Government
Businessmen Charged Over Mining Deal Fraud
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has charged the Cambodian chairman of a local conglomerate and a Chinese business associate with fraud and using forged public documents, officials said Wednesday. Al Romny, 41, and Chinese national Chin Mongxin, 45, were arrested Saturday after an unknown complainant said ...
Eang Mengleng and Simon Lewis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/businessmen-charged-over-mining-deal-fraud-41261/
Government, ADB Differ on Rail Project
The government claims to have finished nearly a third of the work needed to rehabilitate the long-dilapidated railway line from Phnom Penh to the Thai border at Poipet, twice the figure reported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the main financier of the over-budget and ...
Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-adb-differ-on-rail-project-41263/
Cambodian police trained to fight money laundering, terror financing
With an aim of facing the growing challenge in Southeast Asia concerning money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime has stepped in to provide Cambodian police with skills in order to curb this threat, according to a statement ...
Global Post News Staff
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130826/cambodian-police-trained-fight-money-laundering-terror
Finance Ministry Accused of Ignoring Education Sector
The Ministry of Education on Tuesday again publicly accused the Ministry of Finance of not injecting enough funds into the education sector in order to bring Cambodia in line with the rest of Southeast Asia. Speaking at the close of a two-day workshop to formulate the ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/finance-ministry-accused-of-ignoring-education%E2%80%88sector-41040/
Fighting a different battle
Sok Ren’s eyes dart from side to side as he explains in a hushed tone why he’s been detained at military barracks in Preah Vihear province, rarely allowed to leave and under near constant surveillance, since July 31. While casting his ballot for the Cambodian People’s ...
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/fighting-different-battle
Cambodia expects double growth in rice exports this year: minister
Cambodia was expected to export as much as 400,000 tons of milled rice in 2013 thanks to rising demand on international markets and the country’s efforts in developing rice industry, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said Tuesday. “We project that Cambodia can export up to 400,000 tons ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-08/27/c_132667860.htm
Fruit Trucks Block Road In Customs Fee Protest
About 30 truck drivers transporting fruit blocked National Road 5 in Banteay Meanchey province’s O’Chrou district for an hour yesterday after customs officials arrested six of their fellow drivers for refusing to pay fees they thought were unreasonable, drivers said. Nou Sal, 35, who transports ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/fruit-trucks-block-road-in-customs-fee-protest-40925/
Bribes on rise for test takers
More than half a million dollars in bribes were paid to teachers during last month’s national exams by high school students in Phnom Penh alone, the authors of a new study have found. The study, conducted by the Youth Resource Development Program, found that the average ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bribes-rise-test-takers
Cambodia investment scams rising
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan and related bodies are warning of a rise in fraudulent investment schemes involving real estate in Cambodia, where economic growth is boosting foreign investment. The center received 1,312 inquiries between October 2011 and early this month from consumers who ...
The Japan Staff News Staff
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/08/27/national/cambodia-investment-scams-rising/#.Uh1Rq9KBmN8
After poll, confidence dips: study
Confidence in the Cambodian economy has plummeted roughly 50 per cent in the tense post-election period, according to a market research survey of foreign business leaders working in the country. The survey, conducted by Indochina Research and seen by the Post this week, found that 98 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/after-poll-confidence-dips-study
Court Questions Cambodian, Chinese Businessmen Over Fraud
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday questioned two businessmen over allegations of fraud and using forged public documents, including claims they faked a signature from Prime Minister Hun Sen in a mining transaction, court and police officials said. Deputy prosecutor Var Sakada said Cambodian Al ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/court-questions-cambodian-chinese-businessmen-over-fraud-40923/
UK to Request Extradition of Biofuel Company’s Chairman
The U.K.’s fraud office plans to request the extradition of a British national currently detained in Cambodia, after it brought charges against four people for their part in a $36 million Ponzi scheme involving a biofuel plantation. Gregg Fryett was arrested in Phnom Penh in March ...
