Economy and commerce

Election monitoring groups are questioning the National Election Committee (NEC) recent decision to let a Phnom Penh casino fund its new multi-million dollar headquarters, a move they said would cast further doubt on the body’s independence. NagaCorp, the owner of Phnom Penh’s only licensed casino, NagaWorld, ...

The Cambodian government is seeking a new international border checkpoint in Preah Vihear province to link with Thailand’s Ubun province, officials say. Preah Vihear provincial governor Um Mara said officials from both countries had met to examine the possibility of opening a new international checkpoint. There ...

Authorities in Stung Treng province have confiscated some 651 pieces of “luxury timber” from three communes in Se San district over the past week in an ongoing operation to crack down on illegal logging in the area, police said. The goods were confiscated just as a ...

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) would consider selling some of its stakes in Asian banks if Australia does not ease stringent capital requirements, chief executive Mike Smith said on Wednesday. The plan raises questions about how Australia’s smallest ‘Big Four’ bank will meet the ...

The stabilisation of the riel over the first half of this year is a reflection of increased confidence in using riel in the economy as well as improvements in the agricultural sector, according to economists and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). The slowdown in the US economy ...

In a bid to ease the collection of the recently introduced tax on properties worth more than $25,000, The Ministry of Finance has launched an online service to help people get the forms they need to pay the tax. In a statement released last week, the ministry said ...

Net profits at NagaCorp Ltd., owners of Phnom Penh’s only licensed casino, jumped 38 percent to reach $52.4 million in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period last year, the company said in its most recent financial report. The casino generated a total ...

Latest figures show the total value of approved investment in the Kingdom declined by more than 70 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the equivalent period a year before. Economists and officials are unconcerned, however, saying that some big projects during ...

A lack of economic diversity, faith in the banking sector and slow growth in vocational training and education topped the list of concerns among economists and investors yesterday at a meeting organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government. According to data released ...

Phnom Penh’s only licensed casino, NagaWorld, has agreed to build a brand-new 15-story tower for the National Election Committee (NEC) as part of its plans to invest $369 million in expanding its current operations over the next three years, an official at the casino said ...

The private sector and industry professionals were engaged yesterday in the first consultation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government in an effort to understand the factors affecting Cambodia’s economy, and ultimately determined that human capital, infrastructure, innovation and regulatory issues as the key areas ...

Delegates from the Import-Export Bank of China will visit Cambodia next week to discuss loans for the rice-processing and exporting sector, according to government officials. Son Kunthor, president of the state-owned Cambodian Rural Development Bank, said yesterday that Chinese delegates will come to study the feasibility of ...

Revenues generated from Cambodian exports to China fell by 10 percent in the first half of the year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce last week. About $60 million worth of goods were exported from Cambodia to China between January and June, the ...

$500-million loan from New Delhi to help build 3,200km highway through Myanmar and linking to Thailand The trilateral highway project will allow freight and container trucks to move across the borders from India to Myanmar and Thailand via Chiang Rai and border towns. It will play ...

The Cambodian governemnt is lobbying the tourism sector to focus more on using local foods, which it says could generate millions of dollars in revenue a year. But hotels and restaurants say quality standards and supplies of local products are often not adequate and businesses ...

While Cambodian handicrafts such as silk clothing, stone and wood carvings and rattan furniture are popular with tourists, who snap up the articles at gift shops and airports, the size of the sector is nowhere near what it might be, according to industry insiders. They ...

Almost five months after the launch of the Credit Bureau Cambodia (CBC), experts agree that it has given financial institutions valuable new access to information about creditworthiness of potential borrowers, improving efficiency and loan quality. At the same time, there are still a few rough ...

A business concept competition between university students from Cambodia, Japan and Myanmar that provided the perfect opportunity for improving business plans and networking with business people yesterday was won by one of Cambodia’s own. Lay Huy Huoy, a second-year student at Cambodian Mekong University majoring in business and ...

As Cambodia continues to develop, information technology skills are increasingly in demand, especially as the government seeks to diversify the economy and bring in companies which will need staff with strong high-tech skills. To that end, last month the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), in cooperation with the Cisco ...

Smartphones and the accompanying online stores that sell applications for them may be gaining ground across emerging markets, according to a study conducted by a London-based telecommunications research and analysis firm, but Cambodia’s market is limited by a lack of places to legitimately purchase apps, ...

Chinese firm Hainan Ruijin Investment Holding Company (HRIH) has announced an ambitious, US$5.8 billion property project including holiday resorts and high-rise apartments outside of Sihanoukville. Plans for the development, which has been dubbed Sihanoukville-Hainan City, have been approved by the Cambodian government. Further details, such as the ...

Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday said: Cambodia has permitted the construction and opening of casinos at the border areas with neighboring countries for “secret strategy” to protect the country’s territory. He replied to opposition party who said gambling dens were harmful to the ...

The 4th world class Japanese Oji Paper Co. Ltd will invest in tree planting in Cambodia for paper manufacture. The information was made known here on Aug. 7 by the Japanese company’s Director Mr. Shimamura Gemmei in a meeting with Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry ...

Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen said this week that he will talk with Chinese leaders especially his Chinese counterpart PM Wen Jiaboa about finance to build 300-500 km rural roads in the country in contribution of helping poverty reduction and living conditions of the local ...