Economy and commerce

Kasikornbank, Thailand’s fourth-largest lender by assets, plans to open its first branch in Phnom Penh by August, according to a report from Nikkei Asian Review. ...

The government will consider suspending its $50 per ton export duty on rubber following lobbying by local producers who say they are operating at a loss due to the sharp fall in global prices for the commodity, Agriculture Ministry secretary of state Eang Sophalleth said ...

Cambodia’s microfinance sector experienced another year of explosive growth, with both lending and deposits surging over 40 per cent in 2015, according to new data by an industry association. ...

Although bilateral trade between India and Cambodia remains low, investors from the subcontinent are eying the market here for its potential as a regional hub for their agricultural, machinery and industrial products, B. Sarkar, executive director of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India, ...

Government officials are encouraging Japanese investors to channel more funding into the country’s booming construction and property development market, with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction rolling out the red carpet for them. ...

Since its launch in 2005, ANZ Royal Bank has grown to become one of the top-end banks in Cambodia, and has increased its focus on core areas of e-banking, corporate clients and introducing efficiencies in its operations. ...

A Eurocham business confidence survey has revealed that 81 per cent of respondents – members of the business association – planned to increase investments and expand their operations in the Kingdom, but viewed transparency and the lack of skilled human resources as the major downsides ...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide a $50 million financing package to Amret Co to help the Cambodian microfinance institution increase lending to smaller businesses, particularly those in the agriculture sector and rural areas, it said in a press release. ...

A former MEC Co. Ltd shareholder was tried in absentia by the Court of Appeals yesterday morning for allegedly defaming his former company and MEC’s chairman, former Cambodian Prime Minister Ung Huot, in 2014, according to a court official. ...

Korean companies have expressed an interest in expanding into Asean, mostly in the high-tech and information technology (IT) sectors. According to a report in the Bangkok Post. ...

Total premiums for general insurance rose 16.4 percent last year to about $61.6 million, from $53 million in 2014, with property, fire, vehicle and medical insurance leading the way, the Insurance Association of Cambodia said yesterday. ...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide a $50 million syndicated loan to Acleda Bank to boost lending to small and medium enterprises, of which at least half will support women-owned enterprises, it said yesterday. ...

Thailand’s Wave Entertainment Plc will expand its steak restaurant chain to Cambodia next year, according to reports in Thai media. ...

The government of the Southeast Asian kingdom wants to increase the number of Chinese tourists, with Macau investors perceived as a major catch.   ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a direct appeal to businesses in the United States to increase investment in Cambodia, ahead of the US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands California, and just days after Deputy Prime Minister Sok An spoke with officials from the US Embassy here ...

Australian banking giant ANZ has come under fire for its response to a scandal over its financing of a sugar plantation previously linked to forced evictions and child labour in Kampong Speu province. ...

Thai oil company PTT is looking to expand its retail liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business into Cambodia and other Asian markets, a company executive said yesterday. ...

In September, the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) an­nounced a new initiative to im­prove access to financing for cash-strapped small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ...

Efforts to integrate of Southeast Asia’s economies are beginning to bear fruit, experts say, although there is some way to go before the goal of turning the region into a single market and production base can be reached. ...

As Prime Minister Hun Sen attends the US-ASEAN Summit in California today, government officials are in the midst of ongoing negotiations with their American counterparts to formulate a trade and investment agreement, which analysts say could be a stepping stone towards one day joining the ...

The ASEAN-Korea Centre held a Cambodia-Korea Investment Forum at the Raffles Le Royal Hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Feb. 2. ...

JWD InfoLogistics Plc is planning to expand its business to the Cambodian market with the launch a real estate investment trust (REIT) worth 2 billion baht (about $56.4 million) this year to finance its expansion in ASEAN, according to a report in the Bangkok Post. ...

Acleda Bank, Cambodia’s largest bank, is morphing its existing training centre into a full-fledged educational institution, after obtaining a licence last month. The new institute will look to provide bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, with majors in finance and banking. The Post’s Sorn ...

Kerry Express, a subsidiary of WorldBridge International (Cambodia), yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)  with  state-owned Cambodia Post to expand delivery services in the Kingdom, executives and officials said after signing the MoU yesterday. ...