Economy and commerce

Hattha Kaksekar Limited, one of the country’s largest microfinance institutions (MFIs), is in talks to become a commercial bank by 2014, an official at the micro-lender said yesterday. The move, if successful, will be in line with the Central Bank’s policy to support MFIs in diversifying ...

The number of agricultural tractors and power-trailers imported to Cambodia through the Poipet International Checkpoint in Banteay Meanchey province has decreased by 72 percent in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year, the provincial commerce department said. Thong Thyna, ...

The ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) 10 + 1 Session with 10 ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, namely, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America were held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 11 July 2012. They focused on cooperation ...

Cambodia will push to finalise a rice-exporting bloc with four other regional countries by the end of the year in a bid to become the world’s “food basket”, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The group of countries including Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar – ...

The number of visitors to Cambodia through its two main airports increased 19.7 percent to more than 1 million people in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year, figures released by Cambodia Airports show. Between January and June, 1,028,285 passengers ...

Japanese companies are facing a shortage of skilled workers which is hindering progress in Japanese-owned electronic factories, the Japanese Business Association of Cambodia (JBAC) said. The statement comes after the Asian Development Bank said in April that a shortage of skilled workers would continue to hinder ...

Two financing agreements, implemented by the French Development Agency, were signed on 12 July 2012 at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance, H.E.M. Keat Chhon, to support two key sectors for economic and rural development of Cambodia. A financing agreement of 800,000 Euros (1 ...

Cambodia’s waterways go largely unused for domestic shipping, a factor hurting the competitveness of the country’s logistics and agriculture sectors, experts said yesterday. Cambodia lost ground this year in a measure of logistics performance. As rice millers and exporters push toward the 1 million-tonne rice goal ...

Slumping garment exports led yesterday to an official downgrade for Cambodian’s growth outlook this year – albeit a slight one. Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon projected 6.9 per cent year-on-year gross domestic product growth for 2012, down a tenth of a percentage point from ...

After the Philippines government issued their own policy regarding milled rice exports the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia has expressed its disinterest in exporting milled rice to its neighbour, Cambodia’s Commerce Minister said yesterday. Local rice millers will not be encouraged to make any efforts to ...

The share price of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) fell 50 riel yesterday to 6,250 riel, or about $1.52, bringing the authority’s share price lower than its initial public offering (IPO) in April. The decline matches views expressed by investors here that the authority’s ...

The Federation of Associations of Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia (FASMEC) is now pushing for the establishment of a special economic zone (SEZ) for small and medium sized enterprises and is currently discussing such a move with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, ...

The owner of Cambodia Yellow Pages has agreed in principle to sell a 51 percent stake to the subsidiary of Malaysian technology firm CBSA Bhd. in a deal worth $2.04 million, an official at the company said Monday. According to a disclosure last week from CBSA ...

Families living along a planned national train route in Poipet town were told they have 10 days to vacate their properties or be forcibly evicted, residents and NGOs said yesterday. Eang Vuthy, Development Watch Program Manager of Equitable Cambodia, said an eviction notice from the Poipet ...

China is the largest provider of financial assistance to Cambodia for agriculture and irrigation development in the last three years, Cambodia’s Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said on Tuesday. Since 2010 to date, he said, Cambodia has received a total loan of $561 million and a ...

Acleda Bank has filed an application to start banking operations in Burma with the central bank and is on track to open its first microfinance branch in the country by January, Acleda President In Channy said yesterday. Mr. Channy said the bank submitted its application for ...

Cambodia will sign a rice trade Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia in August under which Indonesia will purchase 100,000 tons of rice from Cambodia annually. The deal is expected to boost Cambodia’s rice exports and help the country achieve its target of exporting one ...

The Cambodian Broadcasting Service launched the Kingdom’s first 24-hour news channel, Cambodian News Channel, to great fanfare last night at its new studios. During the launch, Kith Meng, chairman of both Royal Group and the new channel, said this news channel would further the development of ...

One of Malaysia’s biggest investment banks, RHB Capital, announced it will acquire OSK Indochina Bank, via the transfer of 100 per cent of OSK Investment Bank shares from parent OSK Holdings, giving OSK Holdings a 10 per cent stake in the larger Malaysian RHB Capital ...

The number of businesses registered with the Ministry of Commerce climbed by more than 10 per cent year on year during the first half of 2012, ministry data showed. Officials credited the government’s piecemeal efforts to institute a transparent investment policy and gross domestic product growth, ...

When London-based real estate investor Sanjay Dhir heard about Cambodia from his Indian partner Manoj Varma, he took a trip here in October 2010 and stopped by the roadside to meet the operators of a portable rice mill. He knew then that Cambodia was ready for ...

A new hotel serving the Phnom Penh International Airport opened on July 1 at Ratana Plaza on the left off Russian Boulevard just before Hanoi Road on the way to the airport from central Phnom Penh. The Dara Airport Hotel has 155 rooms with a fifth-floor ...

Long-time foreign members of the Cambodian business community said the US-ASEAN Business Forum, held on Friday in Siem Reap, was largely successful in setting the country in the sights of America businesses, but multinational corporations will need more time in the Kingdom before nailing down ...

The producer of Mee Yeung instant noodles is set to expand its business by investing US$1 million in equipment to produce noodles for export, said a company official. The new machines will be delivered from China and will be able to produce 6,000 cases or ...