Economy and commerce

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised on Saturday to complete a missing rail link with Cambodia to foster closer ties with the neighbouring country. Ms Yingluck inspected the damaged tracks from Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo to the border with Poipet in Cambodia and directed officials ...

The border trade in Surin province has reportedly reached 1 billion baht for the first time. The figure is said to be the new record high as the situation on the border of Thailand and Cambodia remains calm. Surin’s trade official Sitthiporn Bangkeaw said these ...

The Cambodian government on Thursday dismissed media reports in Australia linking Prime Minister Hun Sen to a mining company under investigation there for corruption. Earlier this week, The Age newspaper reported on Australian documents that described officials from BHP Billiton seeking a special meeting with Hun ...

The Labor Advisory Committee issued a joint statement on the decision to raise wages from $61 to $80 per month for garment and footwear workers. The statement was announced Friday, after a meeting between factory employers, union leaders and Labor Minister, Vong Soth. The wage provision ...

Advocacy groups, environmentalists and policy-makers have wrapped up five days of events surrounding Mekong River issues in Washington. “Mekong Days,” a series of talks, films and other forums that ended Tuesday, highlighted issues in the region, where some 60 million people live. The Mekong River, a major ...

China’s expanding investment portfolio in Cambodia has brought into sharper focus the darker side of the Asian giant’s “development projects” in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. And it is in the southwestern corner of Cambodia—known for its rich biodiversity, forest covered hills and bubbling rivers—where this ...

Phnom Penh, a city once fabled for its stately colonial buildings and boulevards, and its serene riverside setting, is becoming a city of glaring contrasts. An economy left in ruins by the years of war and violent revolution in the 1970s and 80s grew at a ...

Travelers bound for Cambodia can now take direct flights from Ha Noi to both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap via new routes launched by Cambodia Angkor Air. Along with the official opening of a representative office in Ha Noi late last month, Angkor Air ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday issued extensive orders to unions, factories, workers and authorities to rid the garment industry of violent strikes, roadblocks and rights violations he says are threatening public order. “There have been many strikes and demonstrations at factories recently, and, in some cases, ...

A court official said yesterday that the complaint that led to the imprisonment of a British man and two Cambodian staff at a troubled biofuel firm was filed last year by a senior Forestry Administration official. Gregg Fryett, 45, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Unit ...

The recent power shortages have left residents of Phnom Penh out in the heat and dark, but amidst their mounting frustration, state-owned energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EDC) has announced it will be purchasing more power from Thailand to address the shortfall. Keo Rattanak, director-general of ...

Japan-based Terra Motors Corporation viewed Cambodia as a potential market for its electric tuk-tuk, the company’s general manager of overseas sales said yesterday. “We’re thinking of entering the Cambodian market as well. But at this moment, there are no concrete plans. [We] just hope to enter,” ...

The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has revoked the operating licence of bankrupt phone operator Mfone, which went out of business two months ago, while more than 1,000 employees had their jobs officially terminated yesterday. The revocation of the licence and the mass dismissal of the ...

Local private airline Aero Cambodia intends to launch domestic chartered flights by the end of this year once it receives approval from the government. The airline is preparing to apply for its air operator certificate from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) and hopes to ...

Cambodia’s economy is projected to grow by 7 percent this year, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Keat Chhon said Friday. He said the growth still is contributed by garment exports, tourism, agriculture, real estate and construction. Last year, Cambodia’s GDP per capita was nearly 1,000 ...

Access to finance could reduce violence, empower the most vulnerable in society and improve the livelihoods of Cambodia’s poorest people, a conference on community-led funding heard on Wednesday. Sarah Sitts, country manager of the international NGO Pact, introduced the funding model of savings-led micro-finance (SLMF). In ...

Cambodia’s national electricity provider yesterday appealed to the public to unplug from the national energy supply in an effort to alleviate chronic seasonal power shortages that are causing blackouts across Phnom Penh and the rest of the country. Eletricite du Cambodge (EdC) published an announcement asking ...

Malaysia-based agricultural and commodities company Felda Global Ventures Holdings is considering investing in palm oil, sugar and rubber crops in Cambodia. Felda Global head of corporate communications Izan Hussain said yesterday the company had received numerous business proposals, but had not made any decisions. “Our discussions and ...

Taiwan Cooperative Bank, one of the leading banks in China’s Taiwan, officially commenced business in capital Phnom Penh on Thursday, bringing the number of commercial banks in the kingdom to 33. Taiwan Cooperative Bank is the 2nd bank from China’s Taiwan in Cambodia after the Mega ...

The number of large-scale factories in Cambodia has increased by 29 percent to 907 in 2012, Minister of Industry, Mine and Energy Suy Sen said Thursday. Those large-scale enterprises employed 559,600 employees last year, a 38 percent increase from 403,560 a year earlier, he said ...

The Japanese government has provided $118,996 for constructing a cassava propagation and distribution centre in Battambang province. The fund comes in response to the recent challenges facing farmers in the province who are facing a shortage of cassava trees to plant. Kumamaru Yuji, Japanese ambassador to ...

VimpelCom, the parent company of local mobile operator Beeline, is looking to sell the majority share of its Cambodian assets and has entered into negations with a possible buyer, according to a document obtained yesterday. “VimpelCom intends to dispose its entire indirect 90.0 percent stake in ...

Thousands of creditors have come forward alleging they are owed a combined $160 million by bankrupt mobile phone operator Mfone, the administrator appointed to the case said yesterday. “Mfone owes money to hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals totaling $160 million,” he said. Nim Solida, ...

Lawmakers from the European Union (E.U) are again urging the block’s trade commissioner to investigate Cambodia’s Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) over a raft of alleged rights abuses and consider revoking the duty free access their owners currently enjoy to member states. Going mostly to industrial ...