Aid and development

Cambodia’s economic productivity is in trouble, struggling with an inability to turn a youthful population into a skilled workforce and stunted by an over-reliance on agriculture, according to a new World Bank report. In Cambodia and Vietnam, diversification of labour from the farming sector contributed to ...

A soaring population and increased migration to urban areas will create demand for more than a million new homes by 2030, according to a draft national housing policy. Approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday after a series of revisions, the draft highlights the increasing ...

Xu Qiliang, visiting vice- chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, on Thursday visited a group of 10 Chinese doctors working at the Preah Ketomelea Hospital, known as the Military Hospital, in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Xu was accompanied by Chay Saing Yun, secretary ...

Cambodia lacks the skilled labor force necessary to advance the economy and the government must find ways to create more valuable work as it faces fierce regional and international competition, according to a new report released Thursday by the World Bank. The report, “East Asia Pacific ...

The Chinese government on Thursday donated 10,000 U.S. dollars to the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) to support humanitarian activities. Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo presented the donation to CRC’s president Bun Rany during the celebration of the 151st anniversary of the World Red Cross — ...

The government could save nearly $100 million between now and 2020 if it passes the draft traffic law and enforces mandatory helmet usage as soon as possible, a road safety group said Wednesday. Madeleine Carr, an advocacy and strategic planning advisor with the Asia Injury Prevention ...

A World Bank-supported rubber company accused of land grabs has suspended some of its projects, as an investigation by the bank continues. The Hoang Anh Gia Lai company, which received support from the bank’s International Finance Corporation, said in a decision following an April 2 ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday insisted that the Cambodian government has not turned down any of its recommendations for helping thousands of families hurt by a bank-funded project, claiming that talks over how to compensate and support the families were still underway. Last week, ...

The government has agreed to review its resettlement agreement with families relocated from railways as part of an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded rehabilitation project, but has refused a recommendation to set up a debt-relief scheme for the evictees, according to an action plan released by ...

The manager of Giant Ocean International, a now-defunct recruitment firm notorious for abuse scandals, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in jail for trafficking hundreds of Cambodian fishermen to work in slave-like conditions overseas. Taiwanese national Lin Yu-shin, who ran the firm, was arrested in May ...

Cambodian deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Tuesday met with two United Nations senior officials to discuss relations and cooperation between Cambodia and UN on social and economic development and human rights.     The two officials are Haoliang Xu, assistant to the UN secretary ...

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) revealed its plans Monday for a Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City expressway that will halve travel time between the two cities. At an estimated cost of $2.2 billion, the initial target date for completion of the expressway is ...

The U.N.’s deputy high commissioner for human rights, Flavia Pansieri—who is on a week­long mission in Cambodia —has been asked to address an arbitrarily enforced ban on public assemblies, which has been in place since January. In a letter dated Monday, Muth Chantha, secretary-general of the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Cambodia was eager to have Japanese investors to build factories and produce goods for exports to the world market. The premier made comments during his meeting on Sunday with Tishimitsu Gotegi, Minister of Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Industry of ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday forecast Cambodia’s economy will grow by 7.2 per cent this year, 0.2 percentage point higher than last year. ...

As much as $320 million is being lost annually as a result of Cambodia’s reliance on the US dollar, while a longstanding mistrust in the riel means there is less of the local currency in circulation, restricting the national bank’s ability to respond in times ...

Residents of property development site, Boeung Kok, on Thursday gathered in front of an office of World Bank in Phnom Penh in order to present petition to the World Bank. They were seeking intervention from the World Bank to help solve years-long land dispute in their ...

Cambodia’s tax department is under-resourced and understaffed, thereby hindering its ability to generate revenue, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) analysis released earlier this month. The analysis, which took into account survey results from 22 tax revenue bodies across Asia between 2012 and 2013, paints ...

The Asian Development Bank announced Wednesday that it will provide $81.7 million, including a $6.7 million grant from Australia, in additional financing to help Cambodia recover from catastrophic floods in late 2013. The flooding affected 1.7 million people and caused an estimated $356 million in damage. ...

Nearly 500 women were tested this month in a screening drive at Phnom Penh’s Calmette Hospital for human papillomavirus (HPV), two strains of which are known to cause cervical cancer, but the free Pap smear was advertised as being available only to married women. Hav Monirath, ...

In an effort to bolster China’s cultural influence and expand bilateral ties, the Chinese government last week donated $203,000 to support the Kingdom’s increasingly popular Chinese-language classes. The funding was transferred last Thursday to the Chinese Association in Cambodia, which said it plans to expand class ...

Cambodia is encouraging green industry development in order to minimize impact on environment and reduce emission of greenhouse gas, Minister of Industry and Handicraft Cham Prasidh said Monday. Speaking at the Green Industry Seminar, Prasidh said currently industry has seen rapid growth but contributed to increasing ...

The U.N.’s human rights office in Cambodia expressed concern Monday that 22 detained protesters may not be allowed to attend their trials on Friday, while the government insisted that the prisoners will be transported to the court. Two minors were arrested for intentional violence for their ...

The world’s wealthiest person, Bill Gates, and his wife, Melinda, made a brief appearance in the border town of Pailin on Saturday, where their foundation funds projects to combat drug-resistant malaria. According to staff at the Memoria Palace & Resort, the philanthropists met with health ministry ...