Economy and commerce

The executive committee of the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia, ARPEC, decided earlier this month to set up a commercial arm to help members get financing for a variety of rice-related activities. According to ARPEC secretary-general Hun Lak and deputy secretary-general David Van, ...

Vespa, the iconic Italian scooter, is now officially available for purchase in Cambodia-again. Italy-based automobile company Piaggio, in cooperation with the local Narita Group, opened the doors yesterday to the country’s first licensed Vespa dealership. The new Vespas range in price from $2,950 for the ...

In May, the first group of vegetable producers in Cambodia was certified on the basis of COrAA’s “Standards for Chemical-free Crop Production”. The 72 farmers, belonging to the Women Chemical-free vegetable-producing group of the Vegetable Supply Co-operative in Svay Rieng, have been producing healthy vegetables for ...

Several ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, have witnessed a growing demand for organic rice that local producers cannot satisfy, according to Winfried Scheewe, adviser to the Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA). Scheewe says demand for organic rice is on the rise, especially in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, but also ...

The Ambassador of African country Kenya, Richard Titus Ekai, told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on Wednesday that he would like to see direct flights between Phnom Penh and Nairobi. Sok An met Kenyan Ambassador Ekai at his office to discuss the initiative regarding direct flights ...

The Kandal Provincial Court yesterday questioned labor leader Rong Chhun over allegations he incited garment factory workers to stage an illegal strike, a court official said. A director at the Tai Yang garment factory in Ang Snuol district- which supplies apparel to U.S. brands Levi Strauss, ...

The president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions Rong Chhun appeared in Kandal Provincial Court for nearly three hours yesterday, fielding questions stemming from accusations of incitement and defamation, the union boss said. According to Chhun, his appearance was related to a complaint alleging that he had incited ...

It has been more than two years since the Cambodian government issued a rice export policy in June 2010, aiming to export a million tonnes of milled rice by 2015. However, a shortage of capital to buy unmilled rice, known as “paddy”, together with high ...

Newly-appointed Asian Development Bank’s director for Cambodia Eric Sidgwick said Wednesday that promoting inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth that will help improve the quality of life of Cambodians, especially those who are most vulnerable, are his key focus areas. “This is an exciting time to be ...

Most mornings, garment worker Vicheka buys food from the street vendors outside her factory in Kampong Chhnang province. The beef and pork dishes, she says, have a tendency to give workers a stomach ache – a reputation forged long before Vicheka and her co-workers at ...

Officials yesterday confirmed that the Cambodian government will receive a majority of the revenue share from Chevron’s offshore Block A oil permit area near Sihanoukville in the Gulf of Thailand. The government expects to issue the American oil giant a production permit licence by the ...

After months of inactivity that has fueled questions about the company’s future, Boeung Kak lake developer Shukaku Inc has launched a recruitment drive, calling for at least half a dozen architects, engineers and other employees. When contacted yesterday, Sok Heng Ly, an administrative employee listed in the ...

Tiger Airways reverses its ‘terminal’ thinking at long last in Singapore, and adds new cities in Cambodia and India. .. Tiger Airways is adding Hyderabad, India (tomorrow) and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (next Monday) to its reach only days after shifting up market into Singapore’s main terminal ...

Cambodia is expected to receive 3.3 million foreign tourists this year, a 15 percent rise year-on-year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday. “The country’s cultural and eco-tourism has seen remarkable development, there is steady growth from year to year,” he said in a message to mark ...

Kasikornbank aims to expand its bancassurance business into neighbouring countries after finding that customers in Laos and Cambodia incur higher medical expenses. Pakorn Partanapat, executive vice president, said that the bank has prepared business plans to cope with the Asean Economic Community (AEC), and bancassurance is ...

Cambodia is trying to attract foreign investors with manufacturing bases in neighbouring countries, with promises their factories would be safer from flooding. The Phnom Penh Post reported that Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh is appealing to foreign investors with production bases in neighbouring countries, particularly Thailand, to ...

Cambodian customers eager to buy Apple Inc.’s newest iPhone are paying almost double the company’s asking price in the U.S., phone vendors in Phnom Penh said yesterday. At about a dozen phone shops near Phnom Penh’s Central Market, vendors were doing a steady trade in the ...

Mirach Energy Ltd., formerly known as China Petrotech Holding Ltd. (CPHL), announced on Tuesday that its Cambodian counterpart, CPHL (Cambodia), had contracted two companies to conduct environmental impact studies for offshore assets in Block D, off the coast of Preah Sihanouk province. Mirach Energy said in ...

Negotiations between the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and unions over a landmark agreement aimed at reducing strike action will be held on October 3, representatives said yesterday. The original agreement on improving industrial relations in the garment sector was signed in October 2010 by ...

Cambodia’s transport costs remain high compared with those in neighbouring countries, according to a 10-container shipment comparison conducted between Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam by a Korean-owned company, Pan Continental Freight (PCF). The comparison found Cambodia’s free on board (FOB) costs were US$35 a tonne, whereas Thailand ...

Cambodia’s Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said foreign investors with production bases in Thailand ought to consider Cambodia for future expansion because of the Kingdom’s greater resistance to floods. Speaking at Phnom Penh Honda’s 20th anniversary yesterday, the Commerce minister said that while Cambodia faces floods each ...

While the global economic crisis weakened the ability of Cambodian households to purchase food, the government’s focus on agricultural production and other policies have since helped alleviate food insecurity in the country, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development said in a new report. Between June ...

Cambodia will receive a grant of US$3.3 million from the World Trade Organisation to support rice milling, silk production and development of the Department of International Cooperation, according to Heng Sovannarith, communication officer for Trade Wide Sector Approach. Sovannarith said the Ministry of Commerce would receive the grant from ...

Employees at the First & Main cuddly-toy company arrived at work yesterday expecting to be paid outstanding wages – instead, a notice on the gates told them all equipment inside the Phnom Penh factory would be auctioned off, because the company was closing for good. The ...