Economy and commerce
Trade
European Lawmakers Press for Probe of Land Concessions
Lawmakers from the European Union (E.U) are again urging the block’s trade commissioner to investigate Cambodia’s Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) over a raft of alleged rights abuses and consider revoking the duty free access their owners currently enjoy to member states. Going mostly to industrial ...
Illegal rosewood seized at border
Police have cracked down on illegal large-scale rosewood smuggling at the Cambodia-Thai border in the district of Malai. In the sting operation Tuesday night, led by Banteay Meanchey prosecutor, Phan Pirom, the authorities have seized around three tons of rosewood, hidden in the truck bed used ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=M2M4YzlhNzA2NmY
Thai Co-Op Seeks To Boost Cambodia’s Market Access
A delegation from a Thai agricultural co-operative yesterday discussed means of improving agricultural products and market access with representatives of the Ministry of Commerce in Phnom Penh. Kamit Likhitvidhayavuth of the Thai co-operative said his team aimed to strengthen market access for Cambodian goods. No agreement ...
Harta Packaging bets on Cambodian growth
Malaysia-based Harta Packaging Industries Sdn Bhd opened a new Cambodian factory to meet the demands of a growing exports sector and benefit from Sihanoukville port’s ambitious expansion plans, officials said. Harta Packaging, a wholly owned subsidiary of HPI Resources Berhad and part of the Oji Paper ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032664690/Business/harta-packaging-bets-on-cambodian-growth.html
Rice trade zone to be set up in East
The Department of Foreign Trade plans to set up a “rice trade zone” project in the East to process Cambodian rice for export to other countries. Tikhumporn Natvaratat, deputy director-general of the department, said his organisation plans to implement the project in Chanthaburi, Trat, Sa Kaeo ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/342199/rice-trade-zone-to-be-set-up-in-east
Slight rise in truck numbers
The total number of new trucks registered last year increased slightly, but industry insiders said that even though more trucks are needed to boost the Kingdom’s trading volume, the country’s export capacity is relatively unaffected because of trucks bought in previous years. The number of big ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032564655/Business/slight-rise-in-truck-numbers.html
Cambodia’s total trade worth US$ 2.7-B in first 2 months, + 28%
Cambodia’s import and export trade volume had amounted to US$2.7-B in the 1st 2 months of this year, up 28% compared to the US$2.1-B in the same period last year, the statistics of the Commerce Ministry showed Friday. Main products Cambodia imported are garment and textile ...
Export plans on hold
Local instant noodle company Men Sarun failed in its plan to export canned noodles to US markets this year, and an official confirmed that failures stemmed from both the unstable market price and increasing costs of transportation. Choun Kol, deputy general director of Men Sarun Investment, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032264621/Business/export-plans-on-hold.html
Million-dollar machine sweetens outlook
Local food producer Ly Ly Food Industry had invested about $1 million for a Chinese-made machine to improve production and food quality as it prepared for the coming regional economic community, the company’s owner said yesterday. Keo Mom said a tremendous amount of goods from neighbouring ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032164553/Business/million-dollar-machine-sweetens-outlook.html
Isuzu distributor opens showroom near airport
K (Cambodia), an authorised dealer of Isuzu Motors, opened a new showroom near Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday that will be the cornerstone for Isuzu Motors’ planned long-term investment in the Kingdom, a K (Cambodia) official said. “The new showroom for Isuzu vehicle is to serve ...