Simon Lewis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-to-request-extradition-of-biofuel-companys-chairman-40796/
UK to Request Extradition of Biofuel Company’s Chairman
The U.K.’s fraud office plans to request the extradition of a British national currently detained in Cambodia, after it brought charges against four people for their part in a $36 million Ponzi scheme involving a biofuel plantation. Gregg Fryett was arrested in Phnom Penh in March ...
Simon Lewis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-to-request-extradition-of-biofuel-companys-chairman-40796/
New container terminal may not deliver for Cambodia
Shallow draft, lack of rail connectivity, uneasy relations with Vietnam, and the general slowdown may leave LM 17, Cambodia’s brand new $28-million container terminal near Phnom Penh, up the strait. Even if the terminal achieves the targeted throughput of 110,000 TEUs (it has moved 70,000 so ...
Hindu Business Line News Staff
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/new-container-terminal-may-not-deliver-for-cambodia/article5061737.ece
Cambodia's oil imports down 5.6 pct in first half of 2013
Cambodia has imported 871,000 tons of petroleum in the first six months of the year, a 5.6 percent decline compared with the 922,800 tons at the same period last year, the figures of the Ministry of Commerce showed Monday. During the January-June period this year, the ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-08/26/c_132664169.htm
US investors cite corruption as major issue
Though U.S.-owned businesses in Cambodia are optimistic of the country’s economy, its appeal as an investment destination lags behind most of its neighbors due to the perception of endemic corruption, a new survey of 475 senior U.S. business executives in Asean shows. The 2013-14 ASEAN Business ...
Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/us-investors-cite-corruption-as-major-issue-40520/
US, Australia Continue Call For Credible Election Inquiry
In the wake of an announcement by the National Election Committee (NEC) that it has completed its investigation into election irregularities, the U.S. and Australian embassies in Phnom Penh on Monday continued to call for an independent and transparent inquiry into the results of the ...
Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/us-australia-continue-call-for-credible-election-inquiry-40185/
US Taxman Provides Investigation Training
The U.S. tax collection agency is this week training Cambodian bank staff as well as anti-corruption officials, police, judges and prosecutors in how to investigate financial activity to detect wrongdoing, officials said Monday. U.S. Embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh said the program, called Intermediate Financial Investigations Training, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/us-taxman-provides-investigation-training-40220/
BHP Billiton Faces Bribery Charges After Abandoned Project
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the country’s financial regulator have informed Australia-based mining giant BHP Billiton it could still be charged over allegations the company bribed overseas officials, which include claims of improper payments to members of the Cambodian government. Prime Minister Hun Sen ...
Chamber wants new tax laws
The private sector has called on the government to review Cambodia’s taxation law, a statute that business leaders say is outdated and needs to change if Cambodia wants to continue to attract foreign investment. Led by Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) president Kith Meng, a delegation ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/chamber-wants-new-tax-laws
Government Downplays Cuts to US Military Aid
The government on Wednesday insisted that its decision to postpone U.S.-backed military assistance programs following the July 28 election would not have a negative impact on relations between the two countries. Marie Harf, the spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, also said on Tuesday that ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-downplays-cuts-to-us-military-aid-39568/
Despite Popularity, Rainsy’s Role Remains Uncertain
When opposition leader Sam Rainsy last touched down at Phnom Penh International Airport, he was greeted by some 100,000 supporters in what was the largest opposition rally in Cambodia’s 20 years of democracy. When he returns on Friday from the U.S., where he has been attending ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/despite-popularity-rainsys-role-remains-uncertain-39565/
Cambodia Delays US Military Aid
Cambodia postponed U.S.-backed military assistance programs immediately after the July 28 national election, officials of both countries confirmed Tuesday, in a move that analysts said reflects a strain in relations after years of strengthening military ties. The U.S. has in recent years expanded training and other ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-delays-us-military-assistance-39509/
Sok An, US Ambassador Discuss Formation of National Assembly
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An met with the top U.S. diplomat in Cambodia on Friday to discuss the formation of the country’s National Assembly following the disputed July 28 election. Both the ruling CPP and opposition CNRP claim to have won the ballot, and the opposition ...
Simon Lewis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/sok-an-us-ambassador-discuss-formation-of-national%E2%80%88assembly-39090/