Economic policy and administration

Some 500 supporters of union leader Vorn Pao and 24 others arrested during a string of garment worker protests since November will rally in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday on the second day of their trials, a union official said. All 25 ...

When Sor Songheng, a manager for an accountancy firm, wanted to replace his cheap Nokia phone a few months ago, he set his heart on a top-of-the-line iPhone 5S worth $780—nearly his entire monthly salary of $800. But instead of scrimping and saving for months to ...

A meeting at the Ministry of Mines and Energy on Friday about plans for a controversial hydropower dam in Koh Kong province failed to assuage fears among those trying to stop the project that construction had already been approved. During Friday’s meeting, officials from the ministry ...

Savings levels at Cambodia’s microfinance institutions (MFIs) have recovered well since the widespread withdrawal that followed last July’s disputed national election, with more than $90 million deposited in the first quarter of this year. The amount of deposits in MFI accounts fell from $378 million in ...

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) says its Ibis Rice project has recorded a production surplus for the first time in its five-year history, prompting a bid to export the boutique product overseas. Concentrated in Preah Vihear province, Ibis Rice farmers produced more than 435 tonnes of ...

On the sidelines of a government event marking International Labor Day, Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng on Thursday blamed recent strikes in Bavet City on unnamed provocateurs, but said efforts were underway to resolve the dispute. He also said that a government-ordered shutdown of the 30-plus ...

Police in Svay Rieng province on Tuesday arrested a garment worker for allegedly breaking a car window during a strike that turned violent in Bavet City the day before, and have filed complaints to the provincial court against two union representatives accused of defamation. The arrest ...

Revenue among insurance firms increased 14 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, according to figures released Tuesday by the Insurance Association of Cambodia (IAC). From January to March, insurance premiums generated $13.86 million compared to $12.15 million the year before, ...

Cambodian authorities on Wednesday refused permission for the 18 opposition-aligned trade unions and associations to celebrate an International Labor Day event on May 1 at the capital’s Freedom Park. “The Phnom Penh Municipality does not allow the trade unions and associations to organize this event at ...

BAVET CITY, Svay Rieng province – The government has ordered all factories here to shut down until Thursday at the earliest in a bid to keep escalating strikes from spiraling out of control and spreading nationwide. “[Provincial] Governor Chieng Am said in a meeting yesterday [Monday] ...

Aeon Co, the Japanese firm developing the soon-to-be-opened Aeon Mall on Phnom Penh’s Sothearos Boulevard, has reported a record $62.3 billion in revenue for its financial year ending February 28. The company, which has more than 260 subsidiaries, including the shopping centre development arm Aeon Mall ...

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 ...

Construction on Cambodia’s $2.3 billion oil refinery has been set back again, this time due to planning delays, the project’s local partner, Cambodia Petrochemical Company (CPC), confirmed yesterday. The landmark oil refinery was slated to begin construction in December 2013 following a $1.67 billion loan from ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen will officially open the country’s premier international investment conference in Phnom Penh later this year, according to the event’s organisers the International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC). The event, which will take place on October 6th ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen will open Cambodia’s International Investment Conference in Phnom Penh later this year, the International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC) said in a statement yesterday. To be held over two days, the event will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Phnom Penh, ...

Cambodia will end customs fees for milled rice exports with effect from May 1, 2014, in order to reduce production costs and boost Cambodia’s competitiveness in the international market, according to local sources. ...

Sharp has scored its first international order for its transparent PV panels with a 27.5kW deal in Cambodia. The Osaka-based electronics group will provide 290 of its NA-B095AA see-through panels, as well as inverters and balance of plant (BOP) services, for a cafe in a shopping ...

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. ...

The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, has chosen 2015 as the year to realize its economic integration as the ASEAN Economic Community. Yet, there are only several months left, ASEAN doesn’t seem​ to be ready. How can ASEAN realize this goal? Although ...

Garment and footwear industry, Cambodia’s largest income earner, reported a 16 percent surge in exports in the first three months of 2014, the figures of the Ministry of Commerce showed Monday. The Southeast Asian nation exported apparel and footwear products in equivalent to 1.56 billion U.S. ...

Environment Minister Say Sam Al met with private firms with land concessions last week to gauge their compliance with government rules and regulations, and adherence to their own contracts. Amid mounting local and international pressure, Prime Minister Hun Sen in mid-2012 ordered a freeze on ...

Trade unions may have failed to get a stay-at-home strike for higher wages off the ground after the Khmer New Year earlier this month. But a strike for bonus pay is picking up steam in Svay Rieng Province, where some 20,000 garment workers protested at ...

An ice-skating rink, bowling alley, seven-screen cinema and a proverbial catwalk of high-end European and US labels will start vying for a slice of Cambodia’s rising middle class inside the soon-to-open AEON Mall, management with the firm overseeing it confirmed on Saturday. The Japanese-owned shopping centre’s ...