Economy and commerce
Investment
Russian Firm Steps Up Dam Deal
Laos has stepped up plans for three hydropower dams on Mekong River tributaries, updating an eight-year-old deal with a Russian investor to build the projects for U.S. $1.5 billion. Lao authorities signed a project development agreement with Russia’s Regional Oil for the Sekong 4, Sekong 5, ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/hydropower-02062013151208.html
Aeon considering more malls in Phnom Penh
More than 4,000 people attended a ceremony in December last year that saw Japan’s largest shopping mall developer and operator, Aeon, breaking ground on its three-storey mall in Phnom Penh, and the company says it is already considering building more in the capital. Aeon Mall ...
Ambition Trumps Reality in Investment Figures
Since 2008, a whopping $28 billion worth of investments has been pledged by local and international firms looking to set up luxury hotels, a new airport and even Cambodia’s first horse racing venue. But a closer look at the list of investments approved by the Cambodian ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/ambition-trumps-reality-in-investment-figures-9387/
The great mobile shake-out
Mobile phone subscribers in Cambodia have had little to complain about in recent years. With six new operators entering the market since 2006, the result was oversaturation and an all-out price war as eight operators fought for a foothold in a country with fewer than ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/334187/the-great-mobile-shake-out
Singaporean law firm expands to Cambodia
Rajah & Tann, Southeast Asia’s largest law firm, has expanded to Cambodia through a tie-up with local law firm Sok & Heng, which has taken on a new name, RT Sok & Heng Law Office. Rajah & Tann’s deputy managing partner, Patrick Ang, estimates that there ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020561178/Business/singaporean-law-firm-expands-to-cambodia.html
$4m restaurant reflects growing Chinese presence in Cambodia
Old Place Seafood, a Chinese restaurant that cost $4 million, has opened in Phnom Penh. A representative of the restaurant, which is opposite the Chinese embassy, said the growing number of Chinese people in the Kingdom had justified such an investment. Luu Meng, president of the ...
Japan's businessmen visit Myanmar, Cambodia for investment opportunities
A delegation comprised of Japan’s top business leaders, known as Keidanren, began a six-day trip to Myanmar and Cambodia Monday, seeking new business and investment opportunities there. Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, is leading the delegation and said he hopes that meetings with ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-02/04/c_132150013.htm
Cambodia to boast its first tractor factory
Cambodia will soon boast its first tractor assembly plant, with operations expected to begin by the third quarter of this year. The one-hectare plant, in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district, is a joint venture by Belarus-based Minsk Tractor Works, one of the world’s biggest tractor producers, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020461165/Business/cambodia-to-boast-its-first-tractor-factory.html
New Year to boost plant sales in Phnom Penh
Sales of plants and flowers will reach a high during the Lunar New Year celebrations in Phnom Penh, which start on Sunday, as more customers than ever before buy floral decorations for their houses, flower shop owners in Phnom Penh predicted. “During the weekend many people ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020461162/Business/new-year-to-boost-plant-sales-in-phnom-penh.html
Unionists cry foul over rejection
K-Cement workers who were told they could not form a company-wide union because their workplaces were “separate” entities have now had their application to register individual unions rejected by the Ministry of Labour, union leaders said yesterday. Sok Kin, vice president of the Building and Woodworkers ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020161139/National/unionists-cry-foul-over-rejection.html
Bangchak plans petrol stations in Cambodia
Bangchak Petroleum, a majority state-owned oil refiner and retailer in Thailand, said it wants to open five petrol stations in Cambodia, with the first station opening in 2014, the Bangkok Post reported last week. Tui Rutten, president of the Thai Business Council of Cambodia did not ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020161112/Business/bangchak-plans-petrol-stations-in-cambodia.html
Unpaid Factory Workers Ask US Embassy for Help
More than 100 workers from Kingsland Garment Cambodia factory, which was a supplier to U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh yesterday, appealing for help in getting their severance payments. In December, workers found out the company had declared bankruptcy ...
