Economy and commerce

Cambodia’s central bank has asked all financial institutions, especially rural lenders, to refrain from accepting personal identity cards, residential records and family books as a guarantee while giving out loans to consumers.   ...

Sok Rasmey (not his real name) works for an NGO in Phnom Penh with a salary of $350 a month. This is usually enough to cover his modest living costs, but when urgent expenses arise, he often looks to borrow to cover his costs. Ashamed ...

A former employee of a microfinance institution (MFI) was Tuesday jailed on charges of embezzling some $300,000 from the company, a court official said. ...

In its 10th year, Cambodia’s growing microfinance sector has seen stellar credit and deposit growth. But concerns remain over this speed of credit growth in the sector, as well as the rise in unlicensed lenders operating in rural areas. ...

A former employee of a microfinance institution (MFI) was Tuesday jailed on charges of embezzling some $300,000 from the company, a court official said. ...

The president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has asked the government for an emergency loan of $20 million to $30 million, saying it is necessary to prevent the collapse of the rice sector. ...

Tag Wealth International, a subsidiary of Australian financial services company Tag Group, will establish a permanent office in Phnom Penh to provide services for expatriates living in Cambodia, its director said yesterday. ...

Malaysian conglomerate Muhibbah Engineering Bhd reported that revenue declined 7.5 per cent last year, but gross profit increased in part due to its stake in the company that operates Cambodia’s three international airports. ...

Local rice millers and exporters have responded with alarm to the rice-export target set by the Lao government of 1 million tons this year, while Cambodian rice millers and traders have yet to overcome numerous barriers hindering their competitiveness at home and abroad. ...

The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) will work closely with the government to curb Vietnamese rice imports flooding the domestic market and channel more lending to domestic millers so that they can compete with rivals in neighboring countries, it said yesterday in a statement. ...

An additional 70 gas stations will be set up across the country by 2020 by PTT (Cambodia) Limited, a subsidiary of Thailand’s PTT oil and gas conglomerate, while retail prices will soon be regulated to reflect the fluctuations in global oil prices. ...

Poor infrastructure and transportation services are holding Cambodia back by stifling exports and investment, a conference was told yesterday. ...

Recently, several local newspapers reported that Cambodia surpassed Viet Nam to become the fifth largest exporter of garment and textile products to the EU. ...

Rubber producers said yesterday the government’s decision to amend the export tax scheme on natural rubber fell short of expectations and would do little to stem the losses of farmers as rubber prices hover near a six-year low. ...

The number of microfinance institutions has been growing steadily over the past decade and this has contributed rising living standards in the Kingdom, according to the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

Cambodia imported 2.55 million tons of petroleum in 2015, up 64 percent from 1.55 million tons in the year before, according to the data of the Ministry of Commerce. ...

The double-digit growth of consumer lending in Cambodia has created a need for a comprehensive and centralised database of individual credit histories. The Post’s Cam McGrath sat down with Pascal Ly, CEO of the Credit Bureau Cambodia (CBC), to discuss the role of the Kingdom’s ...

Century 21 Cambodia is now working with Century 21 Fuji Housing Co. Ltd. to draw more Japanese investment into the domestic property. ...

The Securities Exchange and Commission of Cambodia (SECC) and Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) are drafting a regulation to allow the establishment of a liquidity provider in order to attract more interest to the bourse, according to senior official at CSX. ...

Cambodia’s Kampot pepper, a go-to spice for chefs around the world, has joined an elite group of gourmet food items whose names are protected by the European Union, joining products such as Gruyere cheese from France and Parma ham from Italy. ...

Japan may import cassava and rubber from Cambodia and investors from the country are considering building processing plants for the two commodities here, according to a senior official at the Agriculture Ministry. ...

Despite concern from the E.U. that Cambodia is being used by Chinese bicycle makers to avoid an anti-dumping duty, the bike industry has maintained strong export growth to Europe, according to the latest data from the European Commission (E.C.). ...

Cambodian rubber producers expect global prices will recover this year after the four leading-rubber producing countries agreed to cut their supply to the global market over the next six months to boost prices. ...

Cambodia will need several years to chart a path toward joining the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, but Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol believes it would be worth the effort. ...