Diversify crop exports: official
CAMBODIA needs greater diversification of its exports – especially in the agricultural sector – in order to achieve sustainable economic growth, a senior official said yesterday. Economy and Finance Minister Keat Chhon raised the issue during the annual meeting of the Ministry of Commerce. Commerce Minister ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032062041/Business/diversify-crop-exports-official.html
Cambodia's state-Owned telecom firm gets new chief, vowing to improve business operations, revenues
Newly-Appointed Director General of the state-owned Telecom Cambodia (TC) Kim Vikra vowed Monday to enhance the enterprise’s governance in order to improve business operations and revenues. “I am committed to working with all colleagues in order to lead the enterprise to progress,”he said at his official ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/18/c_132243178.htm
Myanmar’s siren song
Unions and labour rights groups have spent recent months unashamedly drilling home a stark reminder: Cambodia’s minimum garment wage, at $61 per month, compares poorly with those in Thailand – where workers earn more than $200 a month – and Vietnam, which has a base ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013031861998/National/myanmar-s-siren-song.html
Luxury Motor Show takes on Used Car Market
At Cambodia’s first ever international motor show over the weekend, top-end car manufactures including Mercedez-Benz, BMW and Ford presented their luxury range of SUV’s, sedans pickup trucks and motorbikes. Vehicle imports to Cambodia, which include cars, trucks and motorcycles, more than doubled to 1.9 million ...
Kingdom’s small auto industry likely to expand as AEC looms
The Cambodian automotive industry will expand after the Kingdom’s integration into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, thanks to the free flow of goods within the bloc and Cambodia’s competitive advantage as a low-cost manufacturer, according to Cambodian Commerce ...
Bountiful work, but scant wages angers Cambodia
As night falls in Phonm Penh, thousands of weary workers stream from textile factories, reflecting the abundance of jobs created by the clothing industry’s desire for cheap labor. However, as the number of international clothes companies tapping into Cambodia’s workforce grows, so does anger at the ...
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2013/03/17/2003557254
Telecom Cambodia postpones plan to list on local bourse
State-owned fixed-line company Telecom Cambodia’s (TC) plan to join the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) has been postponed indefinitely because of its poor financial performance, reports The Phnom Penh Post. The company will need to redesign its business plan to improve operations, said Sarak Khan, secretary ...
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/telecom-cambodia-postpones-plan-to-list-on-local-bourse--931448
Sugar Playing Catch-Up With Spice
Dotted with rice fields flanked by palm trees, Cambodia’s southeastern province of Kampong Speu is nothing short of picturesque. But behind the idyllic exterior is an on-going struggle to turn this region’s natural beauty into a global attraction and improve the lot of poor local farmers, ...
http://www.iede.co.uk/news/2013_1290/sugar-playing-catch-spice
Agreement reached on Thai trade
After years of discussion, the Cambodian and Thai governments on Tuesday agreed at the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy (ACMECS) summit in Laos to establish a Cambodian-Thai Business Council in a bid to enhance trade and investment between the ASEAN neighbours after a decline in ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013031561964/Business/agreement-reached-on-thai-trade.html
Telecom Cambodia Suffers Amid Competition
State-owned Telecom Cambodia lost more than $40 million during the five-year tenure of director general Lao Saroeun, who is now set to move into a new government job despite an investigation into alleged corruption at the company, officials said yesterday. Speaking at the annual meeting ...
Group Lease eyes Laos, Vietnam markets
Group Lease Plc (GL), the SET-listed motorcycle leasing firm, is planning to expand into Laos and Vietnam next year after a successful move into Cambodia last year. Mitsuji Konoshita, the chairman and chief executive, said both Laos and Vietnam are promising markets, while the company ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/financialadvice/340373/group-lease-eyes-laos-vietnam-markets
Low pay fuels anger among Cambodia's garment workers
As night falls thousands of weary workers stream from textile factories that fan out across Phnom Penh’s outskirts. The clothing industry’s desire for cheap labour having created an abundance of jobs but as the number of international clothes companies tapping into Cambodia’s workforce grows, so does ...
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1259888/1/.html
NagaCorp raises $156 million from top-up placement
NagaCorp, a gaming and entertainment hotel complex operator in Cambodia, has raised HK$1.21 billion ($156 million) from a top-up placement, after fixing the price at the bottom of the indicative range. The deal was launched at around 6pm yesterday in Hong Kong time, and the ...
http://www.financeasia.com/News/336436,nagacorp-raises-156-million-from-top-up-placement.aspx
Indian Firms Look To Cambodia Industries
A delegation of 15 Indian firms is in Cambodia this week looking to increase the country’s involvement in Cambodia’s economy, particularly in the agriculture and mining sectors. At present, Cambodia does modest trade with India, the second largest country in the world by population. But the ...