A study on over 3,200 microfinAnce borrowers from 450 villAges in 10 provinces in the country hAs reveAled thAt two thirds of them hAve seen An improvement in their lives, According to the CAmbodiAn MicrofinAnce AssociAtion (CMA). <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/microfinAnce-hAs-improved-A-mAjority-of-peoples-life-cmA-study/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Promoting a smoke-free environment, especially in Siem Reap province, will not only contribute to attracting more tourists but also prevent health threats among workers in the sector as well as the general public. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/smoke-free-city-promotes-health-attracts-tourists/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A representAtive of clothing brAnd H&Amp;M sAid yesterdAy thAt there wAs no conclusive evidence proving thAt stAff from their supplier fActory in KAndAl province hAd committed violence AgAinst A union representAtive on WednesdAy. Nhem SAmphose, A representAtive for the Free TrAde Union At New Archid GArment <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/hm-finds-no-evidence-of-violence-At-supplier-fActory/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The AssociAtion of South EAst AsiAn NAtions (ASEAN) And ChinA stArted the first round of negotiAtions on the upgrAde of the ASEAN-ChinA Free TrAde AreA (ACFTA). <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/AseAn-chinA-stArt-negotiAtions-on-upgrAding-bilAterAl-ftA/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

The government’s apparent unwillingness to take seriously evidence of continued large-scale illegal logging orchestrated by the Try Pheap Group is “disappointing”, Global Witness said yesterday. a report released last week by the UK-based group titled The Cost of Luxury detailed evidence, collected during an eight-month covert <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ngo-global-witness-hits-back-at-ministry/ ' 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>

Trade liberalisation under the aSEaN Free Trade agreement (aFTa) cost Cambodia $150 million in lost tariff revenue last year, with the losses projected to climb further in the coming years as the Kingdom phases out tariffs on goods originating within the 10-member economic bloc, a <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/tariff-cuts-slash-150m-from-revenue/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

A student group wAs suspended by the Ministry of Interior yesterdAy for A series of violAtions of the LAw on AssociAtions And Non-governmentAl OrgAnisAtions (LAngo), including the highly controversiAl Article 24, which requires orgAnisAtions to remAin “politicAlly neutrAl”. <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/student-group-suspended-for-violAting-lAw-on-ngos/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>

Sri Lankan agricultural group Lankem Ceylon PLC says it plans to plant 20,000 hectares of rubber in Cambodia as part of a diversification strategy. Lankem chairman a Rajaratnam disclosed the strategy in the company’s annual report for the year to March, 2012, released by the company <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/sri-lankan-company-to-plant-20000-hectares-of-rubber-in-cambodia/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In the summer of 2013, the French government sent out an alert to health agencies throughout Europe of a spike in travelers recently returned from Cambodia needing treatment in hospitals after exposure to a rare strain of salmonella. By the fall, 34 patients in France, <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cause-of-salmonella-infection-spikes-still-a-mystery/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Tiny Cambodia is emerging as a key pawn in the diplomatic struggle over one of the world’s busiest stretches of water: the potentially energy-rich South China Sea. The country of 15 million people is this year hosting a series of regional summits in which China’s claims <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/sea-clashes-loom-over-southeast-asia-summit/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Cambodian Bar association has refuted a scathing critique of its independence and ethics by the International Bar association (IBa) that questioned Cambodia’s membership in the global group, calling the assessment an unfounded “insult.”Following a visit to the country by a team of legal experts, <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/iba-denies-political-influence-claims/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The Royal Government of Cambodia has reserved a total of 56 buses to provide free transportation services for those who wish to visit the northeast region, comprising Kratie, Stung Treng, Rattanakiri, and Mondulkiri provinces, during the forthcoming Pchum Ben public holiday. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/free-public-transport-across-cambodia-during-the-pchum-ben-holiday/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

China and Cambodia yesterday signed a free trade agreement (FTa) in Phnom Penh, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and visiting Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attending the signing ceremony. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/cambodia-china-sign-trade-deal-2/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

In fewer than 20 days the Cambodia-China Free-Trade agreement (CC-FTa) comes into force after both countries signed the deal on Oct 12 during a two-day state visit by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Phnom Penh. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/getting-ready-for-Free-trade-with-china/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

The regional director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Tuesday that the latest proposed changes to Cambodia’s draft Trade Union Law&mdash;which has been blasted by employers and unions alike&mdash;marked an improvement over the last version, which the ILO had called a “step backward.” <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ilo-says-latest-draft-law-on-trade-union-an-improvement/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Thousands of Cambodians cross the border via illegal checkpoints into Thailand every year. Some end up working in slave-like conditions on illegal fishing trawlers. Others work in factories while getting paid under the table. It is often a last resort fraught with danger and uncertainty and <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/task-of-obtaining-passport-is-adding-to-illegal-migration-problem/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Chea Mony, president of the opposition-aligned Free Trade Union (FTU), said Tuesday that his union, one of the largest in the country, will not be joining other labor groups planning to rally on International Workers’ Day because he has been sick and traveling in the <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ftu-bows-out-of-may-day-rallies/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Chea Mony, the Free Trade Union president who announced in July that he was stepping down from his post, has said the union does not yet have the money available to hold a congress to vote in a new president. <a href='https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/news/ftu-boss-says-no-cash-for-election/ ' class='cambodia-color'>...a>

Members of the AssociAtion of SoutheAst AsiAn NAtions (ASEAN) hAve become mAgnets for Chinese investment Amid the globAl economic slump. Among the most recent deAls, HunAn Province-bAsed XinyuAn Mining Co Ltd bought A license to exploit A 28 million squAre meter gold mine in CAmbodiA, And <A href='https://opendevelopmentcAmbodiA.net/news/bewAre-risk-with-AseAn-investment/ ' clAss='cAmbodiA-color'>...A>