Economy and commerce

Industrialists have raised concerns that the higher minimum wage is a key factor driving many labour-intensive manufacturers to relocate to less developed neighbouring countries. At a seminar on investment strategy in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam held yesterday by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) ...

Stevia Nutra Corporation — (The Company), an Agro-Management company focused on stevia agronomics is pleased to announce that it has successfully acquired 50 acres of prime agricultural land in Cambodia for its new innovative Stevia Propagation Centre (SPC). The property is located just outside the town ...

The falling price of gold on international markets is leading to high sales of the precious metal in Cambodia as consumers fear prices could continue to tumble, gold traders said yesterday. Gold on the international market traded at $1,632.90 per troy ounce in New York yesterday ...

A sharp increase in garment factory strikes this year has raised eyebrows among industry insiders, who say the disputes could lead to a decrease in year-on-year export growth. The Arbitration Council, which hears work-related disputes such as factory strikes, saw claims nearly double during the first ...

A 144-tonne shipment of Cambodian fragrant rice will leave Phnom Penh for Fuzhou, China on Saturday, the first Chinese order for the Kingdom’s milled rice after a recent government agreement was reached on Chinese regulation. Mekong Oryza Trading received the order months earlier ...

A new lottery company, Naga Lottery owned by the same company that operates Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld, will launch its first product on June 8, an official press release said yesterday. The company was licensed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in October last year said executive director ...

No ground was broken in May on the New Siem Reap International Airport (NSRIA), a US$1 billion Korean investment, and officials say no definite date has been set for work on the project as the developer looks for new partners. NSRIA Co Ltd, an equal joint ...

Acleda Bank will break ground on a 20-story tower directly behind its current headquarters on Monivong Boulevard in September to become the third bank in the country to push ahead with a high-rise property in the capital, officials at the bank said yesterday. John Brinsden, Acleda’s ...

During the final day of testimony by Sar Kimlomouth at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, the defence team for co-accused Khieu Samphan sought to weaken the ties between their client and the Ministry of Commerce, within which Sar Kimlomouth, a former banker within Democratic Kampuchea, ...

For six hours yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, Sar Kimlomouth, who served as deputy director general of the state bank, consistently downplayed both his level of authority within the department and his ability to recall information from so long ago. Throughout the day’s proceedings, lawyers ...

On his second day of questioning by prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, the deputy director of the foreign commerce bank during the Pol Pot regime, Sar Kim Lomouth, said he feared for his safety following the purging of several superiors at the Ministry ...

OSK Holdings Berhad and RHB Capital Berhad have announced the signing of a conditional share purchase agreement to merge their investment banking operations, creating the largest investment bank by assets in Malaysia, an official press release said.   ...

The real growth rate of the service sector has been revised upwardly by half a percentage point against our previous prediction to 5.4 percent year-on-year in 2012, on the back of higher growth expected in the local trade and transport subsectors. The growth outlook of this sector in 2013 is quite ...

Dr. Tim Killeen, author of The Cardamom Conundrum, Reconciling Development and Conservation in the Kingdom of Cambodia, discusses his recently released book, which argues that Cambodia is well positioned to reap the benefits of ‘green development’. Why did you select the Cardamom Mountains as the area ...

The supply of shopping centre space in Phnom Penh is set to triple in the next five years, according to a CBRE Cambodia report, and one insider said the jump in higher-end retail venues would come even sooner. A Parkson Corporation Sdn Bhd shopping centre, one ...

Hermann Otto Solms, vice president of the German Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, Monday pledged to encourage German investors and tourists to Cambodia in order to cement the bi-lateral ties. Hermann made his remarks during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the ...

Often vilified for paying low wages in less than optimum work environments, Cambodia’s garment factory owners got into the swing of the commune elections this week, with many companies providing loans to help their workers travel home to vote. With about 400,000 employees, the garment industry’s ...

Cambodia and the United States on Friday reconfirmed the good bilateral ties as president Barack Obama plans to visit Cambodia in November and this year, Cambodia chairs ASEAN. The two sides welcomed the improved ties between Cambodia and America, Koy Kuong, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said ...

Local rice miller Mega Green said it planned to export about 240 tons of milled rice to the Chinese market by the end of June – a second round of test exports to Cambodia’s northern neighbour. Renne Outh, owner of Mega Green Imex Cambodia, told the ...

Cambodian microfinance institution PRASAC says it is bolstering its green credentials by increasing loans for eco-friendly farming methods in the kingdom. President and CEO of PRASAC, said the institution is “committed to providing and developing more green financing to the rural people for their livelihood ...

The price of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority shares have fluctuated only US$0.04 during the past 12 days of trading. The low price and a lack of liquidity on the market may account the low volume of shares traded, insiders said, which averaged at 55,773 during ...

On his first day of questioning at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, Sar Kim Lomouth, the deputy director of the State Bank of Democratic Kampuchea, described how the national financial institution was nothing but a charade during the Pol Pot regime. Currency had been abolished and financial transactions eliminated under ...

Children of imprisoned Boeung Kak lake women pleaded for their mothers’ release outside the Ministry of Justice yesterday. The demonstration, which included more than 200 Boeung Kak residents and activist monk Loun Savath, was held on the eve of International Children’s Day. It also coincided with more ...

Cambodia is planning to send a second consignment of 40 tons of milled rice to China as a part of the approval process for rice exports to China. In April, China had rejected a sample consignment of about 48 tons ...