Cambodia is experiencing a runaway property boom that must be constrained by laws and regulations in order to draw investment from European developers, which are largely absent in the country, experts said at an industry conference in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. Simon Griffiths, senior manager at <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/lack-of-construction-regulations-a-concern/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Some two hundred villagers from Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces gathered yesterday and Wednesday to file complaints at the Svay Rieng provincial police station accusing the purported owner of a local water purification company of cheating them out of some $470,000 in investments. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/group-says-investment-was-a-ruse/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In an effort to centralise tax registrations and improve taxpayer accountability, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) this month passed a raft of changes to the country’s tax registration regulations. Prakas 1139, issued by the MoEF on October 9, states that all legal entities including <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/tax-regulation-gets-a-shake-up/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

When Hay Bunny left her home in Prey Veng province some five years ago to find a job in Phnom Penh, she was not expecting to wind up living in a small tin shack hemmed in by dozens of nearly identical dwellings on a single <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/poor-urban-renters-a-forgotten-demographic/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

During negotiations yesterday, allegedly defrauded workers in Kampong Thom and a recruitment agency hammered out a deal that saw limited compensation delivered to the aggrieved would-be migrants. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/recruiter-aggrieved-recruits-strike-a-deal-2/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

After Admitting there were “mAjor problems” with its resettlement projects eArlier this month, the World BAnk hAs come under fire from Boeung KAk lAke residents in A new report from A humAn rights group. The report by the InternAtionAl AccountAbility Project (IAP), titled BAck to Development, <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/development-A-dirty-word-survey-finds/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Ethnic minority villagers who live in the planned reservoir zone of the Lower Sesan II hydropower project along the Sesan and Srepok rivers have said they will not move from their homes unless the dam company and authorities pay for the removal of their ancestors’ <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/grave-sites-a-concern-at-sesan/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week formally accused a property developer of attempting to defraud him of more than $200,000 he paid for a villa in Tuol Kok district when his name was not transferred to the land title, the businessman’s <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/firm-calls-fraud-case-a-misunderstanding/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

About 50 villAgers living Along the Mekong River in Phnom Penh’s ChbAr Ampov district protested outside their locAl pAgodA SundAy to demAnd thAt Authorities tAke Action AgAinst A compAny illegAlly dredging sAnd from the riverbed. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/villAgers-sAy-dredging-A-dAnger-disturbAnce/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Police arrested a commune official for being mastermind behind a grenade attack in October, which left one person dead, and five others injured when two unidentified men threw a grenade at a group of family members who were having lunch in front of their house. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/commune-chief-behind-a-grenade-attack/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

During negotiations yesterday, allegedly defrauded workers in Kampong Thom and a recruitment agency hammered out a deal that saw limited compensation delivered to the aggrieved would-be migrants. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/recruiter-aggrieved-recruits-strike-a-deal/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Exports of Kampong Speu palm sugar with geographical indication status increased sharply this year thanks to growing demand from South Korea and France, according to a representative of the Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Promotion association’s (KSPSPa). according to KSPSPa president Sam Saroeun, exports of Kampong Speu <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/palm-sugar-hits-a-sweet-spot/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The International Committee of Jurists has given its backing to human rights activist Ny Chakrya, calling for the Cambodian government to end legal proceedings against him. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/adhoc-case-is-a-rights-violation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The recently formed Grassroots Democracy Party (GDP) has taken another step in joining the political mainstream, announcing the appointment of a spokesman yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/new-party-takes-a-new-step/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Social enterprise may be more than just a buzzword if last Saturday’s attendance at Cambodia’s second-ever conference on the matter was anything to judge by. The 350 person-plus crowd of attendees consisted predominately of Cambodians, for whom doing business appears to be about more than merely <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/earning-money-and-making-a-difference/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia and Thailand’s financial exposure to Europe would make the two counties the most vulnerable regionally, an aNZ Bank report showed. The Kingdom’s exports and tourism sectors were on increasingly unstable ground as Europe’s debt crisis advanced. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/anz-report-shows-a-vulnerable-cambodia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A group of eight CAmbodiAns held for rAnsom on A ThAi fishing boAt were freed over the weekend After their fAmilies pAid 1,000 bAht (US$32) per person to A humAn trAfficker in ThAilAnd who is still holding Another nine victims, victims And police sAid yesterdAy. The <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/trAfficked-fishermen-releAsed-for-A-price/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

THIBIDI has begun construction on Cambodia’s first transformer factory. The $2.5 million plant is being built in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone. The plant is the first investment by THIBIDI overseas, as the company is from Vietnam. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/thibidi-keen-to-bring-about-a-transformation/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

  After A slow yeAr in 2010, demAnd for office spAce in Phnom Penh is beginning to rebound As occupAncy levels in new And existing units increAse, reAl estAte experts sAid yesterdAy. However, it is still uncleAr whether or not there is enough demAnd to fill <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/demAnd-for-office-spAce-mAking-A-comebAck/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Government and police officials were at a loss yesterday to pinpoint the whereabouts of the Bavet town governor, who has been identified as a suspect in the shooting of three women at a protest two weeks ago. an arrest warrant had still not been issued for <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/whereabouts-of-bavet-governor-still-a-mystery/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>