Economy and commerce

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 ...

Due to the expansion of economic and business activities between Cambodia and China, since early August the Bank of China has been negotiation with National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) on the promotion of business transactions in Chinese yuan. It is part of a larger but quiet ...

Just two weeks after a journalist’s bludgeoned corpse was discovered in Ratanakkiri province, a human rights group yesterday identified two more recent cases of violence or intimidation against reporters in the northeastern province. The report from Adhoc said the pressure from local journalists has occurred alongside an increase ...

The price of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority stock over the Sept 12-19 period remained very stable, falling early on from KHR 6,350 (US $1.57) to KHR 6,300 (US $1.56) where it stayed. Trading volumes over the five days varied from around 4200 to 13,600 ...

One of the top three manufacturers of mobile phones for the Cambodian market, LG, is likely to roll out its new flagship product, the Optimus G, by the end of the year. Success in the smartphone market would signal a successful turnaround for LG. Prior ...

MALAYSIA’S leading inbound tour operator Asian Overland Services (AOS) Tours & Travel has unveiled plans to expand regionally to provide customer support for its online B2B portal, aosclick.com, which has been recording double-digit growth since its 2009 launch. Two overseas offices will be established in Cambodia ...

Malaysia-based GO Communications Group has acquired Active Event Management, one of the leading public relations and events agencies in Cambodia. The 100-per-cent buy-out follows the group’s signing of a partnership agreement with leading Thai PR agency DC Consultants in May. Danai Chanchaochai, CEO of DC Consultants, said ...

Five metric tonnes of certified organic rice — the first such shipment from Cambodia — will depart for the European Union this Friday. The shipment, exported from Cambodia by an entity called Green Trade, comprises three tonnes of brown rice and two tonnes of white jasmine ...

Representatives of Cambodia’s booming tourism industry yesterday called on the Asian Development Bank to provide funding for workforce training in the sector. During the meeting at the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, tour operator Ho Vandy, who also co-chairs the Tourism Working Group in the Government-Private Sector Forum, said representatives ...

Citibank, one of the largest banks in the US, showed stronger interest in Cambodia yesterday when the Bangkok-based Thailand head of the big international bank met with Economy and Finance Minister Kheat Chhon. Mey Vann said Citibank recognized that Cambodia had a good investment climate and incentives ...

Three Thai convicted of imprisoning three other Thai and two Chinese nationals over debts owed to a Poipet City casino asked the Appeal Court yesterday to reduce their 25-year prison sentences. The defendants-Chelao Keutthang,42; Chanadet Chareunsuk, 28; and Narungvit Cheuman, 28-were arrested in November 2009 when Banteay ...

Nearly 100 workers held a strike inside Phnom Penh’s Conpress Holdings jeans factory yesterday to demand the company allow four fired workers to return to work. The Seak Meanchey district factory, which employs more than 1,000 workers, fired the four in August because they attempted to ...

The Cambodian government expects U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. CVX +0.77% to begin developing the country’s first offshore oil field early next year, and hopes the nation will become a regional hot spot for oil and gas investment, a government official said Wednesday. Cambodia has vast untapped oil and gas resources ...

More than 100 NGOs and human rights groups yesterday urged foreign donors to flag issues regarding land policies, democratic processes and human rights during today’s Government-Development Partner Coordinating Committee (GDCC) meeting.   Intended as a preparatory meeting for Cambodia’s main government and donor summit, the GDCC is generally ...

Clashes between garment workers and the local manufacturing industry came to a head in February when three women were shot while protesting for increased bonuses outside their workplace. It was almost five more months before manufacturers and governing bodies agreed to raise the earning potential ...

A local investor revealed yesterday that the construction of the US$100 million Kampot sea port had been further delayed by rain. Vinh Huor, president of the Kampot Special Economic Zone, (KSEZ) said: “We are preparing to be better, and that may take some time. I am ...