Economy and commerce
Trade
Bamboo crafts furnish an income
Prior to 2009, Kong Channa, a rice farmer from Svay Rieng province, would leave his wife and young child for months at a time in neighbouring provinces to supplement his income in the off season. This all changed, though, when he began working with the Cambodian ...
Malaysian motos to enter market
Naza Bikes Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based Naza Group of Companies, will enter Cambodia’s crowded motorbike sector, according to the local brand manager. “[Business] will probably be launched on the first of next month,” Hay Chamreoun, the manager, said yesterday, adding that construction for the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/malaysian-motos-enter-market
Swine imports spell the end of good fortune for farmers
Three years ago, the high prices for pig livestock inspired Chhoeurng Sarun and many other villagers in Svay Rieng province, near the Vietnam border, to go into small-scale farming. Imports coming over from the Vietnamese and Thai borders flooded the market, and prices fell. Srun ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/swine-imports-spell-end-good-fortune-farmers
Cambodia's oil import down by 2 pct in 5 months
Cambodia imported 727,500 tons of petroleum in the first five months of the year, a 2 percent drop from 744,700 tons a year earlier, the figures of the Ministry of Commerce showed Saturday. A liter of premium gasoline goes for 1.38 U.S. dollars in Phnom ...
http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2013-07/22/c_132563149.htm
Cambodia's rubber exports up 29 pct in 5 months
Cambodia reported a 29 percent rise in dry rubber exports in the first five months of 2013, but revenues from the exports rose only 4 percent due to price decline in international markets. Currently, the country has about 300,000 hectares of rubber trees, according to ...
http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2013-07/19/c_132556398.htm#
Gems in the rough in Ratanakkiri
“These are the best quality stones,” Lat Yun says with a grin. Nestled in his outstretched hand are three unassuming rocks. “I don’t know what they’re called, I just know they’re the best.” The gemstones of Ratanakkiri are a mineral called zircon, but in Cambodia, they ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/gems-rough-ratanakkiri
Cambodia sees gold price dip
Gold prices in Cambodia are down about 27 per cent from January through June, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Gold trade changed little yesterday after the biggest drop in almost two weeks in response to the US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke’s comments ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-sees-gold-price-dip
Ethical Sugar Group Suspends Tate & Lyle Over Plantations
An international group that promotes the ethical sourcing of sugar for the food and energy industries has suspended the membership of U.K. sugar giant Tate & Lyle for failing to answer complaints that it was buying from Cambodian plantations accused of stealing land from local ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ethical-sugar-group-suspends-tate-lyle-over-plantations-35438/
Textile Industry Gets Lessons From Korean Designers
Cambodian manufacturers on Wednesday received training from Korean designers on how to make apparel in line with current fashion trends in the hopes of assisting them in penetrating the lucrative but difficult Korean market. The event was organized by the ASEAN-Korea Center—an intergovernmental organization that aims ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/textile-industry-gets-lessons-from-korean-designers-35468/
Kingdom’s crafts can be hit in Korea
Cambodian handicrafts and home decor products could take off with South Korean buyers if certain obstacles – conceptual design, development techniques, and slow delivery services – are overcome, business owners and merchants said yesterday. Speaking at a seminar on Korean Market Access for Cambodia’s textiles at ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/kingdom%E2%80%99s-crafts-can-be-hit-korea
Scooter connects to phone
Japan-base Terra Motors said it plans to sell its smartphone-compatible electric scooter in Cambodia by the end of this year. The lithium-battery-powered A4000i, introduced last week in Tokyo, can be connected to an iPhone, delivering live data while driving. “We will start to sell this scooter ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/scooter-connects-phone
Cambodia's trade with S. Korea up 12% in 5 months
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and South Korea has reached 329 million U.S. dollars in the first five months of this year, up 12 percent over the same period last year, showed the latest figures from the Korea Trade- Investment Promotion Agency to Phnom Penh on ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-07/17/c_132549530.htm
Trading Floor Silent Two Years After CSX Launch
It is almost two years to the day since Cambodia’s stock market launched in Phnom Penh in front of proud government officials, senior financiers and eager investors from across the region. Initial expectations were that a total of three state-owned firms would be listed within six ...
