Economy and commerce

The government on March 26 approved five new investment projects worth about $1.3 billion and expected to absorb 2,250 workers, even amid a dramatic escalation in the ASEAN member’s fight against the spread of the Covid-19 disease. ...

Thirty-one Cambodian tariff lines – mostly agricultural products – now carry the zero rate to neighbouring Vietnam for 2021-2022, the Ministry of Commerce announced on March 25. ...

Minimal disruption to production chains and booming demand is sweet news for suppliers of geographical-indication- (GI) certified palm sugar. According to Saroeun, members can produce 250 tonnes of the commodity per season in December-May. He said KSPSPA’s 10 member companies exported a total of 70 ...

The price of Cambodian milled rice on the international market has seen a slight uptick in the first quarter of this year from end-2020. ...

Cambodia and Thailand agreed to reopen three regional border checkpoints in Battambang province on March 23 to facilitate trade. ...

South Korean-owned Phnom Penh Commercial Bank Plc (PPCBank) announced a first coupon payout to investors in its second bond despite unrest in the Cambodian economy fuelled by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. ...

The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has recently approved a 20-megawatt solar power plant project in Monorom commune, Svay Teap district, Svay Rieng province. ...

The Cambodian economy is not insulated from fears of inflation and the selloff of US bonds, according to a financial analyst. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the US’ quantitative easing policy to spur a turnaround in the country’s economy. ...

Vietnam extended its 3,000-tonne duty-free quota for Cambodian dried tobacco leaves for 2021 to meet market demand, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Seang Thay confirmed to The Post on March 23. ...

Stock-listed industrial-park operator Phnom Penh SEZ Plc (PPSP) will acquire the remaining 40 per cent of construction company Sahas E&C Co Ltd’s (Sahas) shares from its joint venture (JV) partner LCH for $1,172,514.82 after approval from the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) on ...

A 60MW solar power station in northern Battambang province was commissioned and connected to the national grid last week. The solar farm is located in southwestern Thma Koul district’s Anlong Run commune and is invested by Shenzhen-listed Risen Energy Co Ltd. ...

The much-anticipated Inclusive Business Enabling Environment for Cambodia (IbeeC) strategy will be adopted soon to meet the needs of 1.7 million poor and low-income Cambodians by 2023, a wide-ranging virtual meeting conducted by the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation heard on March 18. ...

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) approved in principle the listing eligibility of a privately-owned small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) on its Growth Board, CSX vice-chairman Ha Jong-weon told The Post on March 22. ...

Agriculture and Rural Development Bank of Cambodia (ARDB) expects to receive an additional $30 million from the government for special-purpose loans to keep the Kingdom’s smaller businesses afloat amid the ongoing economic duress of Covid-19, according to the state-owned bank’s director-general Kao Thach. ...

Cambodia continues to face a multitude of challenges as digital payments and solutions graduate from a niche business to a key segment in the Kingdom’s development strategy, according to National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) assistant governor Chea Serey on March 17. ...

Singapore-listed Union Gas Holdings Ltd has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LoI) with Worldbridge Industrial Developments Co Ltd (WBID) to form a joint venture company (JVCo) to supply and distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Kingdom. ...

Cambodia approved eight investment projects worth over $69 million in the first three weeks of this month that are expected to deliver 5,249 jobs, according to a report from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). ...

The pandemic has increased pressure on building operators, resulting in an all-time high in demand for property management, US-based commercial real estate and service and investment firm CBRE – the largest in the world – said yesterday. ...

Cambodia exported more than 5.8 thousand tonnes of dried tobacco leaves worth more than $17 million to nine countries last year, marking a 14 per cent and 28 per cent decline in volume and value, respectively, over 2019. ...

Conch KT Cement (Phnom Penh) Co Ltd plans to build a $263 million cement factory in Kampong Speu province with a two-million-tonne-a-year capacity, according to provincial governor Vei Samnang on March 18. ...

Data from the Korean International Trade Association showed that during January and February Cambodia exported about $64 million of products to the east Asian country, an increase of over 2.9 percent compared with the same period last year. ...

Cambodia’s exports to Vietnam rose in 2020 despite both nations imposing strict cross-border movement control to fight the pandemic. Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Cambodia’s exports to Vietnam rising by 14.8 percent in 2020 to $385 million. ...

During an interview with CoinDesk’s online web show, “Money Re-imagined”, the Director-General and Assistant Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Chea Serey explained how the central bank is working towards financial inclusion by encouraging the opening of formal savings accounts. ...

The Kingdom is forecast to register gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.5 percent, a sharp reversal of 2020’s contraction of 3.1 percent, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said in its macroeconomic situation report. ...