Industries
Trade hurt by political and labour turbulence
Cambodian trade reached a total of $15.9 billion in 2013, equaling an 18 per cent rise from 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Exports were valued at $6.9 billion, up from $5.5 billion a year earlier, with garment and textiles accounting for more than 80 ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/trade-hurt-political-and-labour-turbulence
Major Brands Confront Cambodian Leader Over Use of Force
A coalition of 30 brands and three global unions have sent a letter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen calling for an investigation into the recent use of deadly force against striking garment-sector workers. The letter, dated Friday, urged the government to launch a new process ...
Kate O'keeffe and Sun Narin
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304027204579330201431431652?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304027204579330201431431652.html
Diplomats, Donors Lobbied to Help Free Jailed Protesters
Challenging the ban on demonstrations in Phnom Penh, activists rallied Friday at the U.S. Embassy, the Japanese Embassy, the Australian Embassy and the German Embassy before stopping for lunch and rallying again, in the afternoon, at the British Embassy, the European Union and World Bank ...
Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/diplomats-donors-lobbied-to-help-free-jailed-protesters-50852/
Cambodian, Laotian FMs to meet next week on ties
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong would meet with his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith next week to explore possibilities to further boost bilateral ties, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The two top diplomats would co-chair the 12th meeting of the ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-01/17/c_133052813.htm
Cambodia’s Human Rights in focus: Full text of UN envoy
The UN envoy concluded his six-day visit to Cambodia producing a concrete report, which reflects both the positive and negative aspects of human rights situation in the Kingdom. As for the post-election political impasse, Prof. Surya P. Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=ZWMwNTZmODliZTA
Retail associations urge talks
Six major retail, footwear and garment industry associations whose members account for over 90 per cent of garment imports in the US and Canada have called on the Cambodian government, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and unions to resume wage negotiations. The open ...
Daniel de Carteret
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/retail-associations-urge-talks
Lawyers Submit Bail Requests for Imprisoned Protesters
Ten lawyers representing 22 of the 23 striking workers, union officials and political activists imprisoned at a maximum-security prison in Kompong Cham province since their arrests at two protests in Phnom Penh earlier this month submitted bail requests for their clients Thursday, one of the ...
Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/lawyers-submit-bail-requests-for-imprisoned-protesters-50785/
One Garment Strike Ends, Two Begin, Over Missing Pay
Garment workers at a Kandal province factory ended their most recent strike Thursday after management agreed to pay out part of their wages for the days they were absent during a previous strike, while workers at a Phnom Penh factory went back on strike because ...
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/one-garment-strike-ends-two-begin-over-missing-pay-50787/
Cambodia's trade with foreign countries reaches nearly 16 bln USD last year
Cambodia’s trade volume with foreign countries amounted to 15.9 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 18 percent compared with 13.4 billion U.S. dollars in a year earlier, according to the report of the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday. The country had exported products in equivalent to 6.9 ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-01/15/c_133046741.htm
Cambodia sends 22,300 laborers abroad last year
Cambodia had dispatched some 22, 300 laborers overseas in 2013, down 36 percent from 34,800 a year earlier, figures from the Ministry of Labor showed Monday. The country sent 13,170 workers to Thailand last year, down 50 percent year-on-year; 8,820 to South Korea, up 8 ...
Asean-China-Center News Staff
http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2014-01/15/c_133047425.htm
Political issues not affecting property sector, for now
Despite recent political turbulence, local investors in the Phnom Penh property sector are not deterred and are still bullish on the market’s future prospects. One good example of this local optimism is Ly Hour Group, which recently announced it would invest more than $100 million to ...
Siv Meng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/political-issues-not-affecting-property-sector-now
Office space demand up slightly in Q4 2013
Demand for office space in Phnom Penh in the fourth quarter of 2013 grew by five per cent over the previous quarter, according to research by local property services provider VTrust Property Company. VTrust deputy director Chrek Soknim said that growth in Q4 of last year ...
