Economy and commerce
Trade
Falling rice price taking a toll on exporters
The falling price of rice in Asia due to the slowing global economy and intensifying regional competition is taking a toll on Cambodian exporters and farmers even though exports jumped more than 20 percent last month compared to January last year, executives said. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21838/falling-rice-price-taking-a-toll-on-exporters/
Vietnamese rice nowhere to be found in Chinese malls
Although over half of its rice exports were to China last year, it remains a highly competitive market amongst other rice exporters, namely Thailand, Pakistan, and Cambodia, said Bui Huy Hoang, Vietnam’s commercial counselor in China. ...
Tuoi Tre News team
http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/33385/vietnamese-rice-nowhere-to-be-found-in-chinese-malls
Gov’t mulls suspending duty on rubber exports
The government will consider suspending its $50 per ton export duty on rubber following lobbying by local producers who say they are operating at a loss due to the sharp fall in global prices for the commodity, Agriculture Ministry secretary of state Eang Sophalleth said ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21714/gov---t-mulls-suspending-duty-on-rubber-exports/
Firms ready to expand despite local skills gap
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 ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/firms-ready-expand-despite-local-skills-gap
Cambodia is open for investment, PM tells America
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a direct appeal to businesses in the United States to increase investment in Cambodia, ahead of the US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands California, and just days after Deputy Prime Minister Sok An spoke with officials from the US Embassy here ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21410/cambodia-is-open-for-investment--pm-tells-america/
PTT mulls foray into local retail propane market
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. ...
Sor Chandara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ptt-mulls-foray-local-retail-propane-market
Barriers remain for Southeast Asia’s economic integration plans
Efforts to integrate of Southeast Asia’s economies are beginning to bear fruit, experts say, although there is some way to go before the goal of turning the region into a single market and production base can be reached. ...
Ten Soksreinith
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/barriers-remain-for-southeast-asia-economic-integration-plans/3190571.html
US trade treaty to aid kingdom's TPP ambitions
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 ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/us-trade-treaty-aid-kingdoms-tpp-ambitions
Rice Federation raises alarm about Vietnam’s FTA with EU
The Cambodia Rice Federation yesterday raised fresh concerns about the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), after an online rice-industry portal said the deal will scrap import duties on about 80,000 tons of rice from Vietnam per year and that this could start this year. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21216/rice-federation-raises-alarm-about-vietnam---s-fta-with-eu/
ASEAN still a tough market for rice exports despite AEC
Cambodian rice exports are finding new markets and rising demand in ASEAN this year, but officials and exporters are not linking this to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), saying it was too early to tell what impact the regional trade bloc – which took effect ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21156/asean-still-a-tough-market-for-rice-exports-despite-aec/
Exports to US rise over 9 percent last year
With the American economy expanding, Cambodia’s total export to the country increased slightly more than 9 per cent last year over 2014, the latest US trade data shows. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21104/exports-to-us-rise-over-9-percent-last-year/
Thai company’s return to sugar group challenged by NGOs
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. ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/thai-companys-return-to-sugar-group-challenged-by-ngos-107852/
Trade officials aim for bigger bite of China’s market
Cambodian trade officials are urging their Chinese counterparts to boost imports of Cambodian rubber, cassava, sugar and pepper to narrow the trade imbalance between the two countries, officials said after a meeting last week. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21100/trade-officials-aim-for-bigger-bite-of-china---s-market/
Rubber association to appeal for suspension of export tax
The Association for Rubber Development in Cambodia will submit a letter to the government asking it to suspend export taxes on rubber due to the sharp decline in its price and to prevent more farmers from going out of business, its secretary general, Men Sopheak, ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21034/rubber-association-to-appeal-for-suspension-of-export-tax/
Analysts urge caution in trans-pacific partnership with US
Cambodian officials say they are considering joining the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, but analysts say the country is a long way from being a part of the regional trade pact. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/analysts-urge-caution-in-trans-pacific-partnership-with-us/3174872.html
Nagacorp casino profits swell to $173M
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. ...
Cam McGrath
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/nagacorp-casino-profits-swell-173m
Revenue surges 40 percent at water supplier
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. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20582/revenue-surges-40-percent-at-water-supplier/
Apparel companies cite union concerns
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. ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/apparel-companies-cite-union-concerns
S. Korea is laying the foundation for accelerating growth
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 ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20465/s--korea-is-laying-the-foundation-for-accelerating-growth/
Committee wraps up trade union law talks
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. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/committee-wraps-trade-union-law-talks
Firms urged to opt for arbitration, not courts, to settle disputes
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 ...
Lacklustre prices, competition dampen cassava exports
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. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/lacklustre-prices-competition-dampen-cassava-exports
Rice exports miss the mark again
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. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-exports-miss-mark-again
Cargo ship with flag of Cambodia detained
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. ...
Igor Kossov
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cargo-ship-flag-cambodia-detained