Economy and commerce

The Ministry of Commerce generated more than $82 million this year in customs and public services, according to the ministry’s annual report. ...

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) recorded its highest ever trading volume on Monday, exchanging 2,150,535 shares with a total value of more than $4.43 million, according to a CSX press release. The previous record was 939,498 shares traded on July 5, 2017. ...

The Kingdom’s total exports for this year increased more than 23 per cent from last year to $10.36 billion, led by garments and agro-products, according to the Ministry of Commerce’s annual report. ...

To encourage more young people to become entrepreneurs, the government must prioritise improving the process of starting and registering a business, reducing capital requirements, and expanding access to finance, experts said last week. ...

Eleven development projects in the Kingdom were approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), bringing $297 million in total investment and more than 6,000 jobs to the Kingdom’s industry, according to a CDC press release posted on Facebook on Friday. ...

China’s Henan Yuguang International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co Ltd (HYIETC) has expressed interest in investing in the Kingdom’s rice facilities – a move welcomed by the government and the rice industry.​ ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday lauded the Chinese developer behind Koh Kong province’s $3.8 billion tourism project, despite it causing a decade-long dispute with the villagers there. “The Union Development Group [UDG] transformed the quiet area in Koh Kong province into an attractive tourist ...

An assessement of plans to build a groundbreaking trade logistics centre west of Phnom Penh will begin soon, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation said. An early stage feasibility analysis of the Phnom Penh Logistics Complex is set to begin early next year, supported ...

Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia is expected to diversify into finance and banking in the near term, offering microlending services to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), said Peter Wong, Southeast Asia and South Asia regional director at the Hong Kong Trade Development ...

Cambodia’s parliament is reviewing a five-year ban on more than 100 members of the main opposition party, which could allow them to return to politics, following threats by the European Union to deny duty-free trading access to the Southeast Asian nation. ...

The first deliveries of salt from China arrived on Tuesday at Sihanoukville port after an agreement for a 30,000-tonne import was inked last month, said Bun Baraing, the co-president of the Salt Producers Community of Kampot-Kep (SPCKK). ...

Malaysian companies are set to explore export opportunities for chemicals and chemical products in Vietnam and Cambodia through Malaysia External Trade Development Corp signature export promotion programme, Export Acceleration Mission. ...

Both Cambodia and Myanmar heavily depend on the European Union’s duty and quota free trade agreement. But the European bloc believes it is time that these countries address human rights abuses. ...

The Centre for Policy Studies yesterday urged the government to consider reducing tax on some imported agriculture equipment to support farmers and increase the rate of modernisation. CPS director Chan Sophal said during a Cross Talk discussion with Khmer Times yesterday that recently the agriculture ...

Government officials and private sector leaders on Friday reiterated their calls for all small and medium-sized enterprises to join the regulatory fold. Public officials and representatives of employers’ organisations assured business owners that the recently announced tax incentives are not a “trap” and that registering ...

Cambodian commercial banks are showing a stronger preference to provide riel loans to microfinance institutions (MFI) as they rush to increase the share of local currency in their loan portfolio to at least 10 per cent by the end of next year. ...

Cambodia’s three major sugar companies produced 120,126 tonnes of raw sugar in the first nine months of this year, said a Ministry of Industry and Handicraft report. It said Rui Feng (Cambodia) International Co Ltd produced 56,664 tonnes, Yellow Field (Cambodia) International Ltd (51,420 tonnes) ...

The potential cancellation of the Everything-but-arms (EBA) scheme will not have an impact on development projects in Cambodia funded by the European Union, according to George Edgar, the EU Ambassador to Cambodia. ...

The government has formed a new federation for the country’s pepper industry to enhance the market and solve challenges in the sector, as the cash crop is currently facing depressed prices. The Cambodia Pepper and Spice Federation was jointly formed last Friday by the Ministries ...

The production of more than $58 million worth of 60-megawatt solar-panels has begun in Kampong Speu province after the project was approved in May by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), provincial governor Vy Samnang said. ...

More than 100 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were registered during the first three quarters of this year, and officials expect the government’s tax incentive policy for SMEs to boost growth, said a Ministry of Industry and Handicraft report. The SMEs – 105 of ...

Cambodian land rights activists have accused Chinese investors of fueling land disputes through unscrupulous land acquisition and development. The advocates made the comments during a two-day meeting in Phnom Penh earlier this month. ...

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Thailand reached $3.16 billion in the first nine months – an increase of 14.08 per cent year-on-year. Imports to Cambodia were worth $2.65 billion, representing a 19.26 per cent increase in contrast with exports to Thailand that was valued at ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday slammed critics over claims that China is “invading” Cambodia, calling the argument “crazy”. Speaking to members of Cambodian diaspora in Geneva, Switzerland, Hun Sen said some people were concerned about the influx of Chinese nationals who live and work ...