Economy and commerce
Low salt yields leave industry scrambling to keep up reserves
Cambodia may need to import 30,000 tonnes of salt this year to meet local demand as producers face a shortage due to climate change, an industry group says. Bun Baraing, co-director of the Kep-Kampot Salt Producers Community (KKSPC), told The Post on Wednesday that this ...
Cheng Sokhorng
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/low-salt-yields-leave-industry-scrambling-keep-reserves
Rice deal with Papua New Guinea on the table
Cambodian could soon be exporting its world-renowned rice to the Oceanian nation of Papua New Guinea after trade representatives from both countries held negotiations last week. ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50491622/rice-deal-with-papua-new-guinea-on-the-table/
Exports to US up 25 pct in Q1
Cambodian exports to the United States, the world’s largest economy, rose sharply during the first three months of the year following a marked increase in the shipments of travel goods after the US renewed its Generalized System of Preferences in March. ...
May Kunmakara
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50490954/exports-to-us-up-25-pct-in-q1/
World Bank: more skilled worker training needed to sustain Cambodia growth
Cambodia’s economic health remains strong at about 6 or 7 percent annual growth, but the country needs to harness its young population and invest in training and skills to ensure this trend continues, the World Bank said. ...
Hul Reaksmey
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/more-skilled-workers-training-needed-to-sustain-cambodia-growth-says-world-bank/4394843.html
Tax cuts promised for SMEs that register with GDT
In order to bring more businesses into the regulatory fold, the government has promised attractive new incentives for companies that register before December, including a two-year break on tax revenue. ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50487285/tax-cuts-promised-for-smes-that-register-with-gdt/
Trilateral discussions in agricultural trade begin
Representatives of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam gathered yesterday in Phnom Penh to discuss ways of improving trading procedures in Asean, particularly in agricultural goods, as part of a workshop organised by German development agency GIZ. ...
Chea Vannak
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50484131/trilateral-discussions-in-agricultural-trade-begin/
Kampong Speu authorities confiscate nearly 20 kilograms of wildlife
Kampong Speu Military Police, along with Wild-life Alliance experts, on Wednesday cracked down on a home in Chech village where they confiscated nearly 20 kilograms of live wild animals, officials said on Thursday. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kampong-speu-authorities-confiscate-nearly-20-kilograms-wildlife
Public lot on riverside eyed for major project
Plans appear to be in the works to develop a central stretch of prime riverfront real estate currently owned by a state-run enterprise into a sprawling commercial development, according to sources involved with the landowner, though key government officials professed to be in the dark ...
Hor Kimsay and Brendan O’Byrne
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/public-lot-riverside-eyed-major-project
New cassava factory to operate at full capacity next month
Ratanakkiri’s first cassava-processing plant will operate at full capacity starting next month, producing 300 tonnes of cassava products per day. The factory is now on a test run and is only producing 10 tonnes of cassava products a day, said Soy Sona, director of Ratanakkiri’s ...
Chea Vannak
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50483716/new-cassava-factory-to-operate-at-full-capacity-next-month/
Hun Sen comes to China's defence, praises investment and development aid
Prime Minister Hun Sen used a speech inaugurating a Chinese-funded university in Kratie on Wednesday to defend Chinese investment in Cambodia, which has come under fire in recent months both for its adverse economic side effects and its perceived potential for political influence. ...
Ben Sokhean and Andrew Nachemson
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-comes-chinas-defence-praises-investment-and-development-aid
Report shows China demand will fuel growth of rice exports
Cambodia’s rice production and exports will likely continue to grow this year and next year despite low milling rates, buoyed by strong demand from China, according to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In the report released last week, the USDA ...
Robin Spiess
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/report-shows-china-demand-will-fuel-growth-rice-exports
WB puts GDP growth at 6.9 percent
The economy will grow at a rate of 6.9 percent in 2018, according to the latest report from the World Bank. Other international financial institutions have issued similar forecasts this month, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting national ...
