Economy and commerce
Prey Long Forest Patrols Cut Short by Torrential Rain
Community groups have aborted their coordinated patrol of Prey Long forest in search of illegal logging because of heavy rain, a community member said yesterday. The Prey Long People’s Network had planned to continue its patrol-which began Friday and had already found at least 65 cubic ...
Japanese investors looking to Cambodia
Prime Minister Hun Sen received a visiting delegation of Japanese investors on Friday, according to the national news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse. Led by Fujino Takashi from the Keidanren Japan Business Federation and a member of the Board of Directors at Asahi Glass, the delegation’s visit ...
At ASEAN energy summit, green energy and investment were in focus
In his talk at the ASEAN energy ministers meeting held in Phnom Penh last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen emphasized the need for the ten-member bloc to work together to bolster its regional energy connectivity to meet a rapidly growing demand for energy. He also ...
Tobacco tax increase likely
Increasing the tobacco retail tax — one of the world’s lowest at 10 per cent of unit price for domestically produced cigarettes — would deter smokers and increase government revenue while having minimal effect on tobacco producers, Ayda Yurekli, co-ordinator for the World Health Organization’s ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091858767/National-news/tobacco-tax-increase-likely.html
Cambodians protest Xayaburi in Bangkok
Cambodians were among anti-Xayaburi dam protesters who demonstrated outside Thai Parliament in Bangkok yesterday, urging Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to halt construction and tear up an agreement to buy the proposed dam’s power. A group of Cambodians travelled to Bangkok especially to raise their concerns about ...
Cambodia spends 1 bln USD for oil imports in 7 months
Cambodia had spent 1 billion U. S. dollars to buy petroleum from foreign suppliers in the first seven months of this year, up 22 percent from 817 million U.S. dollars at the same period a year ago, a report of the Commerce Ministry showed Saturday. The ...
Microfinance: an insider's view
The story of Cambodia’s microfinance sector has been one of successful evolution, evidenced by the growing number of lenders and their continual development. Many microfinance institutions (MFIs) started as NGO-like entities, but the industry has come a long way. Today, there are 32 MFIs licensed ...
Patrols in Prey Long Forest Find Signs of Illegal Logging
Community patrols of Prey Long forest by local villagers over the last few days have uncovered at least 65 cubic meters of illicitly cut timber and three chainsaws believed to belong to the illegal loggers. Soem Sean, a member of the Prey Long People’s Network, dedicated ...
A national car for Cambodia
UK-based BIW automotive company on Friday signed a US$2 billion join venture investment with ACICA Automotive (Cambodia) to build a factory in Preah Sihanouk province for a Cambodian-made vehicle within the next three years. The agreement was made between BIW’s director Robin Bowyer and ACICA’s Group ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091758751/Business/a-national-car-for-cambodia.html
Forestry Official, Reporter Arrested and Released
A forestry officer and a reporter from a little-known newspaper were arrested Friday on allegations of attempted extortion and assaulting a man they caught illegally transporting luxury timber, but were released on Saturday, military police officials said yesterday. Seng Chandaron, the chief of Sandan commune Forestry ...
A new push for tourism cooperation
With the aim of attracting 25 million international visitors from 2013 to 2015 to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CVLM) the respective ministers of tourism pushed for greater cooperation in developing the region’s tourism sector on Friday, according to the Vietnamese Communist Party official news ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091758749/Business/new-push-for-tourism-cooperation.html
Journo, forest official allegedly beat logger
A local journalist and a forestry official were arrested by military police in Kratie province’s Sambo district on Friday night for allegedly discharging a weapon into the air and beating a man with a boat oar in an extortion bid gone awry. According to district military ...
