Economy and commerce

Government officials yesterday met with representatives from the Republic of Ecuador to discuss ways to improve economic and political ties between the two countries, Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ouch Borith said. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding to protect Cambodian artifacts ...

Natural rubber consumption in China, Cambodia’s largest rubber market, is expected to rise by 7.2 per cent in 2013 after growing by 4.5 per cent last year, according to the Singapore-based International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). Demand in North America was expected to grow 4.2 per ...

Cambodia had issued licenses to 146 domestic and foreign investment projects with the total investment of 2.05 billion U.S. dollars in the first eleven months last year, showed a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) released Tuesday. During the period, the ...

About 1,000 workers protested yesterday morning outside a Taiwanese electronics factory in Svay Rieng province’s Manhattan Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to demand better working conditions, a union representative said. Among workers’ demand is a salary increase from the current minimum monthly wage of $61 to $70, ...

The amount of money spent on construction in Cambodia soared by 72 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011, according to data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. The ministry said it had issued 1,694 construction patents covering 6.5 million square metres ...

Work will start this year on a 400km railway line and a new seaport in Cambodia, with most of the funding coming from Chinese sources. Cambodia Iron and Steel Mining Industry Group (CISMIG) and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering have signed an agreement to jointly invest ...

Cambodian company Soma Group has signed a joint-venture agreement with Thai-based CP Intertrade to build and operate a $20 million rice mill that will process fragrant rice for export. Industry insiders say the mill will increase Cambodia’s rice export capacity and boost the Kingdom’s ability to ...

Eight hundred and sixty-eight workers have been fired from the Winson International garment factory after they refused to obey a Kampong Speu Provincial Court injunction last week ordering them back to work within 48 hours. Free Trade Union official Ry Sithinet said yesterday that the workers, ...

The burgeoning demand for high-end electronic devices in Cambodia, driven by a more affluent and growing middle class, has doubled or even tripled sales revenues in the country, industry leaders say. “The market demand is shifting to the premium segment – from normal phones to smart ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said more investment in agriculture was needed to ensure that Cambodia can process its crops and add value to agricultural produce being exported abroad. Speaking at the inauguration of a new cargo port in Kandal province, Mr. Hun Sen said there was an ...

European companies contributed less to total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia in 2011 than in 2012 as Chinese investment rose, Eurocham chairman Dominique Catry said yesterday. According to data from the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC), 1.9 per cent of the total registered FDIs ...

New scheduled flights between Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh will probably be launched soon, and Sihanoukville-Siem Reap flights will operate daily instead of three times a week, an industry leader says. These changes by Cambodia Angkor Air had a “high chance” of taking off in April to ...

The cabinet approved a plan for the Public Warehouse Organisation to import 450,000 tonnes of tariff-free maize from Laos and Cambodia. Another 250,000 tonnes of maize would be imported from Cambodia, with 100,000 tonnes in August and another 150,000 tonnes between November and January 2014 ...

Cambodia on Tuesday inaugurated a new container terminal of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, turning the port as a large hub for logistics supply and goods collection and distribution. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia ...

This year marks the 60th anniversary since the start of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Japan – the country’s largest bilateral donor – and to celebrate, the Japanese Embassy is planning an array of cultural events. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the anniversary, Japanese Ambassador ...

The government will not allow international airlines to establish domestic services in Cambodia, and the country’s domestic air travel industry is not being monopolised, says an industry leader. These two points were made by Tek Reth Samrach, state secretary of the Council of Ministers, in response ...

A Chinese conglomerate headed by an adviser to Senate President Chea Sim plans to begin extracting gold and copper in Siem Reap province in two months, the firm’s chairman said yesterday. Khmer Holding, a group of companies that claims vast mineral interests in Cambodia, opened an ...

Kampot pepper yields are expected to increase significantly in the first harvest since gaining Geographic Indicator status in April 2010, as increased demand from exporters drives up prices. Output this season is expected to surge by 17 per cent, from 23 tonnes in the last harvest ...

The recent growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Kingdom will be a good opportunity to develop small- and medium- sized businesses, an official said yesterday. According to Hang Chuon Naron, deputy director of the National Economic Supreme Council and secretary of state at the ...

Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) on Monday agreed to increase salaries for the workers in the kingdom’s garment and footwear industries, according to a press release after a closed door meeting. The meeting was attended by Minister of Social Affairs Ith Samheng, Minister of Labor ...

Anti-competitive behaviour in Cambodia’s domestic airline industry is limiting its growth, with the relevant authorities “reluctant” to open the domestic market up to competition, an aviation report found. Monopolising this market currently is the country’s flagship carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, according to a Centre for Aviation ...

After closing the last of its 19 petrol stations in Cambodia in April 2010, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is again eyeing the country’s oil and gas (O&G) sector. This will see Chevron and its partners developing the country’s first offshore oil field this year. According to ...

The government has approved more than $4 billion of investment in the public sector over the next three years in a bid to stimulate economic growth, the council of ministers said in a statement obtained yesterday. “The rolling plan will focus om four main sectors” ...

Officials of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) are concerned that recent strikes could delay delivery to customers, and factories are looking for solutions to meet buyers’ demands. About 10,000 workers in seven or eight garment factories have gone on strike recently demanding higher wages ...