Economy and commerce

Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia is expected to diversify into finance and banking in the near term, offering microlending services to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), said Peter Wong, Southeast Asia and South Asia regional director at the Hong Kong Trade Development ...

Cambodia’s parliament is reviewing a five-year ban on more than 100 members of the main opposition party, which could allow them to return to politics, following threats by the European Union to deny duty-free trading access to the Southeast Asian nation. ...

The first deliveries of salt from China arrived on Tuesday at Sihanoukville port after an agreement for a 30,000-tonne import was inked last month, said Bun Baraing, the co-president of the Salt Producers Community of Kampot-Kep (SPCKK). ...

Malaysian companies are set to explore export opportunities for chemicals and chemical products in Vietnam and Cambodia through Malaysia External Trade Development Corp signature export promotion programme, Export Acceleration Mission. ...

Both Cambodia and Myanmar heavily depend on the European Union’s duty and quota free trade agreement. But the European bloc believes it is time that these countries address human rights abuses. ...

The Centre for Policy Studies yesterday urged the government to consider reducing tax on some imported agriculture equipment to support farmers and increase the rate of modernisation. CPS director Chan Sophal said during a Cross Talk discussion with Khmer Times yesterday that recently the agriculture ...

Government officials and private sector leaders on Friday reiterated their calls for all small and medium-sized enterprises to join the regulatory fold. Public officials and representatives of employers’ organisations assured business owners that the recently announced tax incentives are not a “trap” and that registering ...

Cambodian commercial banks are showing a stronger preference to provide riel loans to microfinance institutions (MFI) as they rush to increase the share of local currency in their loan portfolio to at least 10 per cent by the end of next year. ...

Cambodia’s three major sugar companies produced 120,126 tonnes of raw sugar in the first nine months of this year, said a Ministry of Industry and Handicraft report. It said Rui Feng (Cambodia) International Co Ltd produced 56,664 tonnes, Yellow Field (Cambodia) International Ltd (51,420 tonnes) ...

The potential cancellation of the Everything-but-arms (EBA) scheme will not have an impact on development projects in Cambodia funded by the European Union, according to George Edgar, the EU Ambassador to Cambodia. ...

The government has formed a new federation for the country’s pepper industry to enhance the market and solve challenges in the sector, as the cash crop is currently facing depressed prices. The Cambodia Pepper and Spice Federation was jointly formed last Friday by the Ministries ...

The production of more than $58 million worth of 60-megawatt solar-panels has begun in Kampong Speu province after the project was approved in May by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), provincial governor Vy Samnang said. ...

More than 100 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were registered during the first three quarters of this year, and officials expect the government’s tax incentive policy for SMEs to boost growth, said a Ministry of Industry and Handicraft report. The SMEs – 105 of ...

Cambodian land rights activists have accused Chinese investors of fueling land disputes through unscrupulous land acquisition and development. The advocates made the comments during a two-day meeting in Phnom Penh earlier this month. ...

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Thailand reached $3.16 billion in the first nine months – an increase of 14.08 per cent year-on-year. Imports to Cambodia were worth $2.65 billion, representing a 19.26 per cent increase in contrast with exports to Thailand that was valued at ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday slammed critics over claims that China is “invading” Cambodia, calling the argument “crazy”. Speaking to members of Cambodian diaspora in Geneva, Switzerland, Hun Sen said some people were concerned about the influx of Chinese nationals who live and work ...

Cambodia’s garment exports grew by 10.73 percent in the first half of 2018 and are projected to remain strong despite a European Union threat to withdraw duty-free trading access, official data showed on Wednesday. ...

Kampong Speu Palm Sugar, which has a geographical indication (GI) status, is seeing lower production due to a labour shortage. Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Promotion Association (KSPSPA) president, Sam Saroeun, said on Tuesday that production fell from 300 tonnes last year to 250 tonnes this ...

Moody’s Investors Services has warned that Cambodia’s potential loss of its Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential trade access to the EU would weaken its economic growth and lead to a credit negative, a report released on Saturday says. It notes that while Cambodia maintained its ...

Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSP) recently issued more than 14 million shares, bringing its total number of shares to nearly 71.9 million, according to an announcement made by the company during a press conference Friday. ...

Russia has agreed to recategorise Cambodia’s outstanding $1.5 billion debt as an investment, pledging to provide more aid to the Kingdom next year. Prime Minister Hun Sen met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Brussels on Thursday. Mr Hun Sen had asked Russia to ...

After meeting with the European Commission, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had expected that Cambodia would one day lose its access to the bloc’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) preferential trade agreement and had “already requested low interest” loans from China, Japan, South Korea and ...

Two regional companies have invested nearly $10 million to acquire 14 million shares in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc (PPSEZ) – one of five companies listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) – in what is considered the first ever private offering by ...

Cambodian rubber exports surged 22 per cent during the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year, figures from the Ministry of Agriculture said. Local producers exported 140,303 tonnes of rubber during the period – an increase of 25,240 tonnes ...