Economy and commerce
Trade
Malaysian firms urged to venture into Cambodia's agri sector
Malaysian companies have been urged to venture into Cambodia’s agriculture sector especially in paddy planting and opening up rubber estates. In making the call, Raja Saiful Ridzuan, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Malaysian Embassy here, said Malaysian firms, with its vast expertise in agriculture sector, ...
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/malaysian-firms-urged-to-venture-into-cambodia-s-agri-sector-1.334244
Health Ministry to Probe Suspect Baby Formula
The Ministry of Health will investigate a baby milk formula sold in Cambodia that has been recalled over a risk it contains bacteria that causes botulism, an official said Tuesday. New Zealand dairy company Fonterra has advised eight companies that bought a whey protein concentrate produced ...
Workers asked to stay calm amid protest rumors
Cambodia’s Social Affairs Minister urged factory workers, employers and the public not to be concerned regarding the rumors of disorder and planned protests after the country’s recent parliamentary election. He appealed to all factories and enterprises within the country to proceed as normal. “The Cambodian government ...
Cambodia's garment industry at crossroads
Nun Vanak is an excellent example of how Cambodia’s garment manufacturing industry has helped to change lives of hundreds of thousands of people in this country. The 23-year-old is part of Cambodia’s half-a-million-strong workforce – mostly young women – that keeps these garment factories running. Her income ...
Credit at Cambodia's banks grows by 5.4 pct in first half
Lending at Cambodia’s commercial banks increased by 5.4 percent in the first six months of this year thanks to a better economic situation, a central bank official said Monday. Nguon Sokha, director general of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), said that the kingdom’s 34 commercial ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-08/05/c_132603705.htm
Baby milk recalled in Cambodia
Potentially contaminated infant milk powder that had been banned in China, Russia and Vietnam is now being recalled in Cambodia. The Cambodian distributor of a milk powder product that uses a suspect ingredient from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra is recalling thousands of units as a ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/baby-milk-recalled-cambodia
FAO Predicts Rice Crop to Match Last Year’s
The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that Cambodia’s rice crop this year will equal but not exceed last year’s record yield. In its July rice market monitor report, issued quarterly, the FAO said that weather conditions meant this year’s rice crop would not reach ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/fao-predicts-rice-crop-to-match-last-years-38297/
Rice exports already surpass last year’s total
Cambodia exported about 31,000 tonnes of rice in July, a 40 per cent seasonal increase from the average of 22,000 tonnes for first five months of this year. Official data show that Cambodia exported 207,000 tonnes from January through July, an amount surpassing the 205,000 tonnes ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-exports-already-surpass-last-year%E2%80%99s-total
Cambodian rubber earnings fall
Following global supply growth and falling prices, Cambodian rubber has decreased in value over the past three months, according to industry experts. Men Sopheak, deputy director-general of the Chop Rubber Plantation, a major rubber exporter in Cambodia, said yesterday that the price of dried [natural] rubber ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodian-rubber-earnings-fall
New Chinese envoy pledges to further enhance ties with Cambodia
Newly-designated Ambassador of China to Cambodia Bu Jianguo on Thursday vowed to help further deepen all rounds of cooperation with Cambodia for the benefits [sic] of the two countries and peoples. Paying a courtesy call on Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Bu ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-07/25/c_132573145.htm
Workers paid out on doorstop of election
A month-long battle to secure back pay waged by 750 garment workers has ended only days before the national election – with the government footing the bill. The $450,000 payout to the Pine Great (Cambodia) factory workers – whose factory owner skipped town in April – ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/workers-paid-out-doorstop-election
Philippine, Cambodian rice deal still on hold
Four months after the Philippines and Cambodia signed an agreement to increase rice trade, the plan is stuck in limbo. Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia Noe Wong and Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh signed a deal in April for the Philippines National Food Authority to import ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/philippine-cambodian-rice-deal-still-hold
UK Sugar Firm Investigating Child Labor Claims
U.K. sugar firm Tate & Lyle on Wednesday said it was looking into recent allegations of child labor on two plantations in Koh Kong province it has been buying sugar from since 2010, but rebuked NGOs for not bringing the claims to its attention sooner. The ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-sugar-firm-investigating-child-labor-claims-36637/
Cambodia predicts 7.6 percent GDP growth in 2013
Cambodia’s economy would grow by 7.6 percent this year, driven by garment exports, agriculture, tourism and construction, according to a preliminary prediction by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday. The ministry said that the GDP volume would be around 15.19 billion U.S. dollars and ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-07/24/c_132570724.htm
Timing of stats questioned
For the first time in recent memory, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has released growth projections for the first half of the year, and the numbers are good. The ministry’s preliminary data claims that from January through June, economic growth stood at 7.6 per ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/timing-stats-questioned
Bamboo crafts furnish an income
Prior to 2009, Kong Channa, a rice farmer from Svay Rieng province, would leave his wife and young child for months at a time in neighbouring provinces to supplement his income in the off season. This all changed, though, when he began working with the Cambodian ...
Malaysian motos to enter market
Naza Bikes Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based Naza Group of Companies, will enter Cambodia’s crowded motorbike sector, according to the local brand manager. “[Business] will probably be launched on the first of next month,” Hay Chamreoun, the manager, said yesterday, adding that construction for the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/malaysian-motos-enter-market
Swine imports spell the end of good fortune for farmers
Three years ago, the high prices for pig livestock inspired Chhoeurng Sarun and many other villagers in Svay Rieng province, near the Vietnam border, to go into small-scale farming. Imports coming over from the Vietnamese and Thai borders flooded the market, and prices fell. Srun ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/swine-imports-spell-end-good-fortune-farmers
Cambodia's oil import down by 2 pct in 5 months
Cambodia imported 727,500 tons of petroleum in the first five months of the year, a 2 percent drop from 744,700 tons a year earlier, the figures of the Ministry of Commerce showed Saturday. A liter of premium gasoline goes for 1.38 U.S. dollars in Phnom ...
http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2013-07/22/c_132563149.htm
Cambodia's rubber exports up 29 pct in 5 months
Cambodia reported a 29 percent rise in dry rubber exports in the first five months of 2013, but revenues from the exports rose only 4 percent due to price decline in international markets. Currently, the country has about 300,000 hectares of rubber trees, according to ...
http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2013-07/19/c_132556398.htm#
Gems in the rough in Ratanakkiri
“These are the best quality stones,” Lat Yun says with a grin. Nestled in his outstretched hand are three unassuming rocks. “I don’t know what they’re called, I just know they’re the best.” The gemstones of Ratanakkiri are a mineral called zircon, but in Cambodia, they ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/gems-rough-ratanakkiri
Cambodia sees gold price dip
Gold prices in Cambodia are down about 27 per cent from January through June, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Gold trade changed little yesterday after the biggest drop in almost two weeks in response to the US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke’s comments ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-sees-gold-price-dip
Ethical Sugar Group Suspends Tate & Lyle Over Plantations
An international group that promotes the ethical sourcing of sugar for the food and energy industries has suspended the membership of U.K. sugar giant Tate & Lyle for failing to answer complaints that it was buying from Cambodian plantations accused of stealing land from local ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ethical-sugar-group-suspends-tate-lyle-over-plantations-35438/
Textile Industry Gets Lessons From Korean Designers
Cambodian manufacturers on Wednesday received training from Korean designers on how to make apparel in line with current fashion trends in the hopes of assisting them in penetrating the lucrative but difficult Korean market. The event was organized by the ASEAN-Korea Center—an intergovernmental organization that aims ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/textile-industry-gets-lessons-from-korean-designers-35468/