ODC English Site

Ethnic Chorng villagers in Koh Kong province have raised concerns that a controversial 20-kilometre road under construction in the Areng Valley will threaten their traditional way of life. ...

A group of NGOs from the education sector yesterday urged the government to boost education spending to at least 20 percent of the country’s budget – a benchmark the Ministry of Education had hoped, and failed, to hit last year under its strategic plan. ...

A document purported to have come from the US State Department appears to show plans to slash US development assistance to the Kingdom down to zero, a move observers said yesterday would further weaken the US’s standing in the country, allowing for China to cement its ...

A Cambodian attempting to cross into Thailand to log rosewood lost his right leg and arm after stepping on a landmine on Monday. ...

The bridge connecting Chrey Thom district in Kandal province to Long Binh in Vietnam’s An Giang province was officially launched yesterday by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc. ...

The Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) launched a book building process yesterday to determine what price to offer in an initial public offering (IPO), before it is listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange late next month. ...

Thaneakea Srov (Kampuchea) Plc, the recipient of a low-interest $15 million loan from the state-run Rural Development Bank, inked contracts yesterday with three companies to build and outfit its massive 200,000-tonne capacity silo and warehouse facility in Battambang province. ...

Cambodia is sending 429 peacekeepers to participate in the United Nations’ joint activities in Mali and South Sudan today as 309 officers in the region are due to return on Friday. ...

Land Management Ministry officials met with a consortium of NGOs at their main office in Phnom Penh on Monday to discuss 11 of the country’s largest land disputes, despite decisions on resolving such matters normally being made at a sub-national level, a land rights advocate ...

Cambodian startups currently face several regulatory challenges in pursuing growth and profitability, according to three of the Kingdom’s most successful startup founders who shared their experiences over the weekend with the hope to inspire increased innovation and entrepreneurship. ...

Beijing has agreed to increase the number of Cambodian rice exporters allowed to sell to the Chinese mainland. The Ministry of Agriculture has been advised that eight more companies will be granted licenses, taking the total to 34. ...

Japan inked the $16 million deal through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in February 2016. However Chou Kimtry, deputy director of the municipal department of transport, said yesterday the traffic lights will not be operational until February 2018. ...

Chinese locomotive and railway equipment giant CRRC Zelc is to conduct a feasibility study into the investment potential of Cambodia to help improve the kingdom’s railway system while contributing to the One Belt; One Road initiative.   ...

Open Development Cambodia (ODC) has published a new profile page on Budget and public procurement in both Khmer and English. Together with the detail on National budget on uptrend, People’s livelihoods: Impact of the national budget and its constraints, Public debt situations in Cambodia, and ...

National budget on uptrendIn the last three years, Cambodia’s national budget has seen significant growth of around US$ 1.6 billion, from US$ 3.4 billion in 20141 to US$ 5 billion in 2017.2 This is an average annual increase of almost 14%. The increase can be ...

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is planning to form a joint committee chaired by government officials and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to promote small loan disbursements as the new 18 percent loan interest rate cap takes effect, according to an announcement released by the ...

The government is urging vegetable growers to reduce their reliance on pesticides and cut imports from neighboring countries to protect the health of consumers.​​ ...

Cambodian microlender Hattha Kaksekar Ltd (HKL) has secured a $15 million cash injection to expand its business operations from its parent company, Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya, Hout Ieng Tong, president and CEO of HKL, confirmed yesterday.  ...

This year’s early rains and a swift response to drought-like conditions in two provinces will spare Cambodia the searing droughts that plagued it in 2015 and 2016, the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) said yesterday, though one development partner cautioned that lasting drought preparedness ...

The two main political parties contesting the upcoming commune elections revealed disparate campaign budget plans yesterday, with the opposition pledging to spend over $1 million and a spokesman for the ruling CPP saying his party will not be creating a central campaigning budget at all. ...

Sany Heavy Industry, one of the biggest manufacturers of heavy construction machinery in China’s Hunan province, plans to expand in Cambodia to tap into rising infrastructure development. ...

The Health Ministry has warned all Cambodians to drink lots of water and keep cool, as hot season temperatures near 40 0C. The ministry’s Communicable Disease Control department also advised the public to avoid alcohol and drink only boiled or filtered water to prevent food poisoning ...

The Immigration Department has detained 27 Vietnamese migrants suspected of being in Cambodia illegally. The undocumented workers, 20 men and seven women, were arrested on Friday in Phnom Penh’s Toul Kork district. ...

Phnom Penh Municipal Police have denied failing to distribute uniforms to thousands of staff, threatening legal action against officers who leaked “fake news” of the claims to the media. ...