Economy and commerce
Thai and Cambodian trade fair on the road
In a joint effort to promote trade ties, government officials in Cambodia and Thailand have organised the first “Caravan Fair” in which producers within the neighbouring countries will showcase their products to one another. The Cambodia-Thailand Caravan Fair 2013, a travelling event starting on June 25 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061966350/Business/thai-and-cambodian-trade-fair-on-the-road.html
New name, same airline
Grounded Tonlesap Airlines has changed its name to Wat Phnom Airlines, an official with Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation said yesterday, about two months after the local chartered carrier suspended all of its flights. Wat Phnom Airlines is now in the process of applying for ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061966352/Business/new-name-same-airline.html
New Coal Plant to Tackle Blackouts
National energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) on Monday announced that a 50-MW coal-fired power plant in Preah Sihanouk province is ready to come online this week and will solve Phnom Penh’s chronic blackouts. The statement does not mention which power plant had been completed, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/new-coal-plant-to-tackle-blackouts-31220/
Cambodia shrugs at Gambia’s import ban
Gambia’s recent announcement that it would ban rice imports in about three years to spur local demand will only have a small impact on Cambodia, which sends a portion of its annual output to the west African country and other nations on the continent, data ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866317/Business/cambodia-shrugs-at-gambia-s-import-ban.html
Skyscraper’s woes continue
The saga of the stalled $240 million Gold Tower 42 was revived last week when it emerged that a supplier for the project had accused the owner and builder of failing to pay out nearly $500,000 in fees, according to an injunction request obtained by ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866319/Business/skyscraper-s-woes-continue.html
Australian Police Say Appropriate Steps Taken in BHP Bribery Case
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said Monday they have taken the necessary steps to investigate claims that the world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton, bribed officials in Cambodia and played down reports that it had mishandled one the country’s largest cases in corporate corruption. “The ...
Eight More Charged Over Violent Factory Protest
A court official at the Kompong Speu Provincial Court said Monday that a total of 16 union representatives have been charged with damaging property and inciting violence during a protest outside a garment factory earlier this month, twice the number of arrests previously confirmed. Provincial Judge ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/eight-more-charged-over-violent-factory-protest-31214/
Kingdom, Hong Kong boost ties
Economic cooperation between Cambodia and Hong Kong is on the rise, while the introduction of a new visa extension is also evidence of strengthening relations, officials say. On June 1, Cambodian officials will be able to travel to Hong Kong without a visa and stay ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866316/Business/kingdom-hong-kong-boost-ties.html
Japanese Mizuho Bank to Open Representative Office
One of Japan’s largest banks will open a representative office in July due to burgeoning interest in Cambodia most likely by Japanese investors, a bank official said yesterday. Mizuho Financial Group will open a small office in Phnom Penh Tower on Monivong Boulevard on July 8, ...
Cambodia to receive 4.5 million tourists by 2015
Cambodia expects to welcome 4.5 million tourists by 2015, increasing from 3.5 million in 2012, thanks to its cultural properties, Prime Minister Hun Sen said. “Undoubtedly, heritage and cultural tourism are playing a substantial part in this growth. Twenty years ago, when Angkor was inscribed on ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=MDI0MmQ3MGJlNmR
BHP bribery scandal not thoroughly investigated
Reports have today emerged criminal allegations that BHP Billiton employees bribed officials in Cambodia and China were not thoroughly investigated by the Australian Federal Police, with the matter instead being passed over to corporate regulator ASIC, which also ran no in-depth investigation. The documents released ...
http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/bhp-bribery-scandal-not-thoroughly-investigated
Troubles for Tonlesap Air
About two months after Phnom Penh-based Tonlesap Airlines suspended its chartered flights, the local carrier’s future seems as cloudy as ever. Vann Chanty, the director of air transport with Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said yesterday that the airline had not resumed operations and that ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061766300/Business/troubles-for-tonlesap-air.html
Cassava farmers rely on Thai seed imports
Cassava farmers in Banteay Meanchey province had to import seeds from Thailand this season in response to rapidly-changing weather conditions that interfered with seed growth. Te Haing, a cassava farmer in Banteay Meanchey who planted more than 1,000 hectares this season, told the Post yesterday that ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061766299/Business/cassava-farmers-rely-on-thai-seed-imports.html
India seeks to enhance trade links
An Indian business delegation visiting Cambodia hopes to boost bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism and transport, officials said yesterday. Meeting with key Cambodian officials, Director General of the Indian Chamber of Commerce said the Kingdom presented many opportunities for India. ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061466268/Business/india-seeks-to-enhance-trade-links.html
Hundreds Protest Over Forest Land Seizures
More than 700 villagers from five provinces yesterday protested in front of the provincial government headquarters in Kompong Chhnang after losing their community forests to large agro-industry firms. Organized by the Cambodian Grassroots People’s Assembly- a network of communities that includes forestry and land activists as ...
Cambodia eyes to become region's prominent gems, jewelry market
Cambodia has eyed to become a precious stone and jewelry hub in Southeast Asia region in the near future, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said Thursday. Speaking at the opening of the 5th international gems and jewelry fair here, the minister said that with the fast ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-06/13/c_132452793.htm
Cambodia, China's Guangxi pledge to broaden cooperation
Cambodia and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Thursday vowed to further enhance cooperation in trade, investment, and tourism for mutual benefits. The commitment was made during a meeting between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Peng Qinghua, secretary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region’s CPC Committee, ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-06/13/c_132453081.htm
Bank to join growing group from Taiwan
Taiwan-based Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank Ltd plans to open a representative office in Cambodia, joining an increasing number of Taiwanese banks and garment industry investors in the Kingdom. Shanghai Commercial & Savings would enter a crowded sector, behind other Taiwanese-based financial intuitions [sic]. Hua ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061366235/Business/bank-to-join-growing-group-from-taiwan.html
ICT sector progress in countryside still behind
While Cambodia’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector has seen progress, a huge gap between ICT development in urban and rural areas still exists, industry experts said in Phnom Penh yesterday. ...
Hong Kong offers visa free travel to officials
Cambodian diplomats and a range of government officials can now travel to Hong Kong without a visa and stay for 14 days under a new exemption agreement with the commercial Chinese city, officials said. The new exemption took effect on June 1, according to a statement ...
Mobile Payments Set for Phnom Penh Eateries
Diners may soon be able to leave their wallets at home the next time they decide to eat at a restaurant in Phnom Penh. Starting next week, WING, a Cambodian mobile payment service provider, will introduce a new service that allows people to pay their restaurant ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/mobile-payments-set-for-phnom-penh-eateries-30765/
Poipet Vendors Protest Corrupt Border Officials
More than 800 street vendors and drivers of taxis, tuk-tuks and motorcycles working the border area between Banteay Meanchey province and Thailand yesterday marched through Poipet City calling for an end to the rampant corruption being carried out by border officials. Migrant workers who cross ...
Poorest nations win intellectual property waiver
The world’s poorest nations have won an eight-year extension of a waiver on intellectual property rules at a session of the World Trade Organisation’s TRIPS Council. A session of the 159-nation WTO’s TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) Council has ruled the waiver for 34 ...
Cambodia's largest port sees 14 pct rise in cargo shipment in 5 months
The Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, the kingdom’s largest shipping facility, has seen a 14 percent increase in cargo shipment in the first five months of this year thanks to growing business activities, a port senior official said Wednesday. During January-May period this year, the state-owned port had ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-06/12/c_132450037.htm