Economy and commerce
Trade
Cambodia secures $11bn funding to boost iron exports
Work will start this year on a 400km railway line and a new seaport in Cambodia, with most of the funding coming from Chinese sources. Cambodia Iron and Steel Mining Industry Group (CISMIG) and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering have signed an agreement to jointly invest ...
Electronics market in Cambodia booms
The burgeoning demand for high-end electronic devices in Cambodia, driven by a more affluent and growing middle class, has doubled or even tripled sales revenues in the country, industry leaders say. “The market demand is shifting to the premium segment – from normal phones to smart ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012460963/Business/electronics-market-in-cambodia-booms.html
More Investment Needed To Process Crops
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said more investment in agriculture was needed to ensure that Cambodia can process its crops and add value to agricultural produce being exported abroad. Speaking at the inauguration of a new cargo port in Kandal province, Mr. Hun Sen said there was an ...
Government okays maize imports
The cabinet approved a plan for the Public Warehouse Organisation to import 450,000 tonnes of tariff-free maize from Laos and Cambodia. Another 250,000 tonnes of maize would be imported from Cambodia, with 100,000 tonnes in August and another 150,000 tonnes between November and January 2014 ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/331949/government-okays-maize-imports
Cambodia inaugurates China-financed new container terminal
Cambodia on Tuesday inaugurated a new container terminal of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, turning the port as a large hub for logistics supply and goods collection and distribution. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-01/22/c_132119517.htm
Kampot pepper yields to increase
Kampot pepper yields are expected to increase significantly in the first harvest since gaining Geographic Indicator status in April 2010, as increased demand from exporters drives up prices. Output this season is expected to surge by 17 per cent, from 23 tonnes in the last harvest ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012260898/Business/kampot-pepper-yields-to-increase.html
Cambodia’s garment workers to get pay rise for 2013
Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) on Monday agreed to increase salaries for the workers in the kingdom’s garment and footwear industries, according to a press release after a closed door meeting. The meeting was attended by Minister of Social Affairs Ith Samheng, Minister of Labor ...
http://www.nzweek.com/world/cambodias-garment-workers-to-get-pay-rise-for-2013-43866/
Strikes in Cambodian factories may hit orders
Officials of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) are concerned that recent strikes could delay delivery to customers, and factories are looking for solutions to meet buyers’ demands. About 10,000 workers in seven or eight garment factories have gone on strike recently demanding higher wages ...
Tiffs over stalls dog border checkpoints
Cambodian and Thai officials are having trouble resolving tensions over border checkpoints in Oddar Meanchey, Cambodian authorities said yesterday. Following a verbal request from Thai border police that their Cambodian counterparts rejected last week, Thai officers submitted a letter last Friday asking Cambodian authorities to move ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012160885/National/tiffs-over-stalls-dog-border-checkpoints.html
Factory workers complain over low wages
Factory workers complain that their low salaries are not keeping track with the price of goods and services. Phoeun Sreyleak, 20, said she gets $70 a month including bonuses for health care and rent. “My basic wage is only $58,” she said. “My friend gets 2,000 riel ...
ASEAN ministers vow to deepen tourism cooperation
Representatives of the ten ASEAN nations met on Sunday in Laos’ capital of Vientiane to launch the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), where they pledged to expand tourism cooperation and discussed creating a pan-ASEAN tourist visa. The ATF, which was first held in 1981, is designed to ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/20/c_132115298.htm
Cambodia's rubber exports up 17 pct, revenues down 21 pct in 2012
Cambodia recorded a 17 percent rise in rubber latex exports in 2012; however, the revenues from the exports went down by 21 percent due to declining rubber prices in the international market, the government’s statistics showed Friday. The country had exported 54,530 tons of rubber latex ...
Cambodia’s garment exports grow in 2012
The exports of garments and textiles from Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia grew to US$ 4.61 billion, up nine percent over total textiles and garment exports worth US$ 4.24 billion made in 2011, according to The Phnom Penh Post report. However, the rise in garment ...
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=120092
US Seeks Infrastructure Deals in Cambodia
Looking to compete with Chinese influence in the region, the U.S. government is making plans to help American companies win large-scale infrastructure projects in Cambodia, U.S. officials said yesterday in Phnom Penh. The plans, which come as part of a strategic and economic embracing of Asia ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/us-seeks-infrastructure-deals-in-cambodia-7945/
Rice Exports Slow Due to Millers Hoarding
Cambodia exported more than 200,000 tons of milled rice in 2012, the greatest yield on record, though well short of the government target to export 1 million tons by 2015. Speaking at the Ministry of Agriculture’s annual meeting in Phnom Penh, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said ...
Japanese firms seek business options in Cambodia
Representatives of a dozen large Japanese companies arrived in Phnom Penh on Tuesday looking for business opportunities in the kingdom. Hidetoshi Nishimura, executive director of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, led the delegation, whose members represent firms in industries such as technology, ...
Cambodia's economy to grow by 6.7% this year: WB
Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow by 6.7 percent in 2013 thanks to anticipating increases in agriculture, foreign direct investment (FDI) and tourism, the World Bank said in its latest outlook Wednesday. “The growth is based on achieving the dividends from focus on higher rice ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-01/16/c_132106591.htm
Shipments of cargo increase by 7.3 per cent
Cargo shipments through Sihanoukville’s Deep Sea Port increased more than seven per cent year-on-year in 2012. Port officials say this growth is a result of Cambodia’s economic performance and an improving global economy. “It is a fast rate of growth compared with previous years. We had ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013011660801/Business/shipments-of-cargo-increase-by-7-3-per-cent.html
iPhone struggles for a place in Cambodian market
It will not be enough for Apple to simply offer a cheaper iPhone for the company to gain share in the competitive Cambodian smartphone market, according to industry insiders. They say Apple’s operating system, iOS, may also restrict their potential growth. Bloomberg last week reported that Apple ...
Thousands protest outside Gladpeer Garment Factory
More than 2,000 workers demonstrated in front of Phnom Penh’s Gladpeer Garment Factory yesterday, demanding a higher minimum wage and several other concessions. The workers decided to strike after the Por Sen Chey district factory did not respond to repeated requests to raise their monthly minimum ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013011560786/National/thousands-turn-out-for-strike.html
Businesses Told to Close for 8 Days for King Father's Funeral
Business owners in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district yesterday said they will not follow a government directive to close their businesses for eight days in observance of the second mourning period for the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk. The order, which was distributed on Sunday to ...
Cambodia's exports to U.S. down 1 pct in 11 months last year
Cambodia exported products in equivalent to 2.49 billion U.S. dollars to the United States in the first eleven months of 2012, down 1 percent from 2.52 billion U.S. dollars it exported at the same period a year earlier, the report of the U.S. Department of ...
Cambodian economy expected to grow 7 pct in 2013: official
Cambodia’s GDP is projected to grow by 7 percent this year even though the global economy remains fragile and high risk due to persisting sovereign debt crisis in Europe and sluggish economic recovery in the United States, a commerce official said Monday. Last Tuesday, the ...
Anti-corruption bonus yet to be seen
Customs and Excise Department officials are complaining that a promised salary bonus meant to serve as an incentive to avoid corruption has yet to be doled out, even though the program began last June. The initiative, managed by the Ministry of Economics and Finance, was supposed ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013011160738/National/anti-corruption-bonus-yet-to-be-seen.html