Aid and development

Cambodia is expected to be able to produce about half the energy it needs by 2035, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), but the Kingdom – along with its neighbours – should also consider integrating their energy grids, which would bring about more competitive ...

A Ying Dong Shoes representative yesterday denied claims his factory employs workers as young as 13 and shares an owner with Wing Star Shoes, where two died in a ceiling collapse on May 16. Chan Kosal, a representative of Ying Dong, a supplier to Asics, said ...

Severe rain and hail storms hit several provinces on Tuesday leaving one person dead, more than 10 injured and nearly 200 houses destroyed or damaged, the National Committee for Disaster Management reported yesterday. ...

The Garment Manufactures Association of Cambodia (GMAC) and International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Better Factories Cambodia yesterday asked factory owners to voluntarily conduct structural audits on their buildings in light of building collapses at two garment factories that killed two people and injured 23. “In the ...

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 ...

The family of a worker who was killed when a ceiling collapsed at Kompong Spue province footwear factory lasts week has accepted 9,000 in compensation, and in return has agreed not file a complaint against the company, the deceased’s wife said yesterday. Rim Sarouen, 22, ...

The ILO is preparing to name Cambodian garment factories failing to comply with local safety requirements. The International Labour Organisation says Cambodian garment factories refusing to comply with safety requirements have one last chance before they are named and shamed. Jill Tucker, chief technical advisor for ...

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 ...

A gold mine shaft has collapsed in Preah Vihear province, trapping at least seven miners, officials said Monday. The collapse took place in a shaft that is typically mined by up to 60 people at a time, he [Rovieng Police Chief Sin Thorn]. Sin Thorn said ...

Cambodia launched Tuesday the second phase of cassava development project under the support of China and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Cambodia and China signed a Protocol on the Exports of Cambodian Cassava to Chinese Market in December 2010, under which China allowed Cambodia ...

More than 20 people fainted yesterday at the Wing Star Shoes factory in Kampong Speu province, where two workers were crushed to death in a ceiling collapse last Thursday. Workers and union officials said an electrical short-circuit scared workers returning for the first time since the ...

The dining hall of a garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district that supplies clothes to U.S. brand Gap collapsed into a pond Monday, injuring more than 20 workers who were eating lunch, workers and officials said. The hall, which is part of Top World Garment ...

For the second time in five days, Cambodia’s garment industry has been rocked by another partial collapse of a structure at a factory. Garment workers are reporting that at least 10 people, including a pregnant woman, have been injured after a concrete platform collapsed into a ...

The European union’s executive arm has responded to its parliamentarians’ concerns over rights abuses stemming from Cambodia’s economic land concessions, maintaining that, should the need arise, it “will be ready” to withdraw from its preferential trade agreements with the Kingdom. In a joint letter to concerned ...

Employees at a Taiwanese-owned shoe factory in Kompong Speu province where two workers were killed when one of the building’s floors collapsed on Thursday have been ordered back to work today, despite ongoing concerns from labor activists about the building’s safety. While conceding that some parts ...

The trade commissioner and foreign affairs representative of the European Union (E.U.) have turned down a request from 13 members of the European Parlia­ment that they immediately investigate Cambodia’s much criticized economic land concessions, but said they were monitoring the issue closely. In a March letter ...

The Japanese athletics brand ASICS said Friday that it would push its four Cambodian sub-contractors to join a programme that monitors conditions in garment and shoe factories. “We will strongly request to our sub-contractors in Cambodia to sign up to this programme,” Katsumi Funakoshi, ASICS ...

Labor rights activists and a government official accused the International Labor Organization’s Better Factories Cambodia program of ineffectiveness in its monitoring of factory conditions following a deadly ceiling collapse on Thursday at a shoe factory in Kompong Speu province. Moeun Tola, labor program head of the ...

Australia announced yesterday that it will increase the amount of aid it provides Cambodia by about US$13 million (A$13.2 million) in the coming year, putting the country’s official development assistance at $96.1 million. ...

The deaths of at least two Cambodian workers and injuries sustained by 10 colleagues at a shoe factory southwest of Phnom Penh once more shine a light on conditions in the global garment manufacturing industry. Thursday’s accident at the Wing Star Shoe factory in the Cambodian ...

Hundreds of families in Koh Kong province’s Khmara Phoumint City are suffering from a shortage of water, which is provided by a reservoir that dried up during the hot season, local officials said yesterday. Smach Meanchey and Dang Tong communes typically receive water from the Cham ...

The National Assembly of Cambodia on Friday ratified the agreement on maritime transport between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, saying the agreement is essential to develop trade and economic ties between ASEAN and China. “The agreement aims to facilitate and foster ...

China’s assistance to Cambodia is very important for the country’s economic and social development, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Keat Chhon said Tuesday. He said from 1992 to present, China has provided 2.7 billion U. S. dollars in soft loans and grants to ...

Cambodia’s National Assembly on Tuesday adopted a draft law on fire prevention with jail term punishment for arsonists, neglected firefighters, and false information providers on fires. Ninety-four out of ninety-seven lawmakers, who were present at the session, passed the law, saying it would help maintain security, ...