Tay Ninh, Kampong Chhnang strengthen ties
Leaders from Vietnam’s southern province of Tay Ninh and Cambodia’s Kampong Chhnang province signed a cooperative agreement in Tay Ninh on September 17. The agreement falls within the framework of the minutes of the 7th Cooperation and Development Conference for Vietnamese and Cambodian border provinces that ...
http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/Tay-Ninh-Kampong-Chhnang-strengthen-ties/20129/142200.vov
Southeast Asia smartphone growth: 78% in 12 months
Southeast Asia is a growth market for the mobile industry, with Indonesia and the Philippines being key markets for growth, particularly in smartphones, reports GfK Asia. The Southeast Asian mobile phone market is on the rise, having grown by 24% in volume in the past 12 ...
http://e27.sg/2012/09/17/southeast-asia-smartphone-growth-78-percent-12-months/
The Week at the CSX
The price of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority stock over the Sept. 6-12 period fluctuated between KHR 6,350 (US$1.57) and KHR 6,300 (US$1.55). The price on Sept. 6, KHR 6,350, fell to KHR 6,300 (US$1.58) on Sept. 7 and remained there until climbing to KHR 6,350 ...
Cafta report card
China is encouraged by growing cooperation with Asean countries and hopes to see even more development in China-Asean trade to generate benefits for both sides. Under the China-Asean Free Trade Agreement (Cafta) that went into effect on Jan 1, 2010, more than 7,000 products are now ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/312738/cafta-report-card
PTT prepares 800 million baht for expansion into Cambodia, Laos
The PTT Public Company Limited is looking to invest 800 million baht in energy business expansion in Cambodia and Laos in the next five years. The PTT planned to open 4-5 more gas stations in Laos and Cambodia each. The Thai energy giant already has 14 ...
The Week at the CSX
The price of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority stock over the Aug. 30-Sept. 5 period fluctuated from KHR 6,350 (US$1.57) to KHR 6,450 (US$1.59), but trading volumes went down to zero again on Aug. 31, the second time in the bourse’s short history. With ...
Officials seek to boost trade ties with Cambodia
A group of Chinese trade officials from South China’s Shenzhen city has been visiting Cambodia to promote the bilateral trade and investment ties. The group was led by Zhang Jinsheng, director of Shenzhen WTO Affairs Office. Addressing a Shenzhen Economic and Trade Forum on Friday afternoon, Zhang ...
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-09/15/content_15760426.htm
Cambodia Asks China to Fund Power Cables
Two weeks after Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from China with more than half a billion dollars in new loans and grants, Cambodia once again asked Beijing for money on Thursday. In a bilateral discussion held alongside this week’s series of meetings between Asean energy ministers, ...
Canadia, Gov't Look to Soothe Tax Process
With the deadline to pay annual property taxes rapidly approaching, hundreds of Phnom Penh homeowners queued this week at Canadia Bank’s headquarters on Monivong Boulevard to pay their tax bills in relative comfort, and avoid long visits to district and municipal taxation offices. Canadia Bank signed ...
Cambodia records US$1.51-B trade deficit in 7 months
Cambodia reported a trade deficit of 34% in equivalent to US$1.51-B in the 1st 7 months of this year, the report of the Commerce Ministry showed Thursday. During January-July period this year, the country’s total import and export value was US$7.45-B, up 15% from US$6.47-B at ...
http://www.livetradingnews.com/cambodia-records-us1-51-b-trade-deficit-in-7-months-85827.htm
CIMBT expands intra-Asean ATM service
CIMB Bank Thai (CIMBT) clients will one day able to use ATMs for financial transactions anywhere in Asean. The regional linkage of ATMs is aimed at improving service and cost efficiency as a part of the CIMB Group’s regional strategy. Executive vice-president Dusanee Klewpatinontha said Cambodia has ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/312275/cimbt-expands-intra-asean-atm-service
Local Farmers Can't Compete With Cheap Pork
Cambodians like pork. The average Cambodian consumes almost 9.29 kg of the meat each year, and local farmers supplied about 2 million pigs, more than 90 percent of the domestic demand, in 2008. But the market for small-scale pig farmers has flown. Live pig prices have fallen ...