Khmer translated by ODC

SET-listed Siam Cement Group (SCG) will spend US$200 million to expand its investment in Cambodia from 2016-20.The focus will be on the cement and building materials sectors, which have strong potential to grow amid the Cambodian government’s policy of revving up infrastructure projects, said Kan ...

The Japanese government Friday granted nearly $20,000 to repair and upgrade fascilities at schools in two provinces. ...

More than 1,000 Cambodian workers working for eight South Korean companies here gathered yesterday at National Olympic Stadium for “Korea Day for Cambodian Friends,” a celebration of Korean culture and a chance to thank employees for their hard work. ...

China on has handed over medical equipment worth $2.5 million to Cambodia’s Preah Ket Melea military hospital, underpinning China’s growing role as the country’s major military donor and defense partner. ...

NGOs on Saturday aired their concerns about the possibility of a high school dropout rate, particularly in rural areas. The organizations said that government policies, lack of school facilities and unfavorable school environments are all factors leading young people to drop out. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), or Central Bank, has issued ASEAN Commemorative Coins to mark the establishment of the ASEAN Community on December 31, according to its statement on Friday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart, Prayuth Chan-ocha, agreed to boost bilateral trade by 300 percent—to $15 billion—by 2020 during meetings in which they also signed off on deals to open two new international border crossings and a railway line linking Phnom Penh ...

Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday signed five bilateral agreements to wrap up the two-day official visit by Cambodian leader Hun Sen, although no deal was reached on energy development and cooperation between the countries. According to Hun Sen, Gen Prayut has agreed in principle to ...

Thailand and China launched a railway project here Saturday, marking the beginning of bilateral cooperation to develop Thailand’s first standard-gauge double-track railway line. ...

Laos will begin its chairmanship of Asean in January, the year when economic integration across the region begins.Officials say the land-locked country can serve as a model for connectivity, helping the region focus on the development gap between the rich and poor countries of Asean. ...

In the Kampong Phluk fishing village on the Tonle Sap lake, home to thousands of families in Siem Reap province, fishermen say their catch this year has been too poor to live on. Ning Ny, chief of Kampong Phluk commune, in Siem Reap, said almost ...

The U.N. refugee agency warns the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is likely to exceed 60 million in 2015.The UNHCR has released its Mid-Year Trends 2015 report covering global forced displacement during the first six months of this year. ...

Cambodia is unlikely to be able to produce offshore oil until prices rise, analysts say. Meng Saktheara, a spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said he agreed with that analysis. Negotiations over production are not finalized with KrisEnergy, which must also finish its ...

In the wake of a crime spree that drew a public expression of concern from Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month, Justice Min­ister Ang Vong Vathana met with senior prosecutors from Phnom Penh and all 24 provinces on Fri­day and ordered them to ex­pedite ...

As Cambodians continue to de­bate the government’s whitewashing of a street artist’s multistory mural this week, the information minister publicly critiqued the decision on Friday and drew a comparison to the retrograde attitudes of Soviet leaders toward modern art. ...

Thailand and China have agreed to strengthen ties in trade and investment, while the Chinese have been urged to invest more in the Kingdom, particularly in the focused super-clusters and 10 special economic zones (SEZs). ...

Sara Lamsam, president and chief executive officer, said yesterday that the company has formed a 49:51 joint venture called Sovannaphum Life Assurance with its partner Canadia Investment Holding, the holding company of Canadia Bank, Cambodia’s second-largest bank. ...

Hun Sen will spend two days in Bangkok and is scheduled to meet the leader of Thailand’s military government, Prayuth Chan-ocha, for talks on border issues, agriculture, trade and investment, and regional connectivity. ...

The author Ly Sambo survived the Khmer Rouge and eventually made her way to America as a refugee. Her story is not uncommon from that of other survivors of Cambodia’s atrocities and wars. But she says she helped herself reconcile with the brutal past by ...

In an exclusive interview with Khmer Times’ French edition L’Hebdo, opposition leader Sam Rainsy guaranteed that he will return to the country before the next elections, explaining that he still has faith in the “culture of dialogue,” saying it must be “preserved and developed.” It ...

Local manufacturers are calling for government support to help them make their products meet quality standards set by other members of ASEAN – standards they say will be the major barrier to access the regional market as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) kicks off at ...

Two economic zones in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet City closed down on Thursday, sending some 30,000 workers home over what local officials said were violent protests by groups of workers demanding higher wages. ...

Since launching in 2009, Wing has been largely on its own in the mobile money transfer market, opening thousands of payment kiosks across the country and benefitting from rapidly expanding base of mobile phone users. ...

After seven years under discussion and a series of drastic edits, the Trade Union Law is inching closer to being passed by the National Assembly. Human Rights Watch yesterday issued a statement on the latest draft of the union law, saying that while it ...