Economy and commerce
Trade
Kingdom's first gem-testing lab opens
London-based checker of rare gems and jewellery Intertek has established a laboratory in Cambodia to help regulate and provide guidelines for the gem trade. Officially opening today, it is the Kingdom’s first gem laboratory. Intertek director in Cambodia Khut Sothy said the country had been ...
UN labour agency troubled by Cambodia's failure to arrest gunman
The United Nations‘ labour agency said Tuesday international buyers were “extremely concerned” at Cambodia‘s failure to arrest the suspect in last month‘s shootings of three garment workers at a subcontractor for German sportswear firm PUMA SE. Jill Tucker, technical advisor to the International Labour Organization, said ...
Whereabouts of Bavet governor still a mystery
Government and police officials were at a loss yesterday to pinpoint the whereabouts of the Bavet town governor, who has been identified as a suspect in the shooting of three women at a protest two weeks ago. An arrest warrant had still not been issued for ...
Kampot dredging escalates
Dredging in Kampot has escalated in the face of community concerns, with more boats now mining sand right in front of the provincial capital and dumping vast amounts of it directly outside the provincial land management authority. The Post counted a total of 17 boats ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012030554851/National-news/kampot-dredging-only-grows.html
Chea Mony sued over strike
Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court has summonsed Free Trade Union president Chea Mony and two of his officers to answer incitement charges at the court tomorrow relating to his alleged involvement in a mass strike at a garment factory last year, officials said yesterday. M&V garment factory ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012030554857/National-news/chea-mony-sued-over-strike.html
Police Confiscate Trucks Smuggling Thai Gasoline
Police in Siem Reap province said yesterday that they confiscated two trucks in Varin district Friday morning carrying 24,228 liters of gasoline believed to have been smuggled from Thailand. Soeun Sem, chief of the Siem Reap economic police, said that officers apprehended the two ...
Police Arrest TTY Manager Over Shooting
Kratie provincial police have arrested the general manager of TTY rubber company, and he is now facing charges for his role in a Jan. 18 shooting of four villagers by the company’s armed guards, police and court officials said yesterday. Authorities arrested two TTY guards ...
Corn sales fall, profits sought in cassava
Revenues from Cambodian corn exports fell by 52 per cent last year as farmers scrapped the crop for the more lucrative, but less stable, cassava plant. The Kingdom exported 35,381 tonnes of corn, worth US$2.2 million, in 2011, down from 86,533 tonnes worth $4.57 million the ...
Photo Said to Show SEZ Shooter With Police
A week and a half after a uniformed man opened fire on three female protesters at a special economic zone in Svay Rieng province, a photograph surfaced in a local newspaper on Friday showing the alleged gunman brandishing a pistol and surrounded by police and ...
Certification Quandry Stunts Sugar Exports
In April 2010, Kampot Pepper and Kompong Speu palm sugar both gained a geographical indication (GI) from the Ministry of Commerce that recognized their unique qualities and protected their name. But while Kampot pepper producers export almost all of their 17-ton annual production at high ...
Truck Accident Leaves 1 Garment Worker Dead, 30 Badly Injured
One garment worker was killed and 30 others seriously injured on Wednesday when the truck in which they were travelling crashed in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district, a police official said yesterday. Free Trade Union (FTU) President Chea Mony said all 58 women were workers ...
Report Notes Major Increase in Migrant Workers Abused
The number of migrant workers abused by their foreign employers abroad more than doubled in 2011, rights group Adhoc announced yesterday before calling on the government to improve its efforts to protect both migrant and repatriated workers. “It’s a dangerous sign,” said Adhoc president Thun Saray ...
Governor Arrested as Shooting Suspect
The governor of a city in southeastern Cambodia was arrested Friday in connection with a shooting that left three workers hospitalized as they took part in protests for better labor conditions at a sportswear factory that supplies goods to German sportswear giant PUMA. Moeun Tola, head ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/shooting-03022012172935.html
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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
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 ...
Fishermen back in Kingdom
Eight fishermen who escaped after more than a year of forced labour aboard a Thai fishing boat recounted tales of abuse and miserable working conditions upon their repatriation to the Kingdom yesterday. The men said that brokers had promised them salaried jobs in Thai factories, but ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022454703/National-news/fishermen-back-in-kingdom.html
Cambodia looks to banking and agriculture to spur growth
Garment-making has been a mainstay of Cambodia’s fledgling economy, chalking up between 6 and 7 percent annually for the past four years. But, the country is turning its focus back to the land in the hope that rice growing and other farming produce, will lift growth ...
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/economicnews/view/1184944/1/.html
Fear, rumours in wake of shooting
Speculation is bubbling in Bavet town over the identity of the man who shot three people protesting outside a shoe factory on Monday, with eyewitnesses, police and villagers suggesting blame lies with town officials. The shooting, which took place outside the Kaoway Sports Ltd factory ...
Cambodia Faces Tests With 2012 Asean Chairmanship
For the second time in the history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Cambodia has taken over the chairmanship of the 10-nation bloc. The country first chaired Asean in 2002–03, when it had been a member for only three years. Yet the world and the ...
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/cambodia-faces-tests-with-2012-asean-chairmanship/499533
Cambodia, China willing to further enhance cooperation in all fields: officials
Cambodia and China are willing to further promote bilateral cooperation in all fields in the framework of ASEAN-China relations, officials said Monday. The commitment was made during the official visit of Ma Mingqiang, secretary general of ASEAN-China Center, to Cambodia. In a meeting with Cambodia’s Minister ...