Economy and commerce

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. ...

The Cambodia Rice Federation yesterday raised fresh concerns about the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), after an online rice-industry portal said the deal will scrap import duties on about 80,000 tons of rice from Vietnam per year and that this could start this year. ...

The Federation of Associations for Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia is planning to propose that the government set up special economic zone (SEZ) for small and medium-sized sized enterprises (SMEs) so that they can work in clusters, saying this will enhance their productivity, increase ...

Australia-listed Southern Gold has completed its divestment of its Cambodia’s subsidiary Southern Gold Asia, saying there was little interest among its investors in the company and that it would focus on its Cannon gold mine in Western Australia, according to a press release from the ...

Japanese-owned Hotel Okura Co. Ltd. on Monday reached an agreement with TEHO Development Cambodia Pte. Ltd. – a subsidiary of Singapore-listed TEHO International – to develop and manage a luxury hotel in Phnom Penh as the company as part of its expansion in ASEAN, a ...

Cambodian rice exports are finding new markets and rising demand in ASEAN this year, but officials and exporters are not linking this to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), saying it was too early to tell what impact the regional trade bloc – which took effect ...

With the American economy expanding, Cambodia’s total export to the country increased  slightly more than 9 per cent last year over 2014, the latest US trade data shows. ...

Three local NGOs have filed a com­plaint with international sug­ar industry group Bonsucro for re­admitting Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol even though thousands of fam­ilies forced off the company’s for­mer plantations in Oddar Mean­chey province have yet to be fully compensated. ...

Cambodian trade officials are urging their Chinese counterparts to boost imports of Cambodian rubber, cassava, sugar and pepper to narrow the trade imbalance between the two countries, officials said after a meeting last week. ...

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong is in China this week for official talks aimed at strengthening trade and security ties. ...

The Association for Rubber Development in Cambodia will submit a letter to the government asking it to suspend export taxes on rubber due to the sharp decline in its price and to prevent more farmers from going out of business, its secretary general, Men Sopheak, ...