Economy and commerce

The government has granted China’s Xinwei Telecom a license to become the country’s tenth mobile phone operator and the second firm to roll out so-called 4G technology, the fastest and most advanced network currently available on the market. Those in the telecommunications industry said that the ...

About 200 villagers, who have been embroiled in a long-running land dispute with the well-connected agro-business Pheapimex over a 316,000-hectare economic land concession in Pursat province, staged a protest yesterday against the company’s continued efforts to clear their farmland. The protests came just three days after ...

A survey by Cambodian microfinancers showed debtors were better off in several respects than those who didn’t borrow from the institutions, MFI officials claimed. Responding to recent concerns over the role of microfinance institutions in creating poverty and loss of property in the Kingdom, the Cambodia ...

Finance Minister Keat Chhon joined officials of the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) yesterday to conduct another day of mock trading of stocks ahead of the still-unknown launch of actual operations at the bourse, which opened in July but has yet to see a single stock ...

In its capacity as Asean chair, Cambodia has said it wants to help lessen tensions on the Korean peninsula by trying to revive the six-party talks on North Korean denuclearization and by inviting North Korea to join the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh in ...

Just over a year since the World Bank froze its funds to the government, the bank yesterday reiterated that a decision on whether or not it would start providing loans again remains nowhere in sight. In August, the World Bank announced that it would not provide ...

The Kingdom’s 27 casinos are set to generate about US$20 million in tax revenue for the government in 2011, a 25 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. At least one government official, however, said the lack of a regulatory regime ...

Crocodile farmers in Siem Reap are turning away from the export of hatchlings to Vietnam, choosing instead sell the reptiles for their skins. Luon Nam, president of the province’s Crocodile Feeding Association, said yesterday the reliance on Vietnam was an unsustainable strategy for the industry. Any change ...

A nationwide survey was under way by the Ministry of Commerce’s Rice Exporter Union to measure Cambodia’s milled-rice industry in order to give international buyers an accurate picture of the Kingdom’s current capacity, insiders said yesterday. Although data for the survey was still being collected, those ...

They thought the days of scenic sunsets ruined by the noise and pollution of dredgers on the Tatai River were over, but villagers and business owners in the popular tourism destination now say they were duped in a promise from ruling party Senator Ly Yong ...

Cambodia needs at least another $120 million of investment in rice mills if it is to meet the government’s 2015 target of exporting 1 million tons of rice, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said yesterday. While rice exports from Cambodia this year have seen a significant increase ...

As predicted by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank earlier this year, growth in Cambodia’s garment sector has started to slow due to weakening demand from markets in the US and Europe. According to the latest figures released by the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia ...

The Kingdom’s inflation rate fell month-on-month in November for the first time all year, dropping 0.7 per cent from October, according to National Institute of Statistics data. However, year-on-year inflation in November increased 5.7 per cent, the NIS reported. “We see that we got a bigger supply ...

Cambodia’s total exports surged 42 per cent through November to US$4.5 billion from $3.16 billion, official data from the Ministry of Commerce showed, as the Kingdom’s staple products of garments, textiles and agriculture led the move. Rising global demand, new trade agreements with regional neighbours and ...

Pakistan and Cambodia yesterday discussed strengthening economic ties in areas such banking and transportation, a government official said. Ambassador of Pakistan Fazal-ur-Rahman Kazi and Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sok An considered an agreement on the protection of trade and investment, Ek Tha, spokesman for the Council ...

Golden Fortune Securities, a Cambodian-Chinese joint venture and the Kingdom’s second securities dealer, officially opened its doors yesterday. The company was the most recent of Cambodia’s 13 licensed dealers, brokers and underwriters to launch operations. A date for company listings, or actual Cambodia Securities Exchange operations, was ...

THE precious stone industry in Pailin province is facing bankruptcy as supplies dwindle and locals turn to agriculture as their main source of revenue, provincial authorities told the Post. Pailin, long known for its rubies, sapphires and other precious stones, now depends on foreign imports to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday outlined the government’s plans to spur economic growth in the northeast of the country through implementing a wide range of projects in sectors such as agriculture and the extractive industries. Rights workers have warned that little information on the plans for ...

Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank have signed their latest loan agreement of US$15 million for the development of the Kingdom’s financial sector, according to ADB. The money would be used for a number of development programs, including the improvement of regulatory regimes, creation of an ...

State-owned Telecom Cambodia has signed a business cooperation agreement with Vietnam National Post and Telecommunications Corp in order to bolster TC’s product portfolio and coverage area, company officials said yesterday. Telecom Cambodia offers both fixed-line phone and internet services in the Kingdom. Vietnam National Post and ...

The number of mobile phone subscribers in Cambodia increased to 14 million, or 98 percent of the country’s population, during the first 11 months of the year, the minister of Posts and Telecommunications said yesterday. So Khun said Metfone, which is owned by the Vietnamese military, ...

Vietnam’s Military Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (MB Bank) will open its doors in Phnom Penh today, becoming the fourth Vietnamese bank to set up operations here and bringing the total number of commercial banks in Cambodia to 31. Nguon Sokha, general director of the National Bank of ...

Sihanoukville Autonomous Port saw a 10 per cent year-on-year shipment increase in the first 11 months of the year, according to data provided by the Port’s general director. The shipment of cargo across the port during the time period reached 2.2 million tons, a 9.94 per ...

Investment approved between January and October surpassed those last year by  US$160 million, according to a report from the Council for the Development of Cambodia. The 126 local and foreign investment projects through October, worth about $6 billion, overshadowed the $5.8 billion in the whole of ...