Economy and commerce

Cambodian milled rice is becoming more popular throughout Asia, particularly in Malaysia, which is the number one importer of milled rice from the Kingdom. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Malaysia imported over 7,000 tonnes of a total 25,700 tonnes exported ...

Lending by commercial banks in Cambodia grew by more than one-third last year, according to figures provided by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) yesterday. Banks lent out a total of $5.89 billion in 2012, compared with $4.39 billion in 2011, NBC figures show, meaning ...

Some 200 garment factory workers protested at the Ministry of Social Affairs on Friday, a day after they held a demonstration in front of the Swedish Embassy in Phnom Penh and urged diplomats to intervene in a labour dispute involving unpaid wages from a factory ...

After a 60- minute debate, the Senate on Friday voted in favour of a payment guarantee for the private companies constructing the controversial Lower Sesan 2 dam in Stung Treng province. At the Senate session, 43 out of 48 senators voted to approve the deal which ...

Between 2008 and 2012, Cambodia’s spending on public infrastructure amounted to about US$2.5 billion — a sum an opposition politician says is too low and is ineffectively put to use. In his opening remarks at the seventh Cambodia Outlook Conference, Prime Minister Hun Sen said public ...

An offshore financial services provider aiming to cater to expatriates in Cambodia hopes to tap into a market that has had its share of fly-by-night operators. Tag Wealth International, a subsidiary of the Australia-based Tag Group, began operations last month, offering advice in areas such as ...

As insolvency proceedings against bankrupt telecommunications firm Mfone begin, yet another company, Smart Mobile, has filed a court complaint to collect unpaid costs from the mobile operator, and the list of parties to have suffered from the firm’s collapse continue to grow. The Phnom Penh Municipal ...

Exports of Cambodian milled rice rose sharply during the first four weeks of this year, and traders are optimistic about the demand in Asian markets, particularly China. Figures from the one-stop service office at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) show the Kingdom exported ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that all Cambodian villages would have electricity by 2020 while 70 percent of households would have power by 2030. Hun Sen said average per capita consumption of electricity rose at an annual rate of seven percent over the past ...

Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) yesterday announced plans to pay its first dividend to shareholders. Dividends from the stock will be given to investors next month in cash after the financial performance of the company is audited by an international firm. Up until now, the ...

Reporting that the country had achieved better than expected economic growth last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday targeted a rapid expansion of the country’s rubber industry and predicted that almost 1 in 10 Cambodians would soon be working in rubber. “Agriculture continues to play ...

The government’s guaranteed bailout of major infrastructure projects, such as the future 400-megawatt hydropower dam in Stung Treng province, requires a thorough assessment of forecasted risks – a capacity which the government currently does not possess, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said yesterday. Speaking on ...

ANZ chief executive Mike Smith says Cambodia should decouple the riel from the US dollar to a stand-alone currency and align itself to the Chinese renminbi (RMB), given the shift in global trade flows. At the Cambodia Outlook Conference in Phnom Penh yesterday, Smith said: “I ...

The first buses directly connecting Thailand and Cambodia left Bangkok on Thursday, headed for Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, with the launch of a regular service to bolster tourism and economic ties between the two countries. The first airconditioned bus from Bangkok to Phnom Penh left Mor ...

Cambodia, a Southeast Asian country with 15 million inhabitants, has begun to embrace intensive livestock production despite numerous obstacles. The industry heavily relies on the import of genetics, soybean meal, fish meal, additives, medicines and vaccines. A major constraint preventing producers from taking up intensive ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has promised to compensate thousands of garment workers demanding back pay they say they are owed since their factory owner fled the country to escape mounting debt, according to officials. Kandal provincial labor department director Thol Neang told RFA’s ...

The listed Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) earned total revenues of 36.9 million U.S. dollars in 2012, up 25 percent year-on-year, according to the firm’s unaudited financial statement on Wednesday. The report said that the firm’s net income after tax was 8.56 million U.S. dollars ...

Cambodia achieved a GDP growth rate of 7.3 percent last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday, forecasting that the growth would be higher than 7 percent this year. Addressing a conference on 2013 Cambodia Outlook, he said the growth last year came from strong growth ...

Claims in the Kingdom’s six insurance companies declined dramatically last year, while the total premium revenue sharply increased by more than 20 per cent year-on-year, official data from the General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC) show. GIAC data shows total claims reached $4.8 million, down from ...

Chinese Telecommunications giant Huawei has signed a deal to install thousands of transmitters across Cambodia to create a new high-speed mobile telephone and Internet network, according to a statement received yesterday. Huawei Technologies (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. and Xinwei (Cambodia) Telecom Co. Ltd. – a local subsidiary ...

With the launch of daily scheduled services, Qatar Airways becomes the only Middle Eastern airline flying to the South East Asian nation – and destination number 125 served worldwide. Guests gathered at Phonm Penh International Airport in celebration of the new air link, connecting Cambodia ...

Though still one of the poorest countries in the region, Cambodia’s recent economic growth has birthed a new class of consumer. And waiting in the wings is German automaker Porsche, which intends to sell its distinctive sports cars directly to Phnom Penh’s wealthy within a ...

Government action is needed if Cambodia is to reach its potential for economic growth and address growing inequality, according to a new report from a leading local think tank. The recommendations were included in the Cambodian Development Resource Institute’s (CDRI) annual development review 2012 to ’13. ...

Customs procedures are being examined in a time-release study to identify issues that can affect Cambodia’s trade competitiveness. According to experts, the study is an important tool to improve the Kingdom’s investment climate. The study will be conducted and organised by the GDCE with support ...