Ministries and other national bodies

A series of quarterly reports from the National Bank of Cambodia raises questions about the government’s ban on timber exports, as they show that last year, more than $5 million in sawn timber was exported from the Kingdom. The latest report, released earlier this month ...

The Agriculture Ministry last week accused slaughterhouses across Cambodia of conspiring to form a cartel and engaging in price fixing while local authorities turned a blind eye, but has since said it has no plans to punish or even name the alleged perpetrators. ...

Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn met with newly appointed United Nations Development Programme representative Pauline Tamesis yesterday. After the meeting, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry said Ms Tamesis confirmed UNDP’s commitment to continue cooperating with Cambodia and supporting policies of the government. ...

Some 100 people representing more than 600 families from Kratie province’s Snuol district who have a land dispute with the Memot Rubber Plantation Company returned home yesterday after sending petitions to relevant ministries. ...

Following a meeting in which a Japanese emissary urged the government to open negotiations with the now-dissolved opposition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested Japan’s concerns were based on a “misunderstanding” and said Cambodia is too small to fight against an alleged “strong propaganda machine”. ...

Commercial banks and microfinance institutions have acquired more than 209 billion riel in riel liquidity, worth $52.4 million, from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) since the central bank began its liquidity-providing collateralised operation (LPCO) in October 2016. ...

Two groups of more than 100 people from Kratie and Oddar Meanchey provinces have come to Phnom Penh to submit petitions to relevant ministries and institutions, asking for intervention to speed up resolution of their land disputes. ...

More than 30 people representing 316 families in four communes of Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district, who claim to have a land dispute with Koh Kong Sugar Industry Co, Ltd and Koh Kong Plantation Co, Ltd, gathered in front of the district hall yesterday ...

Cambodia has become more autocratic and its government’s claim of stable economic development rests on uncertain basis, according to a comprehensive new report. The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI), published on Thursday, claims that the quality of Cambodia’s democracy, market economy and governance performance has ...

The Ministry of Public Function has cooperated with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to establish a modernised civil servants management system for the Ministry of Health to manage its officials more efficiently. ...

Days after Cambodian and Thai officials reportedly agreed on closer coordination over “foreign fugitives”, opposition party members who have fled the country for Thailand have provided evidence of Cambodian military vehicles stationed near their homes in Bangkok, increasing fear among asylum seekers that they could ...

The Ministry of Agriculture published a circular on Thursday accusing the slaughterhouse industry of running a “conspiracy” and “cartel” to fix prices and monopolise the market amid a “lack of enforcement” from local authorities. ...

The Ministry of Land Management on Thursday morning said it has resolved two long-running land disputes between communities in Koh Kong’s Sre Ambel and Botum Sakor districts and two sugar companies owned by tycoon and ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat involving more than 800 ...

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications announced the opening of the fourth annual ICT Awards on Wednesday, calling for organisations to pitch products and vie for prizes worth $27,000. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday pledged his commitment to preventing garment factory owners from escaping their obligations to workers by closing their factories without warning, even as the current lack of a formal system for dealing with such situations has left at least one ...

The protesters represent a community of over 1,000 families living along a railway in the capital’s Russey Keo district. Plans to replace the track with a new, broader road will displace people in three communes. The new road and accompanying sidewalks would be 60 metres ...

Two prominent international unions have written to the Ministry of Education accusing it of illegally firing several employees with ties to the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, and asking that the group be reinstated. ...

The Commerce Ministry officially launched a program yesterday giving the authority to issue certificate of origin licences to four provinces along the Thai border, potentially expediting the export process for agricultural businesses in the region. ...

The German Ambassador to Cambodia supports the government giving land titles to indigenous groups in Mondulkiri province as a means of protecting natural resources. According to a press release from the German embassy, German Ambassador Ingo Karsten and Math Mara, secretary of state at the Ministry ...

Villagers in a land dispute with companies producing sugar in Koh Kong province gathered again at the Land Ministry yesterday afternoon, demanding the ministry resolve their land disputes as soon as possible. More than 70 people from Sre Ambel and Botum Sakor districts are facing difficulties ...

Authorities questioned a Borei Keila resident on Tuesday for her role in a protest outside the home of developer Suy Sophan, who filed a complaint against her earlier in March. Borei Keila resident Phork Sophin said that she may be charged with defamation and the ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to establish a new $60 million program focused on developing local technical skills and increasing the competitiveness of Cambodia’s labour force in 2019, according to Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng. ...

The Cambodian riel accounted for about 17 percent of total currency circulation last year, a number similar to previous years, but central bank officials said they remained optimistic that use of the local currency will grow in the future. ...

A Wildlife Conservation Society official yesterday expressed concern about the potential impact on birds, livestock and humans after a poisoned pond was found in a conservation area in Preah Vihear province’s Chheb district. ...