Hul Reaksmey and Alex Willemyns
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/trading-floor-silent-two-years-after-csx-launch-35211/
UK Lawsuit Against Sugar Firm Heading to Trial
A lawsuit filed by families in Koh Kong province accusing U.K. sugar giant Tate & Lyle of wrongfully profiting off land stolen from them is heading to trial after efforts to mediate a settlement fell through earlier this month, according to those involved. Law firm Jones ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-lawsuit-against-sugar-firm-heading-to-trial-35233/
Mystery Surrounds Ratanakkiri’s First Special Economic Zone
Construction of a special economic zone (SEZ) near the Vietnamese border in Ratanakkiri province’s eastern O’Yadaw district is on track, but who exactly will avail of the facility and its services remains a mystery—even for senior provincial officials. The latest announced venture of agro-industry land concession ...
Japanese Companies Host Employment Fair in Phnom Penh
Cambodian students, graduates and jobseekers filled the main hall of the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center on Tuesday looking for employment opportunities with some of Japan’s largest corporations. Organizers said the event aimed to bridge the gap between skilled Cambodian job seekers and companies from the world’s third ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/japanese-companies-host-employment-fair-in-phnom-penh-35242/
U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia returns from reverse trade mission in U.S.
U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, William E. Todd returned from a reverse trade mission in the United States to promote trade and investment opportunities in Cambodia. Around 50 Cambodian business representatives accompanied Mr. Todd in meetings with several U.S. businesses, investors, and trade associations in Long Beach, ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=MTZjMjQxMDAzOGI
GI benefits yet to be fully realised
While Kampot pepper and Kampong Speu palm sugar carry the brand-building Geographical Indication (GI) status, newcomers seeking the same tag continue to wait for funding to get their products off the ground. In 2010, Kampot pepper and Kampong Speu palm sugar were the first Cambodian goods ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/gi-benefits-yet-be-fully-realised
Asian garment industry to undergo further segmentation
The Asian garment manufacturing industry will undergo further segmentation in the next three to four years as competition becomes more intense, experts said. China, Thailand and Vietnam will mainly produce high-end clothing, while Bangladesh, Laos, Burma and Cambodia will mainly produce low-end clothing. Lu Qijian, ...
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2013-07/15/content_16778408.htm
Real Wages in Garment Sector Fell Over 10 Years
Wages for Cambodian garment workers decreased by more than 20 percent in real terms between 2001 and 2011 despite the industry’s exponential increase in exports, which in 2012 were valued at more than $4 billion, according to a recent report by a U.S.-based workers advocacy ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/wages-in-garment-sector-fell-22-over-10-years-34788/
Cambodia, next powerhouse for Asean investors
The success Qatar’s Ooredoo had with being issued a mobile phone licence in Myanmar is an encouraging development for Middle East investors who are looking into the possibility of entering a venture or opening a business in Southeast Asia. Let’s take a look at Cambodia. ...
http://www.gulf-times.com/business/191/details/359376/cambodia,-next-powerhouse-for-asean-investors
FAO sees slight decline in Cambodian rice harvest this year
Cambodia’s rice harvest is forecast to reach 9.1 million tonnes this year, down from an estimated 9.3 million tonnes last year but up from 8.8 million tonnes in 2011, the Food and Agricultural Organization said Thursday. The estimates were contained in the UN agency’s quarterly Crop ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=MDBmNGIwNDFiZWY
Sales of palm sugar not so sweet
Sales of Cambodia’s World Trade Organization-certified palm sugar from Kampong Speu province dipped to 12 tonnes at the end of the harvest season this year, about a 30 per cent decline from 2012. Two districts with palm trees in Kampong Speu province were granted geographical indication ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/sales-palm-sugar-not-so-sweet
Cargo Traffic Grows at Sihanoukville Port
The total weight of goods transported through the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port in the first six months of the year was up 15 percent compared with the same period last year, according to figures released Thursday. Some 1.51 million tons of goods passed through the port in ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/cargo-traffic%E2%80%88grows-at-sihanoukville-port-34628/