Economy and commerce
Investment
Wage Hike Leads To Rent Fears
Cambodian Confederation of Unions president Rong Chhun yesterday appealed to landlords with properties close to garment factories not to take advantage of the industry’s minimum wage increase by raising rent prices. The minimum monthly salary in the garment sector – Cambodia’s biggest export industry – officially ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065555/National/wage-hike-leads-to-rent-fears.html
Japanese bank to boost local investments
Japanese Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) signed an agreement yesterday with local Canadia Bank to shore up Japanese growth in Cambodia and to demonstrate its confidence in the Kingdom’s financial sector. BTMU’s managing executive officer, Takami Onodera, and Pung Kheav Se, chairman of Canadia Bank, yesterday ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065537/Business/japanese-bank-to-boost-local-investments.html
Delta Electronics eyes Cambodia expansion
Delta Electronics (Thailand), one of the world’s leading producers of power supplies and electronic components, plans to expand to Cambodia and Myanmar, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday. “There is no indication of a specific timeframe for the expansion, but the company sees these countries . ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065533/Business/delta-electronics-eyes-cambodia-expansion.html
Cambodia Airlines to add planes
Cambodia Airlines plans to spend $1.5 billion to acquire up to 22 planes, a move that might see the new airline’s eventual fleet size overtake that of national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air. “We [will be] starting to deploy 16 to 22 aircraft immediately once it’s ready ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065531/Business/cambodia-airlines-to-add-planes.html
Cambodian PM to visit Macau in September
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit Macau in September to participate in the Second Global Tourism Economy Forum. Prime Minister Hun Sen called for more investment in the country by Chinese and Macau entrepreneurs, and direct flights between Cambodia and Macau. According to Xinhua, the ...
http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/43622-cambodian-pm-to-visit-macau-in-september.html
Trade with Vietnam increases
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and neighbouring Vietnam rose more than 10 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, data from the Vietnam Embassy in Phnom Penh showed. Officials said cross-border trade facilitation by both countries significantly contributed to the growth. But they said ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050965501/Business/trade-with-vietnam-increases-2013.html
Kampong Thom Governor Vows to Give Land to Evictees
The newly appointed Kompong Thom provincial governor on Tuesday promised more than 500 families who were forcefully evicted by a Vietnamese rubber plantation more than three years ago that they would be given replacement land to farm on early next month. Security forces evicted villagers from ...
French Ambassador vows to strengthen further relations with Cambodia
Serge Mostura, French Ambassador to Cambodia, said he wanted to boost economic diplomacy between Cambodia and France. Citizens of France visits Cambodia only as tourists or for study, but none have placed investments in the country, so he vows to attract small and medium sized ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=NDcxZTc4YzQ5YTR
Macau To Cambodia Route ‘In Negotiation’
A new air route may connect Macau and Cambodia this year, a move industry experts say would reduce travel costs in the region and reflects tourist interests in both destinations’ gambling industries. Several airlines are in contact with CAM, Macau International Airport Co, “seeking to launch ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050865475/Business/macau-to-cambodia-route-in-negotiation.html
Insurance Institute To Boost Skills in Kingdom
An insurance training centre is being planned in Cambodia to develop local expertise lacking in the Kingdom’s nascent insurance industry. The institute hopes to offer diploma courses to industry leaders here so they in turn will be qualified to provide insurance training to others, such as ...
Chevrolet autos aim to tap into demand for new cars in Cambodia
Chevrolet, one of America’s iconic brand autos, officially launched its first dealership here on Monday, aiming at tapping into the country’s growing market for new vehicles. Martin Apfel, president of the US’ General Motors to Southeast Asia Operations, said at the launching ceremony at the cars’ ...
S. Korea's Booyoung to build new town in Cambodia
Booyoung Co., a mid-sized South Korean conglomerate, said Tuesday that it broke ground for one of the largest housing projects in Cambodia, a project Cambodia hopes to spur foreign investments. Booyoung said it will build 40 apartments and seven residential and commercial complexes on 2.7 square ...
