Small and medium enterprises SME

A GOOD media planning strategy is essential for small and medium-sized enterprises from Thailand to break into Cambodia, a marketing guru told a recent seminar. Somphob Ritthikulprasert, executive adviser at ARS Chemical (Thailand), said to tap into Cambodia’s growing consumer market, Thai SMEs should learn how ...

Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Unit launched a guidebook for businesses last week to create internal systems to prevent corrupt practices, but certain stakeholders say it doesn’t detail how to create these systems or even address systemic or bureaucratic corruption. The new guidebook, which the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) created ...

There is a growing demand for palm sugar in the marketplace. But producers are unhappy that they have not been paid fair prices by middlemen. The fair price for a kilo of raw palm sugar varies from US$0.41 to US$0.70. But the producers get much ...

The government is drafting a new food safety law in an effort to better protect consumers, a Health Ministry spokesman Friday. ...

Due to a lack of funding, the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts has delayed publishing guidelines that are meant to increase clarity on inspection procedures for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). ...

Public and private sector representatives have urged the Cambodian government to fast-track policies to foster a more “formalised”, compliant and productive small- to medium-size enterprise (SME) sector. Chea Serey, director general at the National Bank of Cambodia said the high cost of regulatory compliance, a ...

Food and beverage imports to Cambodia have fallen over the past 12 months, marking a notable shift in domestic production and the public’s recognition of the “Made in Cambodia” brand, officials say. Cambodia spent around $223 million on food and beverage imports to supply the domestic ...

A return to political stability means business confidence in the Cambodian economy remains buoyant, but ongoing government reforms are now needed to give companies greater assurance of future growth prospects, according to the latest business confidence survey from ANZ Royal Bank. The ANZ Royal Business Confidence ...

The Cambodian government is nearing completion of a policy aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a senior official said yesterday. Minister for Industry and Handicraft Cham Prasidh yesterday told reporters his ministry was preparing a comprehensive SME policy with the purpose of ...

The European Union will spend €3 million ($3.9 million) on a program to encourage small and medium enterprises to invest in Cambodia. Speaking at a conference yesterday in Phnom Penh, EU Ambassador to Cambodia Jean-Francois Cautain said the five-year grant – to be managed by EuroCham ...

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to intensify self-regulatory efforts against corrupt practices to help foster a stronger business environment, NGO Transparency International (TI) Cambodia said yesterday. At a seminar in Phnom Penh, TI Cambodia executive director Preap Kol told business representatives that while government corruption ...

Corn farmers and dealers in the country’s northwestern provinces fear a decline in sales this season as local storage facilities become increasingly scarce and demand from Thai importers declines. Khun Thorn, president of Ta Sdar Samky Farmer Community in Battambang province, told the Post yesterday that ...

Mobile food shops, which are part of services provided by Neat Educational Information Center (NEIC), have first emerged in the middle of Phnom Penh Capital City. These mobile canteens are attracting a lot of customers and have helped create jobs for students who are facing ...

Makers of food- and beverage-related products are for the first time facing mandatory health regulations, with the unveiling of 10 national standards by the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft. The announcement comes after the National Standard Council, a government-run committee, finally approved the standards in May ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday signed a 75 million U.S. dollars loan with Cambodia’s largest bank, Acleda Bank, to address the rising financing requirements of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in the country. The agreement was inked between Christine Engstrom, director in ADB’s ...

Amret Microfinance received a $10 million boost yesterday by a loan from German development bank KfW, according to a joint statement from the finance institutions. Chea Phalarin, chief executive officer of Amret Microfinance Institution, said yesterday that the new loan – equal to nearly double its ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Cambodia was eager to have Japanese investors to build factories and produce goods for exports to the world market. The premier made comments during his meeting on Sunday with Tishimitsu Gotegi, Minister of Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Industry of ...

Small and medium-size enterprises (SME) have been urged by the Cambodian government to employ more environmentally friendly practices at a green industry workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday. Cham Prasidh, minister for the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, said SMEs and handicraft producers’ reliance on fossil fuels ...

Small business owners in the pillar construction industry say they are facing hard times as demand increases for large pillars but diminishes for small-scale construction. Chheang Bona, director of 7FTD Co, Ltd in Vihear Sour commune, in Kandal province’s Ksach Kandal district, said that his ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday provided an indication of the role that will be played by the new Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, which was created late last year, announcing it will hold the sole responsibility for registering small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The government ...

Starting later this month, 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses will be queried as part of a Japanese government-backed economic census intended to take a snapshot of activity across the private sector. Beginning on February 23 and running through to March 31, Cambodia’s National Institute of Statistics ...

As the cost of imports rise, local producers could see an opportunity to increase their market share, but for most a lack of output and quality means potential is limited, industry observers said yesterday. Customs officers who had often undercut the official rate are now ...

Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) in Cambodia have so far seen an increase, reaching the number of around 560,000. However, this sector does not grow with reliability and the capacity in business operation does not go to international market standard or standardization of free market. ...

A new project by the government and Japan’s aid agency seeks to assist small companies in Cam­bodia that are in need of specialist advice in order to develop and keep up with competitors in neighboring Asean countries. The aim of the two-year program, called “Strategic Strengthening ...