Economy and commerce

For six hours yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, Sar Kimlomouth, who served as deputy director general of the state bank, consistently downplayed both his level of authority within the department and his ability to recall information from so long ago. Throughout the day’s proceedings, lawyers ...

On his second day of questioning by prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, the deputy director of the foreign commerce bank during the Pol Pot regime, Sar Kim Lomouth, said he feared for his safety following the purging of several superiors at the Ministry ...

OSK Holdings Berhad and RHB Capital Berhad have announced the signing of a conditional share purchase agreement to merge their investment banking operations, creating the largest investment bank by assets in Malaysia, an official press release said.   ...

The real growth rate of the service sector has been revised upwardly by half a percentage point against our previous prediction to 5.4 percent year-on-year in 2012, on the back of higher growth expected in the local trade and transport subsectors. The growth outlook of this sector in 2013 is quite ...

Dr. Tim Killeen, author of The Cardamom Conundrum, Reconciling Development and Conservation in the Kingdom of Cambodia, discusses his recently released book, which argues that Cambodia is well positioned to reap the benefits of ‘green development’. Why did you select the Cardamom Mountains as the area ...

The supply of shopping centre space in Phnom Penh is set to triple in the next five years, according to a CBRE Cambodia report, and one insider said the jump in higher-end retail venues would come even sooner. A Parkson Corporation Sdn Bhd shopping centre, one ...

Hermann Otto Solms, vice president of the German Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, Monday pledged to encourage German investors and tourists to Cambodia in order to cement the bi-lateral ties. Hermann made his remarks during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the ...

Often vilified for paying low wages in less than optimum work environments, Cambodia’s garment factory owners got into the swing of the commune elections this week, with many companies providing loans to help their workers travel home to vote. With about 400,000 employees, the garment industry’s ...

Cambodia and the United States on Friday reconfirmed the good bilateral ties as president Barack Obama plans to visit Cambodia in November and this year, Cambodia chairs ASEAN. The two sides welcomed the improved ties between Cambodia and America, Koy Kuong, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said ...

Local rice miller Mega Green said it planned to export about 240 tons of milled rice to the Chinese market by the end of June – a second round of test exports to Cambodia’s northern neighbour. Renne Outh, owner of Mega Green Imex Cambodia, told the ...

Cambodian microfinance institution PRASAC says it is bolstering its green credentials by increasing loans for eco-friendly farming methods in the kingdom. President and CEO of PRASAC, said the institution is “committed to providing and developing more green financing to the rural people for their livelihood ...

The price of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority shares have fluctuated only US$0.04 during the past 12 days of trading. The low price and a lack of liquidity on the market may account the low volume of shares traded, insiders said, which averaged at 55,773 during ...

On his first day of questioning at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, Sar Kim Lomouth, the deputy director of the State Bank of Democratic Kampuchea, described how the national financial institution was nothing but a charade during the Pol Pot regime. Currency had been abolished and financial transactions eliminated under ...

Children of imprisoned Boeung Kak lake women pleaded for their mothers’ release outside the Ministry of Justice yesterday. The demonstration, which included more than 200 Boeung Kak residents and activist monk Loun Savath, was held on the eve of International Children’s Day. It also coincided with more ...

Cambodia is planning to send a second consignment of 40 tons of milled rice to China as a part of the approval process for rice exports to China. In April, China had rejected a sample consignment of about 48 tons ...

Democratic Kampuchea’s commerce committee was under the leadership of co-accused Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary, testimony by former national bank deputy director Sar Kimlomouth revealed yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Although the Khmer Rouge regime had eliminated currency and attempted to turn the nation into ...

The Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF), an agency set up by Asean+3 and the Asian Development Bank to help develop local-currency bond and cross-border bond markets in the region, has started to operate, says chief executive Kiyoshi Nishimura. He said the CGIF will fill in ...

Southeast Asia is showing stronger signs of resilience to global turbulence than the rest of Asia as buoyant domestic spending offsets struggling exports, while low debt levels give governments more room than their cash-strapped counterparts in the West to deliver stimulus. On Thursday, the Philippines became ...

Ninety–nine per cent of Cambodians have a television set in their home, according to data compiled by Indochina Research. “We know everybody watches television,” said General Manager Laurent Notin. “Television is the most trusted media channel for Cambodians.” The saturation of television is only one of the ...

A US$37.9 million base plate factory will launch in June in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey, Japanese electronics manufacturer SC WADO Component Co said yesterday in a statement. The entry of SC WADO, a subsidiary of Nidec Electronics, was another step in Cambodia’s march away ...

Garment and footwear exports from Cambodia increased 15.29 percent to $1.29 billion in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2011, according to figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce. While exports to the European Union rose 46.76 percent to $376.14 million in ...

Canadia Bank will launch a rice mill in Cambodia’s Takeo province in October, a move that insiders said could help curb the flow of unmilled rice to neighbouring Vietnam. Bank officials yesterday said they will buy US$3 million in milling equipment, and the total cost of ...

Angkor Gold Corp, a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company, has announced the identification of five new prospects in Ratanakiri province, according to a company statement. the mining firm said it planned to consolidate its gold prospects in the northeastern corner of the country. ...

Japanese electronics firm Nidec Corporation has invested about $37.5 million to establish a factory in Poipet City that will produce parts for computer hard drives ...