Economy and commerce
Cambodian Government Agrees In Principle to Risda Opening Rubber Estates
The Cambodian Government has agreed in principle with Rubber Industry Smallholders’ Development Authority (RISDA) to open 20,000 hectares of rubber estates in that country on a joint venture basis, its Chairman Tan Abdul Tamby said. The former Melka chief minister said the Federal Government through the ...
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=930464
Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units starts shipping machines to Cambodia
The Bobruisk-based mechanical engineering company Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units has shipped a batch of proprietary compact tractors Belarus 321 to Cambodia for the first time, representatives of the company’s sales department told BelTA. In line with the contract, which was signed in early ...
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 27/2: Cambodia, Laos Rubber
The area under Viet Nam Rubber Group’s cultivation in Laos and Cambodia totals 100,000 ha, including 27,000 ha under the group’s seven rubber projects in Laos. By the end of 2012, VRG had 21 rubber projects in Cambodia, including 19 rubber tree plantations and ...
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/67334/business-in-brief-27-2.html
Cassava exports to China up, but production lags
Chinese-owned Avic International plans to export 8,000 tonnes of dried cassava from Cambodia to the Chinese market this year. According to Chan Saron, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, there are currently 31 companies listed as exporting cassava to China from Cambodia, but only 17 ...
Trade with Vietnam grows
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and neighbouring Vietnam increased by more than 10 per cent last year on the previous year, according to data from the Vietnam Trade Office in Cambodia. The data showed that total trade volume was $3.3 billion between January and the end of ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022761641/Business/trade-with-vietnam-grows.html
Moto imports jump 55 per cent
IMPORTS of motor scooters reached 264,085 units, with a total value of $139 million in the first 11 months of last year – a 55 per cent jump from 170,380 units worth $86.5 million in the corresponding period of 2011, according to data from the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022761643/Business/moto-imports-jump-55-per-cent.html
No plans for Islamic banking services yet
WHILE investments from the Middle East into Cambodia are expected to increase over the next few years, the central bank here currently has no plans to launch Islamic banking services. Recent events like Qatar Airway’s Doha-Phnom Penh flights, which launched earlier this month, have been expected ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022761645/Business/no-plans-for-islamic-banking-services-yet.html
Operations commence at 18MW Kirirom III hydro power plant in Cambodia
The Cambodian government has commenced operations at the 18MW Kirirom III hydro power plant in the southwestern part of the country. The facility will produce 78 million KWh of electricity a year and help the country reduce its power shortage crisis and dependence on oil-fueled electricity. ...
KTH mall to be officially inaugurated
The KTH Premium Power Mall, opposite the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh, will be officially inaugurated on March 1 by K Thong Huot Telecom Co (KTH). The 1,200-square-metre mall will focus on international brands of electronic products. A mall representative told the Post the business would cater ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022661601/Business/kth-mall-to-be-officially-inaugurated.html
NagaWorld Workers on Strike After Firings
More than 500 workers from Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld Casino demonstrated on Monday, in what was their fourth straight day of strike action in front of the casino over wages and the firing of four staff members Sok Narith, deputy secretary general of the Cambodian Tourism and ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/nagaworld-workers-on-strike-after-firings-11761/
Middle class boosts local Samsung sales
Cambodia’s encouraging economic climate had paved the way for the K-four Electronic company to launch Samsung’s latest refrigerator in this country, company representatives said. Kith Bunnarong, of K-four Electronic, said the comp-any’s sales in this country had increased since 2010, when it began working with Thai ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022661596/Business/middle-class-boosts-local-samsung-sales.html
Logger Reported Dead as Rosewood Trade Directive Announced
Amid reports that a second Cambodian has been killed this year by Thai armed forces while illegally logging in Thai border territory, officials had little detail yesterday on a government directive that is aimed at ending the international demand for rosewood from Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun ...
Qatar plans bank in Cambodia to enhance trade
Qatar’s ambassador to Cambodia says his country wants to open a bank here in an effort to enhance, and attract more, trade and investment from Middle East countries to the Kingdom. Bloomberg reported yesterday that Arqaam Capital, a Dubai-based investment bank, had said it was ...
Phnom Penh Port Shifts Focus to Cruise Boats
With a new Chinese-built container port on the Mekong River in Kandal province now operational, the existing port in Phnom Penh is undergoing renovations to shift its focus to the growing number of cruise ships docking in the capital, an official said yesterday. Eang Veng ...
Local MFIs’ high-tech investment
The first time Leang Horng, a resident of Kandal province’s Saang district, made use of a micro-finance institution, a loan was the only service he needed. At that time, Horng had no idea about deposits or money transfers. But things have changed in the past few ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022661599/Business/local-mfis-high-tech-investment.html
Agreement for Government’s Jet Not Yet Signed
In the latest clarification from the government on the subject of it’s new private airliner, a senior aviation official said yesterday that the French-made Airbus A320 is not yet the property of Cambodia, as ownership documents have not been finalized. The 150-seat jet made its inaugural ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/agreement-for-governments-jet-not-yet-signed-11571/
PM Hun Sen ushers in new dam
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday inaugurated the third in a string of six Chinese-funded hydropower dam projects, offering lavish praise for the superpower as he officially opened the $47 million Kirirom 3 dam in Koh Kong. “I am really pleased for the new ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561590/National/pm-hun-sen-ushers-in-new-dam.html
ILO Respond to Scathing Stanford Report on Factory Monitoring
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Better Factories Program (BFC) has responded to a scathing report released last week by Stanford University, which said the ILO program was ineffectual as it had not helped secure Cambodian workers a significant wage increase since the program started over ...
Unequal treatment at Cambodian factories
The ongoing story of garment workers left jobless by company closures in late December is fast becoming A Tale of Two Factories: one group of workers has everything before it, the other has nothing. It’s this widening gulf between workers at Yung Wah Industrial and Kingsland ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561588/National/unequal-treatment-at-factories.html
Manufacturing to diversify
While Cambodia seeks to diversify its manufacturing sector and encourage higher-value-added activities, experts say it must be supported by the right mix of government policies. The Asia Development Bank (ADB) says that the sharp increase of foreign direct investment (FDI) from $900 million in 2011 to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561577/Business/manufacturing-to-diversify.html
PM’s Logging Decree ‘Too Late’
Activists are welcoming Prime Minister Hun Sen’s public vow to prevent logging and rosewood trafficking, but they also say it’s too little too late to have any serious impact on protecting Cambodia’s already decimated forests. In a speech on Friday at the Ministry of Interior, Hun ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561589/National/pm-s-logging-decree-too-late.html
Hun Sen says Hydropower Is the Key to Stable Electricity Prices
Cambodia’s focus on hydropower will reduce its independence on oil and ensure nationwide access to electricity at a stable price, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech Saturday during the inauguration of a $47.1 million hydropower dam in Koh Kong province. However environmental groups ...
Hun Sen Says Chinese Companies Not Favored, Just Served
Prime Minister Hun Sen yeserday lauded his government’s strong ties with China but said Cambodia does not give Chinese any preferential treatment. Mr. Hun Sen was speaking at the inauguration of the $47.1 million Kirirom III hydropower dam in Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel District- constructed ...
Singapore investment up
Total fixed assets of Singaporean investment in Cambodia last year reached $82.7 million, a 500 per cent increase from $13.8 million in 2011, data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) show. Singaporean entrepreneurs who have already entered the Cambodian market said they expect ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561574/Business/singapore-investment-up.html