodian woman was found sitting outside Phnom Penh International Airport late on Tuesday night by patrolling police.
Smiling to herself, with a vacant expression, she was unable to explain where she came from or what she was doing, but a Malaysian stamp was found
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012041255582/National-news/a-migrant-state-of-mind.html
European body sends a message
The European Parliament, representing one of the country’s largest donors, on Friday called for a moratorium on forced evictions, an overhaul of elections and even went so far as to suggest to the European Union that it suspend tariff-free imports of agricultural goods linked to
A road runs through them
UP AND down a 4km stretch of highway on the northern outskirts of Phnom Penh, about 3,000 of Cambodia’s Cham minority have built a life. Their distinctive Muslim culture thrives in conditions of close-knit community, a stark contrast to the shattering days the country endured
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/01/cambodia%E2%80%99s-cham
Blueprint for a reformed NEC
In the week before the National Election Committee was formed in December 1997, Chheng Phon predicted he had a tough road ahead.
“If you ask me personally, I must say I do not want this job,” the inaugural boss told the Post from the banks of a canal
Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/blueprint-reformed-nec
Alcohol a concern, say children
Though a bit young to be socio-political analysts, Cambodia’s children are major believers in the social value of education, are wary of the negative side effects of alcohol on their communities and place a high priority on honest government, a study released yesterday says.
According
Stuart White
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/alcohol-concern-say-children
A confronting force on streets
As protests against land grabbing have increased in Phnom Penh in the past five years, so too have violent crackdowns by the authorities.
Police have been criticised for their treatment of protesters – which has included beatings with electric batons and kicks to the stomach of
Shane Worrell and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/confronting-force-streets
Memories of a land unspoiled
The constant hum of chainsaws almost drowned out Buddhist monk Sam Kim Sath, 65, as he stood this week in a wildlife sanctuary on Oral Mountain, Cambodia’s highest peak.
Forest in the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary, in the eastern part of the Cardamoms, is being “obliterated”
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/memories-land-unspoiled
Embracing a place called home
Before this past September, Nov Borom, a 52-year-old mother of five, lived with both a tenuous housing situation and HIV.
But through a collaboration of several NGOs who sought to provide Cambodia’s most vulnerable people with housing able to withstand the region’s rainy season and floods,
Sean Teehan and Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/embracing-place-called-home
Life as a brokered wife
Barely able to make enough money to survive in her hometown, Sok Chenda* picked up her passport and a few belongings last year and headed to the provincial capital of Kampong Cham.
It was a journey she would regret.
The eldest daughter among five siblings, Chenda, 28,
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/life-brokered-wife
Agriculture insurance a hard sell
About a year after offering the country’s sole agriculture policy, Forte Insurance is struggling to sell coverage.
“We still need time to get farmers to understand the benefits of agricultural insurance,” said Youk Chamroenrith, director and general manager of Forte. “We have four clients signed up
Chan Muy Hong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/agriculture-insurance-hard-sell
A logging free-for-all
The scale of mass logging in once-dense woodlands in Cambodia’s north now more closely resembles the free-for-all of a gold rush than the sustainable forestry more often associated with these communities.
With the financial backing of powerful businessmen, villagers in three districts of Preah Vihear are
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/logging-free-all
A factory or family dilemma
Being placed on consecutive short-term contracts in Cambodia’s predominantly female-staffed garment sector is forcing many women to choose between a family and a factory job, unionists and rights groups said yesterday.
Ken Chenglang, acting president of the National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia, said many
Amelia Woodside and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/factory-or-family-dilemma
Wedding business a winning proposal
It’s no secret. Weddings in Cambodia are big, colourful and extravagant affairs. Guests drink and eat to their heart’s content, music draws revellers onto the dance floor and the party lasts for hours.
But guests aren’t the only people having fun. Rising affluence paired with a
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/wedding-business-winning-proposal
Not going without a fight
Teng Khorn’s living room is under a tree, his bedroom in a boat hauled up on a slipway for caulking beside the mangroves that lead to his source of income: the sea.
His choice of abode is also his act of defiance against the monolithic Chinese
May Titthara and David Boyle
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/not-going-without-fight
A ride worth the weight
North of the Sesan River, in protected forests that stretch to the border with Laos and Vietnam, illegal timber traders describe a network of bribery that leaves them counting their riels, despite the multimillion-dollar nature of the industry.
In contrast to the large flat-bed trucks owned
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ride-worth-weight
Dam promises are ‘a facade’
With regional consultations on Laos’s Don Sahong dam expected to commence soon, the developers are violating pledges to postpone construction, which is being undertaken by a Chinese company associated with several controversial hydropower projects, the Post has learned
Daniel Pye and Laignee Barron
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/dam-promises-are-%E2%80%98-facade%E2%80%99
A tragic cycle of abuse
Social worker Nong Socheat is well-acquainted with the ugly scope of child abuse. As a counsellor for First Step Cambodia (FSC), a local NGO that focuses on supporting male survivors of sexual assault, she regularly provides support for boys dealing with the aftermath of molestation.
Bennett Murray and Taing Vida
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/tragic-cycle-abuse
A lending alternative to MFIs
Oxfam said it will expand its savings-led community-lending model in Cambodia as an alternative to traditional credit-based microfinance services, which it says are ineffective in reaching the Kingdom’s poorest.
Oxfam’s Saving for Change project, which trains rural communities to form savings groups, now has $5 million
Charles Rollet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/lending-alternative-mfis
