Ministries and other national bodies

About 300 vendors from the Tumnup market in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district protested in front of the municipal court on Wednesday to demand that two of their colleagues who were arrested amid a dispute over market fees be released. ...

The Ministry of Rural Development, UNICEF and NGO Plan International Cambodia on Monday launched a new project to improve access to sanitation for 2,000 families in Ratanakkiri province. ...

The government cancelled two concessions for offshore oil – Block B and Block F – held by two foreign companies last year because they failed to comply with the terms of their agreements, senior officials from Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) told Khmer Times ...

In an effort to standardise wedding rituals, Cambodia’s achars, or laymen who carry out Buddhist rites of passage, have been invited to a 10-day training course next month in the capital, the Ministry of Cults and Religion announced last week. ...

The government has announced several amendments to the troubled Traffic Law which, according to National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, will be fully enforced starting March 15. ...

The National Assembly on Thursday passed an accounting and auditing law that aims to bring financial reporting procedures for the government, NGOs and the private sector in line with international standards. ...

Investment in the construction sector reached an all-time high last year at almost $3.5 billion, up about 40 percent from the $2.5 billion invested in the sector in 2014, according to data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction.   ...

The draft law to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank passed the National Assembly yesterday with lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition party supporting it, saying it will  open the door to a new source of funding for the development of the Kingdom’s ...

Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts expressed grave concerns yesterday over damage caused to remote heritage and conservation sites at their annual review meeting in Phnom Penh. ...

Due to the lack of qualified personnel to evaluate new patents and enforce the existing law, the Industry Ministry is cooperating with the European Patent Office to enhance their capacity so that Cambodia can better ensure protection of patents to draw more investment, Industry Minister ...

The government collected about $1.3 billion in tax revenue in 2015, a 21.67 percent increase over the previous year, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s general department of taxation on Monday. ...

Government ministries were yesterday urged to continue their efforts in shifting responsibilities towards local authorities at an annual meeting to discuss ongoing decentralisation reforms, reforms one top official called key to the ruling party’s upcoming election hopes. ...

In its own decentralisation efforts, the Ministry of Education has delegated authority over the issuing of licences to pre-schools to provincial- and city-level education departments, Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron said yesterday. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is requiring financial institutions to gradually phase in a higher liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) to ensure sustainable growth in the industry and avoid crises.  ...

The draft Coastal Master Plan is likely to get approval from the Ministry of Tourism and other ministries in the middle of this year, while Otres Beach has been selected by the ministry as the template ensuring bays and beaches are environmentally friendly in order ...

Following a troubled rollout of the January 1 Traffic Law, the government announced yesterday in a press conference that an inter-ministerial team has been established to determine what amendments will be made in reaction to widespread criticism from the public and civil society. ...

The number of drug cases and people arrested for drug crimes in 2015 more than doubled year-on-year, while the volume of drugs seized shot up 18-fold, according to police. ...

The government is planning to gradually reduce tariffs on most goods imported from other ASEAN member states to zero, putting Cambodia ahead of what is required of it under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), officials said.   ...

Cambodia’s first juvenile justice law, in the works for nearly a decade, will be passed by the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Social of Affairs. ...

The General Department of Taxation notified patent owners that they have three months to pay taxes owed on their patents, but they can do so at banks this year for the first time,  its director general said yesterday. ...

The Ministry of Environment on Monday inaugurated its palatial new headquarters in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district, the result of a state-private land swap. ...

The Ministry of Commerce announced last week a $400 million proposal by three Chinese firms to build state-run rice warehousing facilities to increase the Kingdom’s storage capacity. ...

The Cambodian government officially took charge of the ticket sales at the Angkor Archeological Park on January 1, after Prime Minster Hun Sen announced in November an end to the Sok Kong-owned Sokimex’s control of the service. ...

Stricter controls on guns – including those carried by police – will be put in place following a spate of violent crimes involving firearms in recent weeks. ...