Families to file complaint with IFC over rubber plantations
Some of the hundreds of families losing land and community forest to Vietnamese-owned rubber plantations in Cambodia’s northeast will this week file a complaint with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) over the investment it has made in the plantations’ parent company. Eang Vuthy, executive director of ...
Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/families-to-file-complaint-with-ifc-over-rubber-plantations-51765/
UDG accused of farming instead of building
The Chinese-owned Union Development Group in Koh Kong province is bulldozing swaths of its land concession, originally intended for a massive tourist resort, to plant cassava and palm oil trees instead, a CNRP lawmaker-elect said Monday. Son Chhay, lawmaker-elect and CNRP chief whip, visited the area ...
Lauren Crothers and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/udg-accused-of-farming-instead-of-building-53164/
A refined approach?
Hundreds of trucks hauling sugarcane queue up along the dusty roads that cut a path through a plantation in Kampong Speu province. Their destination: Cambodia’s most advanced sugar refinery. Its owners say the landmark project, run by the Phnom Penh Sugar Company and its president, ruling ...
Daniel de Carteret
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/refined-approach
Australian media cite Hun Sen Facebook page on refugee deal
A post on a Facebook page that Prime Minister Hun Sen has denied is his own was cited Tuesday by both the Sydney Morning Herald and Australia’s national broadcaster as having officially announced the Cambodian government’s agreement to resettle asylum seekers held by Australia. Mr. Hun ...
Alex Willemyns and Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/australian-media-cite-hun-sen-facebook-page-on-refugee-deal-59229/
Amid stable outlook, Moody's confirms Cambodia credit rating
Moody’s Investors Service affirmed Wednesday Cambodia’s government issuer rating at B2 with a stable outlook, stating that recent labour unrest could result in only slightly slower economic growth this year. “Cambodia’s underlying credit strengths are expected to withstand the impact of recent political tensions and labor ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=MmM0MmU3NmU4MmU
Cintri defends fee irregularities to Anti-Corruption Unit
The company responsible for collecting Phnom Penh’s trash has defended its erratic pricing structure in response to an inquiry from the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), which says that numerous complaints have been filed by small business owners. The ACU sent a letter to Cintri (Cambodia) Ltd. on ...
Khuon Narim
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cintri-defends-fee-irregularities-to-anti-corruption-unit-56153/
Talk of betrayal as CNRP loses council race in Prey Veng
Anyone passing through Prey Doeum Thnoeng could be forgiven for pinning the tidy little village for a stronghold of the ruling CPP. Just about every second house along the red dirt road through town sports a bright blue banner with a checkmark next to the ...
Zsombor Peter and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/talk-of-betrayal-as-cnrp-loses-race-in-prey-veng-58973/
Cambodia election proves Facebook more than just a social network
When the National Election Committee (NEC) released its updated preliminary election results this Monday, confirming a narrow win by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), opposition leader Sam Rainsy posted his reaction to the announcement on his Facebook page. Rainsy questioned the release of the ...
Asian Correspondent.com
http://asiancorrespondent.com/111980/cambodia-election-proves-facebook-more-than-just-a-social-network/
Moody’s to review Cambodia's banks for downgrades
Moody’s Investor Services will review ACLEDA Bank and Cambodian Public Bank (Campu Bank) for potential downgrades, according to a release from the rating agency on Wednesday. But the move comes primarily as a response to the global financial crisis and the rating agency’s attempt to realign sovereign ratings with ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012042055668/Business/moodys-eyes-kingdom-banks.html
Policy improves garment workers’ safety but leaves bus drivers deep in debt
An ongoing NGO and Labor Ministry initiative aims to make garment workers’ commute safer by shifting their daily transportation from typically flatbed trucks to enclosed buses, but the costs of the expensive upgrades are being placed on drivers. ...
Sovann Sreypich
https://cambojanews.com/policy-improves-garment-workers-safety-but-leaves-bus-drivers-deep-in-debt/
Union leader Morm Rithy convicted for criticizing Chinese-owned Jin Bei Casino two years ago
Union leader Morm Rithy was arrested after being convicted on charges of incitement to commit a crime following a lawsuit by Chinese-owned Jin bei Group and has been sent to Prey Sar prison where he will serve an 18-month sentence. ...
Khuon Narim and Ly Rosslan
https://cambojanews.com/union-leader-morm-rithy-convicted-for-criticizing-chinese-owned-jin-bei-casino-two-years-ago/
Building Boom Causes Asian Sand Smugglers to Expand
Singapore’s decades-long effort to reclaim land from the ocean has expanded the nation’s coastline and fueled its building boom. But it has also depleted its supply of sand. In recent years, the massive sand shortage has been worsened by export bans by neighboring countries, driving ...
New Kampot Salt Farm Has Big Ambitions
TOEK CHHOU DISTRICT, Kampot province – A donor-backed project launched here on Saturday aims to produce Cambodia’s first export-quality sea salt and invigorate the struggling local salt industry. In a ceremony among Kampot’s vast fields of coastal saltpans and low levees, company representatives from Asia Salt ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/new-kampot-salt-farm-has-big-ambitions-20505/
As Foreign Aid Increases, Questions About Conditions
Cambodia has seen huge growth of foreign aid and loans over the past two decades, but experts are beginning to question its worth—and what conditions might be attached. Total aid from 1993 to 2012 amounts to around $10 billion, with the percentage of aid coming as ...
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/as-foreign-aid-increases-questions-about-conditions/1664821.html
Kingdom’s bourse missing some magic
At the headquarters of the Cambodia Securities Exchange on the 25th floor of Canadia Tower, something seems to be missing. Here, in Phnom Penh’s business heart, the sights typically associated with trading shares – gesticulating, shouting traders, the confusing hand signals, the buzz in the air ...
Anne Renzenbrink
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062166422/Business/kingdom-s-bourse-missing-some-magic.html
Cambodia: A rising star with a falling reputation?
Cambodia’s reputation as a standard-bearer for apparel workers’ rights is wearing thin – and yet the country is a rising star when it comes to attracting foreign investment and increasing exports. There are many reasons to deter brands and retailers from sourcing clothing in Cambodia. The Kingdom ...
http://www.just-style.com/analysis/a-rising-star-with-a-falling-reputation_id117944.aspx
Unlike Past Elections, Property Investors Remain Buoyant
Ahead of elections 10 years ago, people across the country would hoard rice in case the vote sent the country spiraling into a state of turmoil. Businesses across the country would bide their time before making any major investments. And those who could afford to ...
Koh Pich Awash With Development, but Don’t Ask for Details
Business is booming on Koh Pich. Since development began in 2006—and about 300 families were pushed off what was then farmland—the island has slowly grown into the symbol of commercial modernity in Phnom Penh. The developer, Overseas Cambodia Investment Corp., is also extending the island by ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/koh-pich-awash-with-development-but-dont-ask-for-details-36411/
Cambodia Angkor Air plans network and fleet expansion ahead of PAL-backed Cambodia Airlines launch
Cambodia Angkor Air is planning rapid fleet and network expansion as competition intensifies in the Cambodian market. The Cambodian flag carrier is expected to more than double its fleet by the end of 2015 and launch services to several new markets, including mainland China, Hong ...
Cambodia Plantations Not IFC’s First Controversy
In the wake of a new report from environmental rights group Global Witness rebuking the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Deutsche Bank for investing in rubber plantations accused of illegal logging and forced evictions, both institutions have denied responsibility and deflected the blame ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-plantations-not-ifcs-first-controversy-23793/