Economy and commerce
In carbon, gains for agriculture
Paying Cambodian farmers to capture carbon by not removing mulch during planting and harvesting would help support climate change mitigation, reduce soil deterioration and return higher yields in the long term, say leading agriculture experts. Speaking at a conference in Phnom Penh last Friday, Professor Rattan ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062466434/Business/in-carbon-gains-for-agriculture.html
‘Thinnest’ smartphone is set for debut in Cambodia
Two days after Huawei introduced the world’s thinnest smartphone in London and Singapore, the Cambodian representative office of the China-based company announced that the sleek device would be sold in the Kingdom in July. While the Chinese telecom giant hopes to increase its market share of ...
Nike calls for probe on Cambodian police clash with garment workers
Nike expressed “deep concerns” over the May 27 incident at the Sabrina Cambodia Garment Manufacturing plant outside Phnom Penh, in a letters to Cambodia’s commerce and labour ministers released late Friday in the United States. Following the violence, eight workers and trade union members were ...
Cambodia tweaks trip estimate
Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has revised tourist travel arrivals from 3.8 million to 4.2 million by year-end. Tourism Minister Thong Khon told local media, earlier this week, that the adjustment was based on a January to April’s performance with 1.5 million trips. “Earlier, we forecast 3.8 million, ...
http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2013/06/cambodia-tweaks-trip-estimate/
EuroCham Holds First Annual General Meeting
The European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) held its first annual general meeting Thursday at the Sofitel Hotel in Phnom Penh where a board of directors was elected and the French and German chambers merged with EuroCham in order to reinforce the interests of European companies ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/opposition-asks-donors-to-stop-work-with-government-31421/
Thai rice cuts pose problems
Thailand’s recent announcement of a 20 per cent price cut within the government rice-pledging scheme will have little impact for Cambodian exports, but farmers may feel the effects, say industry insiders. In an article published in the Bangkok Post on June 19, Thailand’s cabinet had agreed ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062166407/Business/thai-rice-cuts-pose-problems.html
Municipal officials given a larger hand in labour disputes
Continuing its efforts to quell an increasing number of strikes in the Kingdom’s lucrative garment sector, the government this week issued a directive aimed at giving provincial and municipal governors powers to resolve issues at factories without calling on ministries in Phnom Penh. “To ensure further ...
Kingdom’s bourse missing some magic
At the headquarters of the Cambodia Securities Exchange on the 25th floor of Canadia Tower, something seems to be missing. Here, in Phnom Penh’s business heart, the sights typically associated with trading shares – gesticulating, shouting traders, the confusing hand signals, the buzz in the air ...
Anne Renzenbrink
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062166422/Business/kingdom-s-bourse-missing-some-magic.html
Gov’t revenues rise 11 pct
Government revenues totalled more than $700 million over the first four months of the year, an 11 per cent year-on-year increase, data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) show. In total, the revenue made by the General Department of Taxation (GDT) rose by about ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062166406/Business/gov-t-revenues-rise-11-pct.html
Villagers call for state electricity
About 200 protesters clamoured yesterday in front of a Kandal province commune chief’s office, demanding the state take control of providing their electricity. Yong Phany, a 32-year-old protester from Ang Snuol district’s Poeuk commune said Peoun Sambat, the private company contracted to provide electricity to the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062166410/National/villagers-call-for-state-electricity.html
Despite Law, Minority Rights Receive Very Few Protections
The government does little to protect the rights and livelihoods of the country’s many ethnic minorities who are under constant threat from rapid development, representatives of indigenous groups said yesterday. “We have polices laws and guidelines to protect indigenous people, but we see that it doesn’t ...
Cambodia PM says garment firms may quit over wage rows
Cambodia’s strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday warned garment workers that protests demanding higher wages could push manufacturers to quit the country. His appeal came after unions last week said hundreds of workers had been fired from a factory making sportswear for US giant Nike ...
Cambodia posts sharpest increase in rice output among major producers
Cambodia posted the sharpest increase in production among the world’s major rice producers between 2000 and 2010, the Food and Agricultural Organization said in a report released Wednesday. The 2013 edition of the UN agency’s Statistical Yearbook showed that Cambodia was the world’s 12th largest rice ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=OTRlZjk2Yzg3OTd
Discount shops attracting crowds
Two thousand five hundred – for Mom Dalin, this is more than just a random number or the price of a coffee, it is her way of making a living. The 55-year-old sits at a small desk in her son’s shop on Sihanouk Boulevard, within sight ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062066378/Business/discount-shops-attracting-crowds.html
Housing development on Cambodian islands not the right time yet
Although currently there are a lot of development projects for resorts and guesthouses on various islands off Cambodia’s coast, experts say it is not the right time for such developments. Po Eavkong, managing director of Asia Real Estate Cambodia, said the development activities on islands in ...
Business chambers merge with Eurocham
The French and German chambers of commerce have both merged into the larger European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia in order to gain combined strength and be more effective as an interface between European business and the Cambodian government. The agreement is set to be formalised ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062066376/Business/business-chambers-merge-with-eurocham.html
Mekong Dams Threaten Extinction of Giant Catfish
The elusive Mekong giant catfish, which the U.S.-based World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called “one of the world’s largest and rarest freshwater fish,” can reach up to three meters (10 feet) and weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). The Xayaburi dam would prove an “impassable barrier” ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/dams-06192013184629.html
Cambodia unveils strategy to attract Chinese tourists
Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism on Wednesday finalized its 5-year strategic plan to attract at least 1.3 million Chinese visitors by 2018. Speaking at a seminar on Cambodia tourism marketing strategy targeting China, So Visothy, director of the Tourism Ministry’s Marketing and Promotion Department, said that currently ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-06/19/c_132467692.htm
Thousands block National Road Two
Thousands of workers from the Macau-owned M & V International Manufacturing Ltd on Wednesday blocked National Road Two to demand better working conditions. The protestors have 11 lists of demands including bonuses of 4,000 riel ($1) for food, $3 for holiday pay, and $12 for ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=ZDEzMTc5YjNiNTc
Thai and Cambodian trade fair on the road
In a joint effort to promote trade ties, government officials in Cambodia and Thailand have organised the first “Caravan Fair” in which producers within the neighbouring countries will showcase their products to one another. The Cambodia-Thailand Caravan Fair 2013, a travelling event starting on June 25 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061966350/Business/thai-and-cambodian-trade-fair-on-the-road.html
New name, same airline
Grounded Tonlesap Airlines has changed its name to Wat Phnom Airlines, an official with Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation said yesterday, about two months after the local chartered carrier suspended all of its flights. Wat Phnom Airlines is now in the process of applying for ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061966352/Business/new-name-same-airline.html
New Coal Plant to Tackle Blackouts
National energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) on Monday announced that a 50-MW coal-fired power plant in Preah Sihanouk province is ready to come online this week and will solve Phnom Penh’s chronic blackouts. The statement does not mention which power plant had been completed, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/new-coal-plant-to-tackle-blackouts-31220/
Cambodia shrugs at Gambia’s import ban
Gambia’s recent announcement that it would ban rice imports in about three years to spur local demand will only have a small impact on Cambodia, which sends a portion of its annual output to the west African country and other nations on the continent, data ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866317/Business/cambodia-shrugs-at-gambia-s-import-ban.html
Skyscraper’s woes continue
The saga of the stalled $240 million Gold Tower 42 was revived last week when it emerged that a supplier for the project had accused the owner and builder of failing to pay out nearly $500,000 in fees, according to an injunction request obtained by ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866319/Business/skyscraper-s-woes-continue.html