Economy and commerce
Villagers Appeal to Halt Stung Treng Dam
Eleven village representatives from Stung Treng and Ratanakiri provinces traveled to Phnom Penh yesterday to meet with National Assembly lawmakers and appeal for an end to the planned construction of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam. The hydropower project, funded by Vietnam Electricity, will flood tens ...
Kingdom’s arable land all but gone
If the government continues to grant economic land and mining concessions at the current rate, there will be no more arable land left in the country to give away within one year, a researcher from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights said yesterday. Pointing to the ...
Gov't Opens Rivers to Sand Dredging
Nine companies have put in bids for the rights to dredge the lengths of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers and sell the sand for export, Water Resources Ministry officials said yesterday, noting that the dredging would be beneficial in terms of deepening the waterways. ...
Cambodia telco growth in 3G
Despite the hype surrounding the advent of fourth-generation mobile services, the bulk of growth and profits in Cambodian telecom remains in 3G networks, experts say. A recent study by London-based research firm Ovum notes that emerging markets such as Cambodia will see rapid growth in 3G ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022954766/Business/kingdom-telco-growth-in-3g.html
Cambodia's debt a concern
An International Monetary Fund and World Bank report has questioned Cambodia’s ability to deal with future financial crises if government borrowing increases. While the report indicated that Cambodia was at low risk for severe debt problems, it highlighted the need for effective management of new debt ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022954764/Business/cambodias-debt-a-concern.html
Alarm over proposed dam
The Sam Rainsy Party has asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to verify the details of a proposed dam that could inundate about 10,000 hectares of protected forest, citing concerns that it would lead to rampant illegal logging and devastate a traditional habitat of Siamese crocodiles. ...
David Boyle with additional reporting by Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Cassandra Yeap, P. 5
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022954773/National-news/alarm-over-proposed-dam.html
NGOs Urge Cambodia, Malaysia to Agree on Maid Protection
More than 60 Cambodian and international human rights groups and trade unions yesterday called on Cambodia and Malaysia to reach a bilateral agreement that would guarantee strong labor rights and working conditions for Cambodian maids employed in Malaysia. “The time is ripe for the Cambodian ...
Villagers ask for Government’s Help in Koh Kong Land Dispute
Koh Kong villagers facing the loss of their land to a Chinese mega-tourism project held a news conference in Phnom Penh yesterday to appeal to the government for the right to remain on their property. Kith Ten, 54, from Kiri Sakor district’s Prek Khsach commune, ...
IMF says Cambodian economy to grow 6.5 per cent, but warns of risks
Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow 6.5 per cent in 2012, up from 5.75 per cent last year, the International Monetary Fund said in its annual review, adding that government policies to boost the investment climate were paying off. However, in its assessment, which was released ...
City's Water Authority Open to Bids
The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) will begin taking bids from investors tomorrow in order to determine the price and number of shares it will issue during its long-awaited initial public offering on Cambodia’s stock exchange, the company’s general director said yesterday. Investors will ...
PPWSA makes pitch to investors before IPO
Trading on the Cambodian Securities Exchange should begin at the end of March as the Kingdom’s first stock, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, prepares to consult and share information with potential investors this week. The company would host a “roadshow” for investors in anticipation of its ...
Kompong Cham Factory Reopens at Partial Capacity
About 1,000 workers returned to work at Kompong Cham province’s Manhattan Quing Dao Textile Corp yesterday after last week’s four-day protest, factory representatives said. Chan Seiha, the factory’s administration chief, said that the remaining 1,000 workers were not at work yesterday because the factory currently ...
Gov't Bodies Ordered to Publish Prices for All State Services
The government has ordered all state institutions to start compiling a list of prices for all fee-based services so that individuals and companies can avoid informal payments, which were made illegal under the penal code last year, spokesman for the Council of Ministers Phay Siphan ...
Counterfeit medicine campaign under way
The Ministry of Health, with support from the United States, yesterday launched a national public outreach campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeit and substandard drugs, which officials said posed a “serious threat” to public health. The campaign features a poster with the slogan, ...
Villagers in capital to protest development
Representatives from five communes in Koh Kong province are scheduled to hold a press conference in the capital today, appealing for government intervention in a land dispute with a Chinese development company that has spanned nearly four years. Lov Hov, a representative from Thmar Sar commune, ...
Gov't Launches Campaign to Clean Up Cities Nationwide
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said all of the country’s cities would compete with each other to beautify urban zones and attract more tourists in the newly devised Clean City contest. Nine Phnom Penh districts and 26 cities nationwide will be assessed on how clean ...
Clean cities promoted through competition
The government wants to beautify Cambodian cities and has launched a competition to encourage the country’s urban centres to clean up their act. Speaking in front of a crowd of roughly 700 at the Peace Palace yesterday, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said that the “Clean ...
Cambodian Per Capita GDP To Touch $1,000
Echoing remarks made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier last week, economic experts agreed that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would reach US$ 1,000 ( Bt30,377) this year, up from the estimated $900 at the end of 2011. Managing director of Acleda ...
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Cambodian-per-capita-GDP-to-touch-$1000-30176744.html
Officials Mute on Shooting Investigation; Rights Groups Concerned
Government officials remained tight-lipped yesterday about progress in their investigation of the Feb. 20 shooting of three female garment workers during a strike and demonstration in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city. On Feb 20, three women were wounded when a uniformed gunman opened fire at ...
Kingdom inflation rises on oil prices
Inflation in Cambodia rose 5.8 per cent year-on-year in January, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics. Rising fuel costs had spurred the inflation, which was felt largely in the price of food, officials said. Data showed food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in January increased ...
China donates equipment to Cambodia for 2012 ASEAN meetings
The government of China on Monday delivered office supplies and equipment worth $403,000 to Cambodia in order to ease the country’s burden when it hosts the ASEAN summit and related Summits this year. The office supplies and equipment included 200 sets of desktops, 60 sets of ...
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=781793&publicationSubCategoryId=200
No Investigation of OZ Minerals Deal, Police Say
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have decided not to investigate the Australian mining company OZ Minerals, saying information that the firm paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to family members of officials in the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (Mime) when buying out its ...
Protesting Garment Workers to Resume Work
After four days of protests, which at times grew violent, striking garment workers at the Manhattan Qing Dao Textile Corp in Kompong Cham province said they would be resuming work Monday after reaching a tentative agreement with the company. On Thursday, more than 1000 workers ...
Thai Firm Moves in to Build Koh Kong Power Plant
A Thai Company is conducting a feasibility study to build a coal-fired power plant in Koh Kong province and has already invested in a local firm with permission to develop the plant, according to officials and the company. In an announcement to the Thai Stock ...