Sok Chan
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50302559/wb-puts-gdp-growth-at-6-9-percent/
Economic outlook positive, ease of doing business still lagging: ADB
Cambodia’s economic outlook remains positive and the economy is forecast to grow at a robust 7 percent this year and next year, according to a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday. Growth in exports, strong foreign direct investment, growing tourist arrivals ...
Hor Kimsay
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/economic-outlook-positive-ease-doing-business-still-lagging-adb
Poipet SEZ signs first lease to Japan firm
Japanese firm Sumitronics signed a lease to become the first tenant at the Poipet Special Economic Zone, which was established as a subsidiary of the publicly listed Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) in 2014. The electronics firm leased a 1-hectare plot of land in ...
Robin Spiess
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/poipet-sez-signs-first-lease-japan-firm
Hun Sen calls for caution amid China-US trade war
Prime Minister Hun Sen warned on Tuesday that a developing trade war between the US and China could affect Cambodia, and said the Kingdom must act to mitigate any potential fallout. In March, US President Donald Trump’s administration slapped tariffs on global imports of steel ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-calls-caution-amid-china-us-trade-war
CDC to issue 35 project certificates in industries
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has preliminarily issued final registration certificates for 35 projects with a combined investment capital of $444 million from January to the end of last month. Once operational, the projects are expected to provide more than 30,335 jobs. ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/50298847/cdc-to-issue-35-project-certificates-in-industries/
NBC warns against unlicensed deposit schemes
The National Bank of Cambodia issued a letter on Wednesday clarifying that only seven microfinance institutions (MFIs) are licensed to accept deposits from the public. The notification came after the central bank noticed several “rural credit operators” – institutions smaller than a typical MFI that ...
Hor Kimsay
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nbc-warns-against-unlicensed-deposit-schemes
EU to probe exports of rice
The European Commission has found sufficient evidence to launch an investigation into whether Cambodian rice exported to the EU puts an unfair burden on European rice farmers, potentially imperiling the Kingdom’s tariff-free exports to the bloc. ...
Cheng Sokhorng and Brendan O’Byrne
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/eu-probe-exports-rice
UN data show nearly half of Kingdom’s rice exports undocumented
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is forecasting that 44 percent of Cambodia’s total rice exports will be smuggled out of the country through informal channels this year, a persistent problem that weighs down profits and threatens to cripple the industry. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/un-data-show-nearly-half-kingdoms-rice-exports-undocumented
Ministry sees strong growth for Kingdom
Cambodia should continue to see steady economic growth at about 7 percent this year despite potential investor caution that could arise ahead of July’s national election, officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) said on Wednesday. ...
Hor Kimsay
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ministry-sees-strong-growth-kingdom
Germany-led meet seeks to get produce to China
Germany’s international development agency (GIZ) held a workshop on Tuesday that promoted Cambodian agricultural exports to China, focusing on the necessary export guidelines and the sanitation standards that are often lacking in the Kingdom’s agricultural value chains. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/germany-led-meet-seeks-get-produce-china
Government timber figures belie ‘ban’ on Vietnam trade
A series of quarterly reports from the National Bank of Cambodia raises questions about the government’s ban on timber exports, as they show that last year, more than $5 million in sawn timber was exported from the Kingdom. The latest report, released earlier this month ...
Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-timber-figures-belie-ban-exports
NBC promotes riel liquidity
Commercial banks and microfinance institutions have acquired more than 209 billion riel in riel liquidity, worth $52.4 million, from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) since the central bank began its liquidity-providing collateralised operation (LPCO) in October 2016. ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/50116187/nbc-promotes-riel-liquidity/
Program aimed at speeding up export launched
The Commerce Ministry officially launched a program yesterday giving the authority to issue certificate of origin licences to four provinces along the Thai border, potentially expediting the export process for agricultural businesses in the region. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/program-aimed-speeding-export-launched