Sum Manet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/office-space-demand-slightly-q4-2013
Manhattan workers on strike again
More than 1,000 workers at the Manhattan (Cambodia) Co Ltd garment factory in Kampong Cham province are striking in the wake of factory management’s reaction to their last strike action. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/manhattan-workers-strike-again
Strike action still on table, unions say
Leaders of unions that declared a nationwide garment worker strike said the work stoppage and protests, which they temporarily suspended, will resume unless government officials renegotiate the industry’s minimum wage. The announcement was their first since authorities cracked down on strike demonstrations on January 2 and ...
Sean Teehan and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/strike-action-still-table-unions-say
Housing loans up in 2013, growth expected to continue in ’14
Last year across Cambodia’s cities, more and more people decided to take the plunge and invest in housing. This should be obvious to anyone who lived in Cambodia last year. The sounds of construction or renovation were more noticeable than before in cities across the Kingdom. Data ...
Sum Manet
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/housing-loans-2013-growth-expected-continue-%E2%80%9914
The Sihanoukville option
As property prices in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap continue to push upwards, many investors are quickly being priced out of these first-tier markets. Looking at second-tier cities around the Kingdom, Sihanoukville in particular stands out as an investment destination worth serious consideration. Named after the ...
Chris Horton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/sihanoukville-option
Hun Sen: Minimum wage of workers cannot be increased to USD160
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday said it would be impossible to double the garment workers from USD 80 to USD 160 even though he wish to see them to have better life. “Which leaders and Prime Ministers don’t want to see their peoples have good ...
Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=M2EzNmZiZGVkNjA#sthash.0G8ytVha.dpuf
Vinamilk deal to go ahead
Vietnam Dairy Product Joint-Stock Co, better-known to milk lovers as Vinamilk, was granted a licence on Monday to open a $23 million processing facility in Phnom Penh’s Special Economic Zone. A statement to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange released by the dairy giant on Monday ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/vinamilk-deal-go-ahead
Garment Workers Go Back on Strike Over Unpaid Wages
Thousands of garment workers from four factories have gone back on strike this week to protest a decision by their employers to withhold pay for the days they did not work during recent nationwide strikes. Between 8,500 and 12,500 workers at four factories—two in Phnom Penh, ...
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/garment-workers-go-back-on-strike-over-unpaid-wages-50580/
Cambodia opposition leaders questioned in court
Cambodia’s opposition leaders were questioned in court Tuesday in connection with recent protests against strongman premier Hun Sen — a case they denounced as politically motivated. Prosecutors at Phnom Penh Municipal Court spent several hours grilling Sam Rainsy and his deputy Kem Sokha about unrest that ...
Channel News Asia Staff
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/cambodia-opposition/954294.html
Free Trade Union Reports Overall Jump in Labor Strikes in 2013
The Free Trade Union (FTU) on Monday reported an overall increase in industrial action by its local branches last year with 136 total strikes in the first 11 months of 2013, up 35 percent from all of 2012, when there were 101 strikes by its ...
Kampong Thom temples next on UNESCO wish list
Kampong Thom’s Sambor Prei Kuk temple complex will be the next Cambodian site nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An announced yesterday at the 20th Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA). The seventh-century complex, which predates Angkor Wat by ...
Stuart White
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kampong-thom-temples-next-unesco-wish-list
Little Paris comes to Koh Pich
Construction on a four-year, $150 million commercial and residential development that will transform 70,000 square metres of land on Koh Pich into Parisian-style apartments with a replica of the Arc de Triomphe at the centre is reportedly scheduled to commence in the coming months. The Élysée, ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/little-paris-comes-koh-pich
Unions Want Government, Factories to Resume Wage Talks
The unions behind several days of strikes that turned deadly this month said they will officially ask the Labor Ministry today to resume negotiations on a new minimum wage for the country’s critical garment sector, and said they would hold more street protests if their ...
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/unions-want-government-factories-to-resume-wage-talks-50451/