South Korea leads Asia’s big three as Cambodia’s leading investor
South Korea replaced the UK as the largest investor in Cambodia last year, with about $287 million injected, 12.5 per cent of the total foreign direct investment, according to data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). This represents 33 per cent ...
Foreigners buying Phnom Penh condos
The number of foreigners who bought condos in Cambodia increased by between 30 and 40 per cent in 2012 compared with 2011, a recent study showed, while 997 condo units currently belong to foreigners. Nuon Rithy, general manager of the Bonna Realty Group, said that according ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013061082/Real-Estate/foreigners-buying-phnom-penh-condos.html
Hun Sen promotes price lists for public institutions
Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged public institutions to provide clear terms of reference for the services they provide, as part of an effort to attract investment in the Kingdom. Institutions that did not implement this policy would be punished under the law, he said. ...
Ministry Lists Fees to Help Firms Avoid Graft Claims
The government has publicly issued lists showing the costs of fees that businesses must pay to authorities for various services, in an effort to help companies avoid making informal payments made illegal by the anticorruption law. The lists were drafted during the past year after Cambodia ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ministry-lists-fees-to-help-firms-avoid-graft-claims-8434/
Cambodia attracts $2.28 bln investment projects last year: gov't report
Cambodia had granted licenses to 157 domestic and foreign investment projects with a total investment of 2.28 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, according to a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) on Tuesday. Domestic investors topped the chart among all investors last ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-01/29/c_132136638.htm
Last Year Saw More New Firms Register
Almost 3,400 new businesses were registered in Cambodia in 2012, an increase of 9 percent on the previous year, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce. In 2012, the ministry’s business registration department recorded some 3,385 new companies, compared with 3,104 new companies in 2011, ...
Better to Ride These Bikes Than Make Them
Cambodia’s export business is in the process of changing due to shifts in manufacturing in Asia. A business publication in the country has reported unexpected growth in the “machinery and transport equipment” sector and speculated it was as [sic] “probably bicycles.” But when Cambodia jumped ...
http://www.iede.co.uk/news/2013_750/better-ride-these-bikes-make-them
Cambodia begins to construct 3-storey stock market building in capital center
Cambodia’s Securities Exchange (CSX) on Monday broke ground for the construction of a 3-storey building in the heart of Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. “The construction of the building reflects the government’s firm stance in developing the stock market and the building will build ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/28/c_132133406.htm
Israel envoy pledges to boost tourism, agriculture ties with Cambodia
Bangkok-based new ambassador of Israel to Cambodia Simon Roded on Monday expressed Israel’s desires to promote bilateral ties with Cambodia in tourism and agriculture. Speaking during presenting credentials to President of Cambodia ‘s National Assembly Heng Samrin, who received the credentials on behalf of King Norodom ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/28/c_132133078.htm
Burger King to Open at Phnom Penh Airport
U.S. fast-food chain Burger King is set to open its first restaurant in Cambodia next month, an official confirmed yesterday. Advertisements have gone up at the Phnom Penh International Airport bearing the famous Burger King logo, with a message saying that the chain is “Coming soon.” ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/burger-king-to-open-at-phnom-penh-airport-8309/
Opportunities for Cambodian growth
China’s transition from export-led to domestic-led growth, combined with the rising costs of production, could provide opportunities for Cambodian growth and diversity, analysts say. Faisal Ahmed, the IMF representative for Cambodia, said the Kingdom was already experiencing an increase in trade activity as a result of ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012560983/Business/opportunities-for-cambodian-growth.html
Denso To Turn Out Motorcycle Parts In Cambodia
Denso Corp. (6902) will begin making motorcycle parts in Cambodia in July, responding to growing production of vehicles in Southeast Asia. The autoparts manufacturer will establish a production subsidiary in Cambodia in April. Plans are to lease a plant in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone ...