Economy and commerce
Investment
Kingdom's first gem-testing lab opens
London-based checker of rare gems and jewellery Intertek has established a laboratory in Cambodia to help regulate and provide guidelines for the gem trade. Officially opening today, it is the Kingdom’s first gem laboratory. Intertek director in Cambodia Khut Sothy said the country had been ...
UN labour agency troubled by Cambodia's failure to arrest gunman
The United Nations‘ labour agency said Tuesday international buyers were “extremely concerned” at Cambodia‘s failure to arrest the suspect in last month‘s shootings of three garment workers at a subcontractor for German sportswear firm PUMA SE. Jill Tucker, technical advisor to the International Labour Organization, said ...
Whereabouts of Bavet governor still a mystery
Government and police officials were at a loss yesterday to pinpoint the whereabouts of the Bavet town governor, who has been identified as a suspect in the shooting of three women at a protest two weeks ago. An arrest warrant had still not been issued for ...
Mystery Surrounds SEZ Triple Shooting Case
Confusion continued to swirl around the fate of Bavet city Governor Chhuk Bundith yesterday after the Interior Ministry last week identified him as the sole suspect in the Feb. 20 triple shooting of protesters at a special economic zone (SEZ). While human rights groups claimed yesterday ...
Photo Said to Show SEZ Shooter With Police
A week and a half after a uniformed man opened fire on three female protesters at a special economic zone in Svay Rieng province, a photograph surfaced in a local newspaper on Friday showing the alleged gunman brandishing a pistol and surrounded by police and ...
Authorities Fire Weapons During Seziure of Rosewood
Forestry officials and police in Siem Reap province’s Banteay Srei district seized a car transporting more than 100 pieces of illegally logged rosewood on Wednesday night, the 10th haul of the luxury wood in the province since January, according to a court official. Despite the efforts ...
Cambodia-Linked Investors Sentenced in Seoul
The chief executives of the firms behind two large-scale real-estate projects in Cambodia have been sentenced to jail in Seoul for obtaining illegal loans and using the money to finance fictitious companies abroad, according to a South Korean court official. The two executives were among a ...
Governor Arrested as Shooting Suspect
The governor of a city in southeastern Cambodia was arrested Friday in connection with a shooting that left three workers hospitalized as they took part in protests for better labor conditions at a sportswear factory that supplies goods to German sportswear giant PUMA. Moeun Tola, head ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/shooting-03022012172935.html
Cambodian water utility to price IPO on 18 April
Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority is gearing up to price an initial public offering of up to $24 million on 18 April, making it the first stock to be traded on Cambodia’s fledgling stock exchange. Huy Vatharo, an executive director at underwriter Tong Yang Securities, ...
http://www.globalwaterintel.com/news/2012/9/cambodias-water-utility-price-ipo-18-april.html
PPWSA sets an IPO date
Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority aimed to raise US$20.4 million in a long-awaited initial public offering scheduled for mid-April, the company said yesterday during its first pitch to investors. “We’ve targeted trading for the 18th of April,” said Han Kyung-tae, managing director of Tong Yang ...
Interior Ministry Sends SEZ Investigation Results to Court
The Interior Ministry said yesterday that it has sent the results of an investigation into last weeks’s triple shooting of protesters at a special economic zone (SEZ) in Svay Rieng province to the provincial court there. Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak did not reveal any ...
Villagers Appeal to Halt Stung Treng Dam
Eleven village representatives from Stung Treng and Ratanakiri provinces traveled to Phnom Penh yesterday to meet with National Assembly lawmakers and appeal for an end to the planned construction of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam. The hydropower project, funded by Vietnam Electricity, will flood tens ...
Cambodia's debt a concern
An International Monetary Fund and World Bank report has questioned Cambodia’s ability to deal with future financial crises if government borrowing increases. While the report indicated that Cambodia was at low risk for severe debt problems, it highlighted the need for effective management of new debt ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022954764/Business/cambodias-debt-a-concern.html
Alarm over proposed dam
The Sam Rainsy Party has asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to verify the details of a proposed dam that could inundate about 10,000 hectares of protected forest, citing concerns that it would lead to rampant illegal logging and devastate a traditional habitat of Siamese crocodiles. ...
David Boyle with additional reporting by Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Cassandra Yeap, P. 5
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022954773/National-news/alarm-over-proposed-dam.html
Villagers ask for Government’s Help in Koh Kong Land Dispute
Koh Kong villagers facing the loss of their land to a Chinese mega-tourism project held a news conference in Phnom Penh yesterday to appeal to the government for the right to remain on their property. Kith Ten, 54, from Kiri Sakor district’s Prek Khsach commune, ...
IMF says Cambodian economy to grow 6.5 per cent, but warns of risks
Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow 6.5 per cent in 2012, up from 5.75 per cent last year, the International Monetary Fund said in its annual review, adding that government policies to boost the investment climate were paying off. However, in its assessment, which was released ...
PPWSA makes pitch to investors before IPO
Trading on the Cambodian Securities Exchange should begin at the end of March as the Kingdom’s first stock, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, prepares to consult and share information with potential investors this week. The company would host a “roadshow” for investors in anticipation of its ...
Kompong Cham Factory Reopens at Partial Capacity
About 1,000 workers returned to work at Kompong Cham province’s Manhattan Quing Dao Textile Corp yesterday after last week’s four-day protest, factory representatives said. Chan Seiha, the factory’s administration chief, said that the remaining 1,000 workers were not at work yesterday because the factory currently ...
Gov't Bodies Ordered to Publish Prices for All State Services
The government has ordered all state institutions to start compiling a list of prices for all fee-based services so that individuals and companies can avoid informal payments, which were made illegal under the penal code last year, spokesman for the Council of Ministers Phay Siphan ...
Villagers in capital to protest development
Representatives from five communes in Koh Kong province are scheduled to hold a press conference in the capital today, appealing for government intervention in a land dispute with a Chinese development company that has spanned nearly four years. Lov Hov, a representative from Thmar Sar commune, ...
Officials Mute on Shooting Investigation; Rights Groups Concerned
Government officials remained tight-lipped yesterday about progress in their investigation of the Feb. 20 shooting of three female garment workers during a strike and demonstration in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city. On Feb 20, three women were wounded when a uniformed gunman opened fire at ...
No Investigation of OZ Minerals Deal, Police Say
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have decided not to investigate the Australian mining company OZ Minerals, saying information that the firm paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to family members of officials in the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (Mime) when buying out its ...
Protesting Garment Workers to Resume Work
After four days of protests, which at times grew violent, striking garment workers at the Manhattan Qing Dao Textile Corp in Kompong Cham province said they would be resuming work Monday after reaching a tentative agreement with the company. On Thursday, more than 1000 workers ...
Thai Firm Moves in to Build Koh Kong Power Plant
A Thai Company is conducting a feasibility study to build a coal-fired power plant in Koh Kong province and has already invested in a local firm with permission to develop the plant, according to officials and the company. In an announcement to the Thai Stock ...