Government

Cambodia could lose its competitive advantage in bicycle manufacturing and assembly, an industry source says. In a report from the Taipei Cycle Show late Wednesday, the US-based Bicycle Retailer and Industry News said Cambodia had used low wages and zero tariffs in the European Union to ...

Three judicial reform draft laws will be submitted to the Council of Ministers last this month, justice officials said Wednesday. The draft laws deal with the functions of the courts and the conduct of judges and prosecutors, as well as an oversight body called the Supreme ...

Cambodia’s trade volume with Asean member states reached US$4.16 billion last year, up 12 percent from US$3.71 billion in 2012, Xinhua news agency reported. In the Commerce Ministry’s report released Wednesday, Cambodia exported products equivalent to US$482 million to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) ...

NGOs working in democracy, human rights and transparency all say they face a lack of cooperation from Cambodian authorities, especially in the provinces, a new report finds. The Cooperation Committee for Cambodia conducted research on Cambodia’s overall climate for civil society organizations, finding that those dealing ...

The Ministry of Agriculture has created designated bird flu contamination zones in Phnom Penh and Kandal province following the deaths of hundreds of birds due to the H5N1 virus, officials said Wednesday. Agriculture Minister Ouk Rabon signed two directives late last month saying that poultry being ...

The government will not consult civil society groups on the latest iteration of a draft law that will regulate non-governmental organisations and associations, a senior Interior Ministry official said yesterday. Meas Sarim, deputy director-general of the General Department of Local Administration at the Ministry of Interior ...

The government has no intention of withdrawing its signature from the International Labour Organization’s freedom of association convention, despite calls for it to reconsider its position, a Ministry of Labour spokesman said yesterday. “I don’t think we will withdraw. The prime minister [Hun Sen] has already ...

The Ministry of Labor said Wednesday that the government has agreed on a final draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia regarding sending Cambodian maids to work there, but that no timeframe for the signing of the agreement has been set. Following reports of ...

Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Sam Rainsy met today with a Thai delegation at the CNRP headquarters. ...

Say Sam Al, Minister of Environment, on Thursday called for construction of plastic recycle plants in Bavet and Sihanoukville. Speaking at the meeting, the minister said that in the last 20 years Ministry of Environment as well as Cambodian government didn’t allow trash recycle in ...

The government can’t seem to agree on whether or not Prime Minister Hun Sen has lifted the ban on the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. Last week, Mr. Hun Sen said in a speech: “I will not prevent [demonstrations] because everyone has equal rights,” which ...

A U.N. rights envoy to Cambodia on Wednesday expressed “cautious optimism” that the parties of Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy would move toward ending their seven-month political deadlock following an agreement achieved this week between the two sides on a set ...

Following an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen last month to crack down on intimidation and harassment by tax collectors in local markets, City Hall pledged to take legal action yesterday. Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong told municipal and provincial governors that fines for rogue collectors ...

The World Justice Project yesterday ranked Cambodia 91st out of 99 nations and at the bottom of the barrel regionally in terms of its devotion to the rule of law, despite its midlevel performance in terms of providing order and security. In its annual Rule of ...

An existing moratorium on economic land concessions should be no impediment to pouring more cash into the Kingdom’s booming, and highly criticised, rubber trade, industry executives in the capital heard yesterday, as many current ELCs can simply be recycled to a new crop of investors. Ly ...

In yet another case of district security guards assuming the role of police officers, three evictees of the capital’s Boeung Kak lake area were detained in the capital yesterday morning and taken to a police station. Daun Penh district security guards seized Em Srey Touch, 41, ...

Despite anticipating violence between unionists and authorities, labour union heads yesterday said they will go ahead with a public forum at Freedom Park on Saturday morning. Phnom Penh City Hall on Tuesday denied a request by 18 union federations to hold a public forum at ...

Ohio University is poised to hold its sixth annual Khmer Studies Forum, beginning later this month. Topics for discussion at the three-day conference include Cambodia’s current political climate, the Khmer Rouge tribunal, and the country’s art, media and culture.​ The forum will be held at the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has told local business leaders that increased wages should be linked to improvements in the productivity of workers. Speaking at the 17th Government-Private Sector Forum on Tuesday, he said higher wages “must be attached to the production capacity of each worker and ...

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed Wednesday Cambodia’s government issuer rating at B2 with a stable outlook, stating that recent labour unrest could result in only slightly slower economic growth this year. “Cambodia’s underlying credit strengths are expected to withstand the impact of recent political tensions and labor ...

A group of 18 labor unions and associations said they will proceed with plans for a public forum in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park on Saturday, despite City Hall’s rejecting their request, citing public security concerns. The unions, who are organizing a nationwide strike in the garment ...

The Chinese-owned Global (Cambodia) Trade Development company takes over today as Phnom Penh’s new municipal bus operator, although City Hall said Tuesday that the company did not have to go through a bidding process to get the contract. The creation of a permanent public bus system ...

Two Phnom Penh economic police officers were charged with misappropriation of public funds Tuesday by the municipal court and placed in pretrial detention at Prey Sar prison, according to court staff. Theng Ramy, a clerk for the court’s prosecution office, identified the charged officers as Sok ...

Six border checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey province were on Saturday closed unilaterally and without warning by Thailand, local officials and border police said. Lieutenant Colonel So Channry, chief of the 911 border battalion in O’Chrov district, said that Thai authorities had closed the checkpoints, one of ...