Economy and commerce

China and Cambodia yesterday signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in Phnom Penh, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and visiting Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attending the signing ceremony. ...

“Within almost a four-month period as of October 2, 2020, we received a total of 1,793 applications, 1,367 of which have been approved and 426 of which are under review. The average number of days it takes to register a company is eight,” said Undersecretary ...

The Cabinet Meeting, held here this morning under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Hun Sen, approved the draft 3-Year Rolling Public Investment Programme 2021-2023.   ...

Cambodia exported 179,621 tonnes of rubber in the first nine months of 2020, a jump of 3.78 per cent from the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has made it clear that the whole microfinance industry should not be held accountable for some of the unregulated microloans that are pushing people deeper into debt. ...

The Australian Government joined the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) to launch the landmark Domestic Capital Mobilisation for Infrastructure Investment through the Security Market Project. ...

Chinese-owned Prince Culture and Development Co Ltd officially launched the $85 million Prince Manor entertainment centre in Kandal province on Wednesday. Prince Manor is located along National Road 1, 20km from the centre of Phnom Penh. It is the first major theme park project in ...

The Kingdom’s vehicles business has seen a drop in both sales and imports by an estimated 30 percent because of the impact of COVID-19. Figures from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) shows that the COVID-19 crisis has caused the country’s imports to fall ...

The National Assembly yesterday adopted the draft law on commercial gambling management to create more jobs and boost the economy. The draft law was adopted after it secured 114 votes out of the 117 parliamentarians present during the 5th session of the 6th National Assembly ...

The Royal Government will  stand by its forecast  that the economy will not  contract by more than -1.9 percent this year.  In addition, it has forecasted that  positive growth will return in 2021 with an estimated 3.5 percent. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is continuing to accept small denomination US banknotes ($1, $2 and $5) “free of charge” from financial institutions, despite the August 31 deadline it had set out in May. ...

The Cambodian government is working hard at becoming more  flexible to attract foreign  investments and boost external trade to keep pace with the ever changing  global trading environment. ...

The government is now drafting a policy on pepper with the intention of scaling up a competitive advantage, attract investors and boost added-value to Cambodian pepper production, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Commerce. ...

To support startups and small businesses across Cambodia, Impact Hub Phnom Penh is launching a new education programme for entrepreneurs with funding from Smart Axiata’s $1 million COVID-19 relief fund. ...

The decision by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) to file a lawsuit against the European Commission (EC) has reignited the ongoing struggle between Cambodia and the European Union (EU) to promote bilateral trade and uphold a political agenda. ...

Cambodia exported a total of 5.8 million tonnes of agricultural products to foreign markets during the first nine months of this year, despite the global COVID-19 crisis. ...

The World Bank has forecast a sharp contraction of negative two percent for the local economy this year, adding that Cambodia’s unfavourable growth outlook alongside disruptions to jobs and lower household incomes means poverty is likely to increase. ...

Data from Cambodia’s custom and excise department shows that from January to August this year, the total number of containers arriving and leaving the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) increased by 22.1% compared with the same period last year. ...

National Bank of Cambodia Governor Chea Chanto said Cambodia needs a strong national currency to strengthen its economic and financial resilience to underlying crises, as well as to support sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth and development. ...

Techo Startup Centre (TSC), under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the association of banks in Cambodia, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation to promote financial technology systems in Cambodia. ...

KE, which is part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, has teamed up with the Cambodia-Australia Agricultural Value Chain programme (CAVAC), devoted to improving the resilience and competitiveness of Cambodia’s agriculture sector. They are  providing funding assistance to qualifying agro-processing small and medium enterprises ...

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) has officially launched a mediation software tool to help with financial management information systems and tax data management. The purpose of introducing it is to modernise and automate revenue-sharing data between the tax data management and financial information. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said that although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe impact on many Cambodians’ livelihoods and the economy, the government will not slow down its reform and development in any sector. ...

Cambodia is at risk of “getting left behind” if it doesn’t invest more in a digitally skilled workforce as local companies look to improve their business process and customer experience through “digital transformation”, according to a panel discussion on an industrywide survey. ...