Economy and commerce

Canadian insurance and financial services company Manulife Financial officially launched its Cambodian country office on June 28, one of several new players seeking to enter one of Southeast Asia’s still-untapped markets. Britain’s No.1 insurer Prudential said last week it had approval from the Cambodian government to open a wholly foreign-owned life insurance operation. Manulife, the world’s ...

There was a sense of déjà vu at the Peace Palace yesterday as a week of largely closed-door ASEAN meetings kicked off in earnest with the same contentious issue that so dominated April’s ASEAN Summit: a code of conduct for the South China Sea. With China ...

Forestry Administration officials in Banteay Meanchey province have confiscated and continue to hold equipment valued at $1.5 million from a troubled biofuel plantation without any legal backing, an official in the provincial governor’s office said. Bulldozers, steamrollers and dump trucks were confiscated last month from a ...

Cambodians can now invest in gold through one of the Kingdom’s Malaysian-owned banks, CIMB. The investment product has been met with mixed reviews from experts, but could tap a popular and traditional means of investment. CIMB’s Gold Deposit Account would give customers a gold-backed investment option without ...

The Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday said Asean would not postpone its plans to approve a controversial human rights declaration for the region by November, and would publicize only “key provisions” of the draft beforehand. Disappointed by the lack of openness and concerned that the declaration will ...

Authorities in Daun Penh district rounded up more than 80 homeless people, drug users and prostitutes ahead of this week’s high-level meetings for Asean and regional delegates in Phnom Penh, a district official said yesterday. District governor Sok Sambath said that the 82 people rounded up ...

Despite renewed criticism from civil society and a call for its drafting to be postponed, finalisation of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) was well under way, officials said yesterday at the beginning of a week of ASEAN meetings. Speaking to reporters after a meeting between ...

The family hotpot-style restaurant Master Suki Soup has opened its ninth restaurant in Cambodia, on Sothearos Boulevard adjacent to Hun Sen Park, with the newly relocated German Fresh Beer brew pub and German menu upstairs. The soft opening took place on Thursday night as Master Suki ...

From June 22 to 28, the price of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) stock slowly approached its Initial Public Offering (IPO) price while trading volumes stayed within the range of 10,000 to 22,000 shares. The price dropped from KHR 6,6so (US$1.63) to KHR 6,3so (US$LS6) from June 22 to 28. ...

Mr. Luu Meng, president of hotel association in Cambodia said this week that Cambodia needs to develop tourism skills to compete with other countries in the ASEAN region as the kingdom has more opportunity to attract foreign visitors. “Our skills of hospitality are limited in the ...

Cambodia has offered the license for the United Kingdom’s Prudential Company to invest the life insurance in the kingdom. The announcement was made during the meeting between UK ambassador to Cambodia Mark Gooding and deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, his excellency Keat Chhon in Phnom Penh. “Ministry granted the approval for ...

The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) will begin promoting the Institute of Standards of Cambodia (ISC) certifications by the end of 2012 in an effort to educate people about certified goods, according to ministry officials. The program is in order to boost consumer confidence ...

Bonna Realty Group will prepare to list on the Cambodia Securities Exchange, the company’s president said this week. The real estate firm joins a small but growing group of private companies that say they are gearing up for initial public offerings on the new exchange. ...

Cambodia’s Soma Group yesterday signed a US$3-million deal with Indian company Ankur Scientific, the largest biomass-to-energy company in India, to construct a 1.5-megawatt rice husk power plant in Kampong Cham province. ...

The government will drop subsidies for high electricity use, after the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) reported losses of US$3 million between January and May this year. Households consuming more than 200 KW/h per month will no longer receive a 100 to 200 riel per KW/h ...

Pou Puy, president of the Cambodian Rice Millers Association, said that the export of Cambodia’s white rice faces challenges in terms of both quantity and competitive pricing, as exports of milled rice dropped about 35 per cent for the first half of 2012 compared to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday reiterated comments made by government officials Tuesday that government institutions, hotels and restaurants should begin serving local cuisine and produce to generate more cash flow in the tourism sector. ...

Less than two months after opening a $60 million brewery on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia Beer will be exported for the first time today when vessels carrying the beer set out for Japan from Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, according to a statement issued yesterday ...

As a delegation of US business owners prepares to travel to Cambodia with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, analysts say they will be tough to court, given Cambodia’s lack of law enforcement. “Investors don’t bring guns, they don’t bring bodyguards—they bring money to invest,” said ...

Two global life insurers are opening offices in Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia’s few untapped insurance markets, as they strengthen their foothold in a region that could eventually be a key driver of revenue growth. Britain’s No. 1 insurer Prudential said on Monday it won in-principle ...

The United States has expressed its commitment to the success of next week’s 19th ASEAN Regional Forum, which will be held in Phnom Penh, while British Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne said on the same day that the United Kingdom plans to strengthen its relationship ...

North Korea yesterday proposed to lower tax and trade barriers with Cambodia. The proposal, if made into a formal agreement, would join a long list of agreements between the two countries that have never been followed through. Hong Ki Chol said such an agreement could ...

Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An has called for the greater use of local products in the tourism sector, as products from overseas that continue to supply the industry result in a 25 per cent loss in revenue for Cambodia’s US$2 billion-a-year tourism industry. ...

An EU scheme to boost trade with developing nations is fuelling land grabs in Cambodia, activists say, with thousands evicted from their property to make way for a booming sugar industry. Campaigners are taking their fight to European supermarkets, encouraging a boycott of Cambodian sugar, which ...