A group of 17 union leAders will demAnd $179.60 when they sit down for the lAtest round of negotiAtions this week to determine the minimum wAge in the gArment sector, which employs more thAn 600,000 CAmbodiAns. The monthly minimum wAge is currently $140. The new figure <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/unions-will-negotiAte-for-A-180-minimum-wAge/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Farmers hit by drought in Battambang this year are already benefitting from a new crop insurance product for rice farmers introduced by Forte Insurance, with at least 60 families in two districts of the country’s main rice-growing province collecting payments so far. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/new-insurance-product-gives-rice-farmers-a-break/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In the latest twist in a long-running dispute over a protected community forest in Battambang province, villagers disgusted by rampant land grabbing have begun scrambling for a piece of the action. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-forest-disappears-in-the-scramble-for-land/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

More than 6,400 residents of Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia have signed and thumb-printed a statement on the Don Sahong Dam project, airing concerns ranging from the river’s diminishing fish stocks to the lack of transparency of the Mekong River Commission. The statement, presented last week <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/mekong-locals-seek-a-voice-on-don-sahong/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The falling price of rice in asia due to the slowing global economy and intensifying regional competition is taking a toll on Cambodian exporters and farmers even though exports jumped more than 20 percent last month compared to January last year, executives said. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/falling-rice-price-taking-a-toll-on-exporters/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A new species of Ant hAs been discovered in CAmbodiA by reseArchers from JApAn. Its nAme is CremAtogAster indosinensis, And it is described in AnnAls of the EntomologicAl Society of AmericA. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/A-new-species-of-Ant-found-in-cAmbodiA/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Vietnamese investors shied away from the Cambodian market during the first half of the year as the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) failed to register a single qualified investment project (QIP) from Vietnam during that period for the first time in its 22-year <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/investment-from-vietnam-hits-a-dry-patch-cdc/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In Cambodia, as credit becomes increasingly available, more people are taking loans from microfinance institutions to help with migration.as of June 2015, microfinance institutions lent more than $2 billion, compared to $1.6 billion dollars in 2014, according to the Cambodia Microfinance association. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/microcredit-a-double-edged-sword-strategy-for-migration/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A freshwAter Mekong dolphin wAs found deAd yesterdAy morning on A river bAnk Prek Prosob district, KrAtie province, where only only About 80 Mekong dolphins remAin, According to officiAls. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/A-fresh-wAter-dolphin-found-deAd-in-krAtie/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

In Roka commune, money is getting tight.after an HIV outbreak in 2014 saw 264 people infected in the small northwest Cambodian village, aid flowed in, showily. The prime minister’s wife delivered hundreds of kilos of rice, the health minister brought socks and sarongs, nongovernmental organizations <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/jobs-or-health-a-cambodian-villages-stark-choice/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Lawmakers from both the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) and the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) were able to reach consensus and move forward on several aspects of the draft union law yesterday, revising seven of 21 articles that had been flagged by union groups <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/kingdoms-union-law-a-work-in-progress/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodia’s controversial ambassador to South Korea, Suth Dina, has released a public plea to Prime Minister Hun Sen to safeguard his job, amid what appears to be an investigation by the Foreign affairs Ministry into his office, it emerged yesterday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/korea-envoy-claims-govt-probe-a-setup/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Prince Finance Plc is moving to support the efforts of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) to promote the use of the riel by using the domestic currency in all transactions, fees, loans and staff salaries, the microfinance institution’s managing director, Hon Sorachana, told a <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/mfi-joins-effort-to-push-a-riel-economy/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

AcledA BAnk Plc., the country’s lArgest commerciAl bAnk by brAnches, hAs seen rApid growth in online trAnsActions &ndAsh; now About $500,000 A month &ndAsh; since it lAunched its e-commerce pAyment gAtewAy lAte lAst yeAr, A senior executive At the bAnk sAid yesterdAy. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/AcledA-e-commerce-hits-500000-A-month/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Cambodia’s capital market regulator held a forum yesterday on regulations and safeguards for the derivatives market, laying out the inherent risk and reward of the poorly understood financial instrument that has until recently operated with no oversight. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/regulators-keeping-a-close-eye-on-derivatives-market/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In Cambodia almost anyone who sees a doctor or goes to hospital, is given an injection or put on an intravenous drip. This is what patients want, and what medical staff give them &ndash; it has become part of the healthcare routine. But it has <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/a-country-in-love-with-injections-and-drips/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The ministry of Education announced the results of the grade 12 high school exams on Saturday afternoon, noting that 405 of the 89,661 students who enrolled to take the exam received an a grade, a marked improvement on the previous year and a “surprise” for <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/405-get-an-a-in-high-school-exams/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties have steamrolled through the legislative process and are likely to be signed into law this week, kicking up a chorus of concerns from the opposition, civil society and international rights groups. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/whats-in-a-name-srp-faces-rebranding/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Ente Nazionale Risi (ENR), Italy’s national rice agency, has raised concern over increased European rice imports from countries such as Cambodia, according to rice industry publication Oryza. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodian-rice-exports-cause-a-stir-in-italy/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Cambodians go to the polls early next month to elect more than 12,000 district officials, but the ballot is also shaping-up as a showdown between the two major parties amid threats of civil war and a crackdown on political dissent in the lead-up to national <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/commune-elections-a-big-test-for-hun-sen/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>