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2013/05/07/45/0501000000AEN20130507006500320F.HTML
New MFI To Launch Operations
A new microfinance institution (MFI), ORO Financecorp Plc, is set to open in Cambodia, according to the director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). Cambodia already has 35 registered MFIs, according to a recent report by the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA). Last week, the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050765436/Business/new-mfi-to-launch-operations.html
Ministry Cancels Telco Limits
An often flouted and publicly unpopular restriction forbidding Cambodia’s telecoms from offering lucrative mobile phone promotions was scrapped on Sunday, just two weeks after it was introduced. In a letter from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC), signed by Minister So Khun, it announced a ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050765438/Business/ministry-cancels-telco-limits.html
Phnom Penh Governor Leaves Behind Mixed Legacy
During his speech last week at the swearing-in ceremony of Phnom Penh’s new governor, Pa Socheatvong, Interior Minister Sar Kheng noted that managing Cambodia’s capital is by no means an easy task. While critics of [former Phnom Penh governor] Mr. [Kep] Chuktema note his failure ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/phnom-penh-governor-leaves-behind-mixed-legacy-22697/
Cambodia gets rolling
The small but sleek Angkor Car can easily navigate the narrow streets of Cambodia, while with an electric engine saves on expensive fuel costs. It may cost $10,000 per vehicle, a bit steep for most local people, but the vehicle is a welcome testimony to ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/marketing/348783/cambodia-gets-rolling
Cambodia, Bangladesh ink visa exemption deal for diplomatic, official passport holders
Cambodia and Bangladesh on Friday signed a visa-free agreement for diplomatic and service passport holders in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties in politics, trade, investment and tourism, officials said. The deal was inked here between Long Visalo, secretary of state at Cambodian Ministry of Foreign ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/03/c_132357925.htm
Kids beaten over ELC
Five men working for Ratanakkiri rubber concessionaire DM Group, including a soldier, have been arrested for allegedly beating a villager and his children – one of whom, doctors say, may not survive – in a scuffle over their family’s land, the father said yesterday. Police confirmed ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050665430/National/kids-beaten-over-elc.html
Government Mulls Issuing Sovereign Bonds
Cambodia is considering offering sovereign bonds to raise more revenue for the national budget and move away from its dependence on overseas aid, a senior central bank official said Sunday. National Bank of Cambodia director-general Nguon Sokha said the Ministry of Economy and Finance was currently ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/government-mulls-issuing-sovereign-bonds-21989/
Pushing the ELC envelope
Three companies accused of illegal logging in Ratanakkiri province are in possession of a combined 30,000 hectares of economic land concessions (ELCs) that are likely illegal because they are owned by the same parent firm. Hoang Anh Andong Meas, Hoang Anh Lumphat and Hoang Anh Ouyadav ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050365405/National/pushing-the-elc-envelope.html
NGO, Boeung Kak activists offer solution
The Boeung Kak community and a land rights NGO yesterday released a proposed demarcation plan they say could solve the long-standing land dispute. In a map presented yesterday, villagers said they had agreed on a land division that would make room for 70 families locked out ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050365397/National/ngo-b-kak-activists-offer-solution.html
High Risk Seen in Kingdom’s Business Environment: Report
Corruption, a weak judicial system and the potential for complicity with human and labour rights abuses are key risks for firms looking to invest in Cambodia, a new report [by Maplecroft, a UK-based global risk and strategic consulting firm] analysing investment risk in the Kingdom ...
Made in Cambodia: Foreign Industry Calls on Cambodia as the Next “Low-Cost” Alternative in All Things Manufacturing
About a decade ago, global manufacturing firms staged a mass exodus to Asia in search of low-cost alternatives to increasing domestic wage demands and operational costs. The consensus was the continued development of a regional supply chain that had formed in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, ...
Angry Villagers Confront Workers
Jarai minority villagers in Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district protested in two locations yesterday against a Vietnamese company that community leaders say has been clearing their protected land and forcing villagers to accept inadequate compensation. Community leader Sev Hem said 30 angry villagers directly confronted five Company 72 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050165347/National/angry-villagers-confront-workers.html