Economy and commerce

Cambodia spent more than $414 million on imported construction materials to meet increasing demand in the local construction and property sectors last year – a rise of 7 per cent compared to 2012. According to officials and industry insiders, the increased value of imports reflected steady ...

Cambodian casino operator, Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp, is trying to reach deals in order to fly gamblers from Macau and mainland China to its gaming resort in Phnom Penh, according to media reports. Hong Kong media quoted NagaCorp chief financial officer, Philip Lee Wai Tuck, as ...

Most tuk-tuk drivers have to continuously vie with each other to attract tourists’ attention, but Oung Hour gets it without even trying. As he stands on the sidewalk near the riverside, groups of tourists point at his bright mustard-yellow tuk-tuk, its smooth fiberglass body shaped like ...

About a year after offering the country’s sole agriculture policy, Forte Insurance is struggling to sell coverage. “We still need time to get farmers to understand the benefits of agricultural insurance,” said Youk Chamroenrith, director and general manager of Forte. “We have four clients signed up ...

Acting on direct orders from Prime Minister Hun Sen, Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong on Tuesday called on municipal officials to strictly monitor the companies that collect daily fees from the city’s market vendors. Mr. Hun Sen called out the governor in a speech on ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over a ceremony at his Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on Tuesday to unveil a new report that assesses the government’s foreign trade policies over the past seven years and lays out a policy roadmap for the next five. The report, ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday said that the foreign direct investments in Cambodia would increase in 2014, thanks to the country’s favorable and open policies. Hun Sen made the comments during a ceremony to launch Cambodia Trade Integration Strategy at the Peace Palace. ...

Cambodia exported 21,536 tons of milled rice in January of 2014, down 4,190 tons (16%) compared to 25,726 tons exported in the same period of last year, according to a report on agriculture, forestry and fishery. ...

A month after a call for civil servants to strike for higher pay, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday ordered government ministries to ensure that staff are paid on time, and said that otherwise workers could air their grievances in the press. The prime minister’s remarks, ...

Cambodia’s rice exporters are eager to sell more of their goods in the United States and tap into the world’s largest economy. Speaking at the International Export Market Research for Cambodian Rice seminar in Phnom Penh yesterday, Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice Cambodia, one of ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday took a stand against intimidation and harassment at markets, ordering municipal and provincial governors to crack down on aggressive fee collectors they employ. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the capital’s Royal School of Administration, Hun Sen distanced himself from what ...

Cambodian labourers may soon be recruited to construction sites in the United Arab Emirates, where conditions are described as “tragic” by human rights groups. The Lebanon-based company that would hire the workers under the prospective scheme, Agostine & Raphael Group, is run by Middle Eastern tycoon ...

Mobile payment company Wing and the Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) of Cambodia on Monday announced they had joined forces to expand the bank’s already-existing prepaid Visa card network in an effort to make it easier for locals without bank accounts to have access to electronic ...

Stringent rules to prove that rice exported from Cambodia is actually from Cambodia will be detailed today, according to a copy of a joint agreement between the Ministry of Commerce and industry associations. The Code of Conduct seeks to reassure the European Union that rice is ...

A group of eight villagers from Stung Treng and Ratanakkiri provinces facing displacement by the construction of the Lower Sesan 2 dam lodged a petition Thursday with the Chinese Embassy and three ministries demanding that the developer negotiate with them. “The affected families have never been ...

PAL Holdings Inc., the operator of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, said Wednesday it will pursue the plan to invest in Cambodia Airlines. The airline operator said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the “ongoing preparations for the completion of the contemplated joint venture agreement between ...

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation says Cambodia’s aviation market grew briskly for the second consecutive year as national and foreign airlines added routes to China amid a surge in Chinese nationals visiting the country. The centre reported Cambodia has emerged as one of the fastest ...

Despite the depressed market conditions throughout Europe in 2013 Cambodia’s export to the EU skyrocketed. The country is well under way to take over Taiwan’s leading position in bike export to Europe. Between January and October 2013 Cambodia’s bike export showed a huge increase of no ...

Cambodia’s exports to the United States, the country’s biggest market, were valued at about $2.8 billion last year, a three per cent rise from $2.7 billion in 2012, according to fresh statistics from the US Department of Commerce. Ken Ratha, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of ...

Overall revenue from Cambodia’s booming tourism sector reached $2.5 billion last year, according to Tourism Minister Thong Khon. Khon said in an interview on Tuesday that the figure, which does not reflect the amount the state collected in taxes on the sector, marked a 15 per ...

Residents embroiled in a long-running land dispute in the Borei Keila area of Phnom Penh’s Prampi Makara district on Wednesday tore down three metal fences and occupied an unfinished apartment block at the site. The fences were felled with axes by irate residents, who took the ...

In late January, five of the 10 chickens owned by Leng Lal, a subsistence rice farmer in Kratie province, suddenly died. Although Mr. Lal, 40, said he knew the dead birds might be dangerous and he should burn and bury the carcasses, he instructed his 8-year-old ...

After the Court of Appeal denied bail to 21 jailed protesters on Tuesday, 16 labor unions and associations announced Wednesday that they will retaliate by calling a nationwide labor strike in the middle of March. The unions, which mainly represent workers in the garment industry, said ...

Last year, the United Nations called for culture to be given top priority in the post-2015 global development agenda, citing its importance to economic growth, social inclusion, equality, and sustainable development. It is difficult to quantify the impact culture has on a nation, particularly for a developing ...