Economy and commerce

Cambodia’s 35 microfinance institutions had lent 1 billion U.S. dollars to customers by the end of March this year, up 24 percent from 808 million U.S. dollars it lent at the end of last year, the data of Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) showed Wednesday. On the ...

The two-way trade volume between Cambodia and the United States valued at 758 million U.S. dollars in the first three months of this year, up only 0.8 percent compared with 752 million U.S. dollars over the same period last year, the statistics of the U.S. ...

More than 50 engineers employed by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd. to work on a new Neak Loueng Bridge in Kandal province protested on Wednesday over paying income tax of 10 percent and are threatening to go on strike again if their employer dose ...

Three companies accused of illegal logging in Ratanakkiri province are in possession of a combined 30,000 hectares of economic land concessions (ELCs) that are likely illegal because they are owned by the same parent firm. Hoang Anh Andong Meas, Hoang Anh Lumphat and Hoang Anh Ouyadav ...

The Boeung Kak community and a land rights NGO yesterday released a proposed demarcation plan they say could solve the long-standing land dispute. In a map presented yesterday, villagers said they had agreed on a land division that would make room for 70 families locked out ...

BANGKOK: Demand for farmland may strip the Greater Mekong region of a third of its remaining forest cover over the next two decades without swift government action, a leading conservation group warned Thursday. Forests are being cleared for commodities such as rubber and rice while illegal logging is decimating ...

The Ministry of Commerce has released figures showing Cambodia’s export of fishery goods including fresh and dried fish products have decreased drastically in the first quarter of the year, though several government officials viewed the figures with scepticism. Cambodia exported 49.9 tonnes of fish products in ...

Cambodia Angkor Air is planning rapid fleet and network expansion as competition intensifies in the Cambodian market. The Cambodian flag carrier is expected to more than double its fleet by the end of 2015 and launch services to several new markets, including mainland China, Hong ...

Cambodia announced two major bilateral trade agreements last month, with the Philippines and Thailand, that are expected to further expand the country’s rice export sector. Over the last few years, Cambodia has emerged as a major rice exporter in the region, due in large part ...

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) last month signed a prakas, a ministerial decision, to ensure tax agents’ professionalism, an insider told the Post yesterday. After the full implementation of Prakas 455, signed on April 12, agents have to pay one million riel to ...

More economic activity and a better understanding of using formal financial services among rural residents are leading to good loan performance rates and increases in savings deposits in Cambodia’s microfinance industry, according to industry sources. The loan portfolios of the 35 registered microfinance institutions (MFI) and ...

Thousands of Cambodian people visited and bought Thai products on Thursday at a large scale exhibition although simmering border spat between the two countries remains unsolved. “Even though border dispute is still going on, trade and investment ties between Thailand and Cambodia are still good,” Amparwon ...

Corruption, a weak judicial system and the potential for complicity with human and labour rights abuses are key risks for firms looking to invest in Cambodia, a new report [by Maplecroft, a UK-based global risk and strategic consulting firm] analysing investment risk in the Kingdom ...

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun said Wednesday that the government’s decision last week to order all mobile phone firms to stop offering generous top-up bonuses came after one of the market’s competitors complained to the ministry. Ian Watson, CEO of Mobitel, denied complaining ...

In diversifing its holiday attractions, Cambodia’s tourism industry should focus on three key areas – the country’s northeastern region, the coasts and the vicinity around Siem Reap – but efforts to promote these destinations are still lacking, an industry leader says. Statistics from the Ministry ...

About 5,000 Cambodian workers took to the street on Wednesday to mark the International Labor Day, calling for pay rise, better labor conditions and decrease in petrol prices, a union representative said. Marchers, mostly garment workers, held banners and walked from the Freedom Park near the ...

About a decade ago, global manufacturing firms staged a mass exodus to Asia in search of low-cost alternatives to increasing domestic wage demands and operational costs. The consensus was the continued development of a regional supply chain that had formed in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, ...

With competition rife in Cambodia’s telecommunication market, two of the country’s largest mobile phone operators have engaged in a battle over prices and are at odds over the tactics being used to gain market share. On Friday, the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) ordered all mobile ...

Jarai minority villagers in Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district protested in two locations yesterday against a Vietnamese company that community leaders say has been clearing their protected land and forcing villagers to accept inadequate compensation. Community leader Sev Hem said 30 angry villagers directly confronted five Company 72 ...

The Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) is calling all mobile phone operators to attend a meeting next week in order to reconsider the costs for within-and across-network calls, after disputes over bonus promotions in Cambodia’s crowded telecoms market. TRC director Mao Chakrya said that for the ...

Illegal border movements, illegal logging, drug trafficking, illegal fishing and unofficial cross border trade are among the issues being confronted by Laos and Cambodia along their shared border at the moment. The report was made during a meeting held between Champassak provincial authorities from Laos and ...

Hotel transaction volumes in Asia hit US$620 million (Bt18.18 billion) in the first quarter, up 190 per cent from the same period last year, and properties in Southeast Asia are attracting investor attention, according to real-estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle. “Rising visitor arrivals, robust trading ...

Senior government officials yesterday were promoting the development of the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in the Kingdom, particularly the concept of digital empowerment among young people. Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who presided over the opening of ITU Asia-Pacific Regional Development Forum, held in ...

An online trading firm based in the tax haven of Cyprus is planning to open a subsidiary in Cambodia, an account manager at IronFX’s headquarters in Cyprus said yesterday. “We are on the planning stage in Cambodia. We are now studying law and regulations in the ...