Economy and commerce

A group representing some of the largest apparel brands in the US and Europe – including Gap, H&M and ASOS – expressed “growing concern” on Tuesday over several controversial labour laws and ongoing court cases against unionists described as restrictive and unjust. ...

According to the latest forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Cambodia economy will grow by 7 percent this year on the back of higher public spending and steady growth in construction and tourism. The IMF’s forecast is slightly higher than the figure released by the ...

Local rice miller and exporter Amru Rice has started reaping the benefits of its partnership with the International Financial Corporation (IFC), beginning to collect rice from farmers working under contract farming schemes in Kampong Cham province. ...

Hong Kong’s top economic official will lead a 48-person delegation to Cambodia on Monday and Tuesday to explore business opportunities related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, according to a release from the official’s office. ...

Farmers of Kampot pepper have had a rough planting season due to climate change, but the decrease in production is unlikely to seriously affect the market, according to the head of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA). ...

Cambodia’s salt producers are suffering from a catastrophic harvest season that is likely to deplete their reserves and threaten the industry’s future prospects, according to leaders of the country’s largest salt federation. ...

The validation agreement between China’s State Intellectual Property Office (Sipo) and Cambodia will enter into force by the end of this month, helping protect Chinese invention patents in the kingdom. ...

Local group OTK Royal One signed a partnership agreement this week with Chinese firm Huasi Group to build a 62-storey commercial building in Phnom Penh. ...

Local real-estate firm Grand Lion Group reached a deal with US-based Marriott group to manage and operate a new five-star hotel in the coastal city of Sihanoukville. ...

The Institute of Standards of Cambodia developed 63 new standards last year, bringing the total number of certifications available from the government to 868, though one industry representative said the system still needed improvement in order to facilitate exports. ...

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) signed a partnership agreement with a business development company on Monday in an attempt to increase awareness about the country’s stock market among entrepreneurs. ...

A new cement factory in Battambang province will come online on Friday with an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of cement, according to Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem. “We will have finished four cement factories that can produce nearly 7 million tones ...

The government is forming an interministerial committee to review an application from a Chinese firm to build another hydropower dam in Koh Kong province, according to a spokesman from the Mines and Energy Ministry. ...

New resorts, restaurants and casinos could be coming to Bokor National Park after environment officials endorsed an “improved” plan for the mountain along with oknha Sok Kong’s hotel company, according to the government’s news agency. ...

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces chief of joint staff Hun Manet has said he disagrees that Preah Sihanouk province, where Chinese investment in hotels and casinos has skyrocketed, will become a second Macau. Lieutenant General Manet made the comment on Monday during a ground-breaking ceremony for the ...

Government officials today shot down rumours that Cambodia would be issuing its own national cryptocurrency, despite international media coverage and a high-profile government official’s plan to attend an event organized by the company responsible for the claims. ...

Officials are negotiating cash compensation for hundreds of villagers in Kandal province who will likely be displaced to make way for a massive airport project. Villagers and officials met at Kandal Stung District Hall yesterday to discuss the land dispute, one of several that have ...

The US sent its first shipment of food-grade soybeans to Cambodia last week, exporting a total of 14 tonnes to both Cambodia and Myanmar to be processed in the receiving countries, according to US media reports. The shipments were sent to soy milk and tofu ...

Sixteen additional crocodile farms have been approved under an international conservation treaty to export Siamese crocodiles, bringing the total number of recognised farms in Cambodia to 21, according to a government official. ...

Brick prices in Cambodia have risen sharply in the last year, a trend that has accelerated over the first two months of this year due to growing demand from the rapidly developing coastal town of Sihanoukville. The price of 10,000 bricks hovered around $180 early ...

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) yesterday officially launched a website and an app to help investors and the public achieve a better understanding of the stock market.​ ...

Cambodia exported about $3 billion worth of goods to the EU in the first nine months of last year, according to Ouch Borith, a secretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Borith’s remarks came at the ministry’s annual meeting and were in response to a ...

A task force established a month ago to address problems stemming from an influx of Chinese investment to Sihanoukville has not received a single report of illegal businesses or taken any enforcement action, with one official maintaining it was impossible to take “serious” action for ...

The government will begin to pay out of pocket for severance wages for labourers at abruptly shuttered factories whose owners have fled, effectively enacting a pro-worker policy without further burdening private businesses – albeit at the risk of discouraging good corporate citizenship, experts say. ...