Economy and commerce

With the interest rate cap of 18 percent in full force for all new and restructured microfinance loans after the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) issued a populist measure to curb high interest rates, microfinance institutions (MFIs) are starting to give predictions for lower profits ...

Lack of trust from investors has so far limited the growth potential of the growing number of Cambodian technology startups. Five-year old Khmerload, a Cambodian entertainment news website modeled after the American media giant Buzzfeed, has become one of the country’s first local tech startups ...

Representatives from global ride-hailing behemoth Uber confirmed the company’s interest in starting operations in Cambodia during a meeting this week with Transportation Minister Sun Chanthol, according to one of the minister’s aides. ...

The Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and the Korea International Trade Association have announced a partnership to bring more South Korean investors to Cambodia. ...

Cambodia’s economic growth remained strong last year though the Kingdom must now address major systemic challenges to build on its ascension into lower-middle income status in order to maintain healthy levels of development, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in its annual report yesterday. ...

South Korea is pushing forward with discussions to hammer out a double taxation agreement (DTA) with the Kingdom that would provide an additional incentive for Korean businesses to set up shop and increase fiscal transparency while shielding individuals and corporations from being taxed twice. ...

Total revenue for the listed state-owned enterprise Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) increased 7.49 percent by the end of December last year, giving it a net value of $16.5 million compared with $15.35 million a year earlier.   ...

Cambodia’s startups have clamoured to attract foreign venture capital, and now even Silicon Valley is paying attention. Last month, local media and entertainment site Khmerload – described by some as Cambodia’s version of Buzzfeed – secured $200,000 in investment from the regional arm of California-based ...

Amid concerns that the European Union could reject shipments of Cambodian rice, exporters are pushing for more access to China as an alternative market for the Kingdom’s principal agricultural commodity. ...

Phnom Penh Autonomous Port attributed its growth in profits last year to a rise in container traffic and shipments through the capital’s river port, as well as increased profits from leasing equipment and returns on interest, it said in a filing to the Cambodia Securities ...

Phnom Penh Special Economics Zone (PPSEZ) showed its decline of revenue to 42 percents in 2016 which causes 65 percent of net profit’s downfall comparing to the year of 2015,  it said in a filing to the Cambodia Securities Exchange yesterday. ...

Cambodia could expand its foreign trade by up to 16 percent, adding approximately $2 billion worth of exports, by complying with a new international trade protocol that aims to slice through the red tape that slows and complicates cross-border trade. ...

Sathapana Bank Plc has received a hefty $50 million bilateral loan from the Bangkok branch of Mizuho Bank, a subsidiary of one of Japan’s largest financial institutions, in a move that banking insiders say will help the newly consolidated bank expand its lending portfolio as ...

Taiwanese-owner garment manufacturer Grand Twins International (GTI), which posted a 44 percent surge in revenue and a massive 390 percent in net profit last year, attributed the surge to an increase in orders and the decrease of raw material costs, administration costs and total commissions, ...

Though the export of cassava from Cambodia to foreign markets increased by more than 50 percent in 2016, compared with previous years, export earnings were still low due to below-market-prices offered by buyers in Thailand and Vietnam.   ...

The state-owned enterprise that operates Cambodia’s only deep-sea port is aiming to raise $27 million by floating a 25 percent stake on the Kingdom’s stock market, a company executive said yesterday. ...

About 30 cart pullers at the Poipet International Border Checkpoint staged an hour-long protest yesterday demanding that Thai customs officials remove transit fees that have been in effect for about one month.   ...

The trade volume between Cambodia and the United States in 2016 reached about $3 billion, while nearly 240,000 American tourists visited the kingdom. Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told reporters yesterday after a meeting between Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Mom Rady, a Democratic member ...

Sweden’s development agency will provide $7 million to foster the development of small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Cambodia, according to state-run news agency AKP. ...

The Cambodian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with officials from China’s Shaanxi province aimed at bolstering trade and tourism, according to a release yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce. ...

Cambodia will unveil another commercial center in China in May, to boost trade between the two countries and inform Chinese business people and tourists about opportunities in Cambodia.   ...

Trade between Cambodia and the United Kingdom is expected to increase after Britain’s exit from the European Union, according to the British ambassador, saying that after Brexit, the UK will independently negotiate trade agreements with Cambodia.   ...

 Just months ahead of local elections, the Cambodian government has ordered the microfinance industry to cap interest rates on new and refinanced loans at 18 percent a year starting April 1. ...

Vietnamese state-owned dairy giant Vinamilk intends to spend almost $11 million to buy its Cambodian partner’s entire stake in Angkor Dairy Products Co Ltd, better known as Angkormilk, according to Vietnamese media. ...