Trade policy and regulation

Malaysian conglomerate Muhibbah Engineering Bhd reported that revenue declined 7.5 per cent last year, but gross profit increased in part due to its stake in the company that operates Cambodia’s three international airports. ...

Parallel imports—that is, genuine, noncounterfeit products imported into a country without permission of the intellectual property owner—are a systemic problem in Cambodia. Imported from neighboring countries without the authorization of legitimate manufacturers, parallel imports are sold on the “grey market” at prices which can be ...

A Eurocham business confidence survey has revealed that 81 per cent of respondents – members of the business association – planned to increase investments and expand their operations in the Kingdom, but viewed transparency and the lack of skilled human resources as the major downsides ...

Thai oil company PTT is looking to expand its retail liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business into Cambodia and other Asian markets, a company executive said yesterday. ...

As Prime Minister Hun Sen attends the US-ASEAN Summit in California today, government officials are in the midst of ongoing negotiations with their American counterparts to formulate a trade and investment agreement, which analysts say could be a stepping stone towards one day joining the ...

Three local NGOs have filed a com­plaint with international sug­ar industry group Bonsucro for re­admitting Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol even though thousands of fam­ilies forced off the company’s for­mer plantations in Oddar Mean­chey province have yet to be fully compensated. ...

Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd. posted a net profit of $172.6 million last year, a 27 per cent increase over the previous year, attributing the surge to increased business volume across all gaming segments at its NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh. ...

Revenue for the state-owed Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) surged more than 40 percent last year from 2014, according to a preliminary report released last week. ...

A visiting delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong met with relevant ministries and stakeholders yesterday to discuss the progress of Cambodia’s trade union law and the issues surrounding industrial relations in the Kingdom. ...

The flow of Korean investment into Cambodia has been in the spotlight for more than a decade, primarily foreign direct investment in the construction and property sectors. Investment from the East Asian nation continues its rise, and in 2014 South Korean investment in Cambodia ranked ...

The bipartisan committee tasked with examining the Kingdom’s controversial draft trade union law wrapped up its activities yesterday, ultimately making few of the substantive changes that unions demanded. ...

Commercial arbitration is a swifter, less expensive and more confidential way to settle business disputes than going through the courts, and the expansion of the service here will make the investment environment more attractive, Van Sou Ieng, president of the Cambodian Federation of Employers and ...

Cambodian cassava farmers are facing dropping prices in the agro commodity this season, as the lack of a domestic market and dependence on exports, which faces competition from neighbouring countries, has led them to call for government intervention. ...

Five years after setting out an ambitious 1 million-tonne milled rice export target, the rice sector fell well short of the mark last year, exporting close to 550,000 tonnes, with industry experts cautiously optimistic over export increases in 2016. ...

Russian authorities have temporarily detained a cargo ship flying the Cambodian flag near Crimea in the Black Sea on January 3, a spokesman for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said yesterday. ...

Several new trade pacts will help Vietnam attract more foreign investors next year as the country will become more open and better connected to some of the world’s largest markets, economists say. ...

The European Union will continue to remain Cambodia’s biggest export recipient, mopping up $2.32 billion in shipments this year, with the US following a close second at $2.07 billion, according to Commerce Ministry estimates. ...

Muang Thai Life Assurance (MTL) is planning to expand to the Cambodian market early next year, according to a report in the Bangkok Post. ...

After seven years under discussion and a series of drastic edits, the Trade Union Law is inching closer to being passed by the National Assembly. Human Rights Watch yesterday issued a statement on the latest draft of the union law, saying that while it ...

The EU and Vietnam on Wednesday signed a free trade deal that removes nearly all tariffs between Europe and the Southeast Asian nation. EU exports to Vietnam, meanwhile, are dominated by high-tech products including electrical machinery and equipment, aircraft, vehicles and pharmaceuticals. ...

Trade officials from Cambodia and Thailand will begin two days of talks in Bangkok tomorrow in an attempt to boost bilateral increase by 30 per cent per year over the next five years, including drawing more investment from third countries in special economic zones (SEZ), ...

Cambodian businesses are joining forces in an attempt to increase production and reduce the country’s dependence on imports. The Federation of Association for Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia, the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce plan to encourage small ...

Kith Meng, chairman of the Royal Group, was reelected president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce yesterday in a landslide vote at its Phnom Penh office. The tycoon, whose interests span television, banking, telecoms and property, was also reelected president of the Phnom Penh Chamber ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen urged policymakers in Washington to expand its preferential treatment of goods imported from least-developed countries (LDCs) including Cambodia by increasing the amount of goods permitted duty- and quota-free access to the US market.“Cambodia would like to request that the US provide ...