Economy and commerce

Cambodia achieved a GDP growth rate of 7.3 percent last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday, forecasting that the growth would be higher than 7 percent this year. Addressing a conference on 2013 Cambodia Outlook, he said the growth last year came from strong growth ...

Claims in the Kingdom’s six insurance companies declined dramatically last year, while the total premium revenue sharply increased by more than 20 per cent year-on-year, official data from the General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC) show. GIAC data shows total claims reached $4.8 million, down from ...

Chinese Telecommunications giant Huawei has signed a deal to install thousands of transmitters across Cambodia to create a new high-speed mobile telephone and Internet network, according to a statement received yesterday. Huawei Technologies (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. and Xinwei (Cambodia) Telecom Co. Ltd. – a local subsidiary ...

With the launch of daily scheduled services, Qatar Airways becomes the only Middle Eastern airline flying to the South East Asian nation – and destination number 125 served worldwide. Guests gathered at Phonm Penh International Airport in celebration of the new air link, connecting Cambodia ...

Though still one of the poorest countries in the region, Cambodia’s recent economic growth has birthed a new class of consumer. And waiting in the wings is German automaker Porsche, which intends to sell its distinctive sports cars directly to Phnom Penh’s wealthy within a ...

Government action is needed if Cambodia is to reach its potential for economic growth and address growing inequality, according to a new report from a leading local think tank. The recommendations were included in the Cambodian Development Resource Institute’s (CDRI) annual development review 2012 to ’13. ...

Customs procedures are being examined in a time-release study to identify issues that can affect Cambodia’s trade competitiveness. According to experts, the study is an important tool to improve the Kingdom’s investment climate. The study will be conducted and organised by the GDCE with support ...

With Myanmar’s telecom industry showing signs of gradually opening, operators in Cambodia’s overcrowded telecom market see opportunities for potential investment. But in stride with the market’s latent potential come challenges, industry experts say, and lessons learned locally need to be applied overseas. “Myanmar remains one of the ...

In the hilly wilderness across southwestern Cambodia, the foundations of the country’s strengthening bonds with China are taking root. It is there that large dams supported by Chinese money are being built to literally bring the impoverished Southeast Asian nation out of darkness. The largest of ...

The bilateral trade between Cambodia and the United States in 2012 rose slightly, while Cambodia’s export decreased, according to a report of the United States Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. U.S. Department of Commerce. The Cambodia-US bilateral trade saw its increase 0. 61%, while ...

Cambodia’s insurance industry earned a total premium of $36 million last year, a 21 percent rise year-on-year, according to the industry’s report on Monday. The main sectors of the premium are from fire insurance of 28 percent, motor insurance of 19 percent, personal accident insurance of ...

More than 100 mobile phone vendors protested yesterday outside the Phnom Penh headquarters of bankrupt mobile operator Mfone over their stocks of phone credit recharge cards that are now worthless, as the defunct company has transferred its subscribers to MobiTel, which does not recognize the ...

Phnom Penh could have a public bus system operating under a single company before the end of 2013 at the earliest, Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema said yesterday. Global (Cambodia) Trade Development, a joint venture between Cambodian and Chinese investors, had originally been chosen alongside South ...

Farmers have expressed concern over local brokers’ manipulation of the market during harvest season, reducing buying prices for farmers who have no access to actual market rates. While some farmers have already completed their harvests, others have left their fields barren, fearing brokers will reduce ...

Kampong Speu palm sugar production is projected to decrease slightly this year due to a late start, though prices are expected to rise thanks to the sugar’s growing popularity following its geographical indication certification. Despite the drop in production, Hong Hoeung, director of Kampong Speu Palm ...

Investment in Cambodia from overseas surged by at least 44 percent last year, according to an estimate from the central bank, despite figures suggesting a reduction in the overall flow of foreign currency into Southeast Asian economies. Nguon Sokha, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia, ...

The Doha-based Qatar Airways will operate its daily flights from Doha to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, from Tuesday, Cambodia’s tourism minister Thong Khon said Monday. “Tomorrow (Tuesday), the airline will launch daily flights from Doha to Phnom Penh via Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,” ...

Cambodia is predicted to greet 4 million foreign visitors this year, an expected 12 percent rise year-on-year, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said Monday. “Last year, we received 3.58 million foreign tourists, up 24 percent year-on-year, and generated total revenue of about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars,” he ...

Cambodian-Japanese bank Maruhan Japan opened an office in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Saturday, making it the second Cambodian bank and the first Japanese bank to come to that country. Maruhan’s presence in Laos would boost economic and investment ties between the two ASEAN member ...

Workers at the shuttered Yung Wah I and II factories in Kandal province will continue protesting today, despite the government already agreeing to pay them using company funds. Worker Soy Sokchea said yesterday that he and his colleagues would keep demanding benefits and seniority bonuses. ...

Villagers near the Sesan River in Stung Treng province are a step closer to being forced to make way for a hydropower dam following a National Assembly vote on Friday, but they are no closer to learning the details of such a move, a community ...

Pharmaceutical giant Thai Nakorn Patana plans to invest $30 million over the next two years in a three- to four-star hotel in Phnom Penh, as it hopes to cash in on the lack of big names in the capital’s mid-tier hotels market. For the new 200-room ...

The minister of posts and telecommunications yesterday said he needs more time to investigate corruption and mismanagement allegations at state-owned firm Telecom Cambodia before involving other government institutions. Telecom Cambodia director-general Lao Saroeun is officially on sick leave, but staff at the company say they were ...

Cambodia’s Tonlesap Airlines said Saturday that one of its scheduled flights from Taiwan to the Cambodian city of Siem Reap that day would be further delayed due to an engine failure, further enraging 167 already angry passengers who had been waiting for hours for their ...