News
ANZ Royal home loan center
More Cambodians took out home loans last year than the year before, prompting banks like ANZ Royal to provide specialized services for the growing sector. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36508/anz-royal-home-loan-center/
Residents protest at road plans
A group of 70 people from six communities in Phnom Penh have petitioned City Hall to clarify how the construction of rail side roads will affect them, amid fears they could lose their homes. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36528/residents-protest-at-road-plans/
Thailand rail link held up by compensation claims
Government officials are working to settle compensation claims for 50 families living alongside a kilometer of rail track in Poipet town, to allow a rail link between Cambodia and Thailand to open by the middle of the year. ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36509/thailand-rail-link-held-up-by-compensation-claims/
Sok An passes away in Beijing
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, one of the most senior officials in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and who recently received a royal title from King Norodom Sihamoni, died last night. ...
Cheang Sokha
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36533/sok-an-passes-away-in-beijing/
First submarine cable launched
Cambodia’s first submarine telecoms cable, costing $100 million, that will strengthen existing internet capacity and greatly increase connectivity speed at lower cost, was officially launched yesterday. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36511/first-submarine-cable-launched/
Greater use of the riel will lower interest rates
A legal framework that ensures a “sound, strong and efficient” financial sector has ensured the swift expansion of banking services throughout the country, but borrowing rates remain high and a large segment of the population – primarily those in rural areas – face difficulties accessing ...
Riel Gains
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36456/greater-use-of-the-riel-will-lower-interest-rates/
Palm oil price drop to hit local market
Palm oil production is expected to drop over the next few months but instability in the international market is likely to drive down local prices by the start of next year, a Cambodian palm oil producer has warned. The price of crude palm oil in ...
Chea Vannak
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36454/palm-oil-price-drop-to-hit-local-market/
Thais increase migrant wages
The Thai Labor Ministry has increased the minimum wage for Cambodian migrant workers since the start of the year, however civil society officials say there are both pros and cons to the salary increase.A notice published yesterday and signed by Labor Minister Ith Samheng, who ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36474/thais-increase-migrant-wages/
Will move to cap microfinance interest rates backfire on CPP?
The ruling CPP doubled down on Tuesday on its decision to cap interest rates on microfinance loans as a way to help the poor get out of debt, even as analysts called it a political move that would have long-term negative effects on the rural ...
Hang Sokunthea and Matt Surrusco
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/will-move-to-cap-microfinance-interest-rates-backfire-on-cpp-126564/
NGO wary of promise to cancel hydropower dam project
Conservationists remain wary of the government’s recent pledge to sideline construction of the controversial Chhay Areng hydropower dam after finding the project on the Mines and Energy Ministry’s new to-do list.After a February 17 Council of Ministers meeting, the government announced that plans to build ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ngo-wary-of-promise-to-cancel-hydropower-dam-project-126565/
Feed mill to take bite out of growing import demand
Chip Mong Group is the latest conglomerate to invest into local production of animal feed, announcing this week that it will sink $60 million into building a large-scale feed mill and industrial piggery, a move that agricultural experts welcomed but said would still not be ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/feed-mill-take-bite-out-growing-import-demand
Storms damage nearly 60 homes
Nearly 60 homes in Battambang and Pailin provinces were damaged by storms on Monday caused by unseasonal rain, however no injuries or deaths were reported. A disaster management committee report said that in 2016, there were 279 storms that completely destroyed 1,997 houses and tore ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36467/storms-damage-nearly-60-homes/
Kheng queries Sokha’s validity
Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday, after becoming the latest ruling party official to weigh in on the CNRP’s embattled campaign slogan, went on to question the validity of the recent extraordinary congress that elevated Kem Sokha to party president.At the inauguration of a new road ...
Meas Sokchea and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kheng-queries-sokhas-validity
Feed mill to take bite out of growing import demand
Chip Mong Group is the latest conglomerate to invest into local production of animal feed, announcing this week that it will sink $60 million into building a large-scale feed mill and industrial piggery, a move that agricultural experts welcomed but said would still not be ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/feed-mill-take-bite-out-growing-import-demand
Forest patrollers accuse authorities of collusion
Prey Lang Community Network conservation activists in Kratie province have accused local officials of colluding with illegal timber transporters after authorities allegedly declined to intervene after being tipped off on Sunday to stockpiles of logs thought to have been felled within a wildlife sanctuary.Ek Sovanna, ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/forest-patrollers-accuse-authorities-collusion
Casino tax revenue rises
The government collected $48 million from the casino industry last year, a rise of about 40 per cent compared with 2015. Ros Phearun, a deputy director-general of the Finance Ministry’s financial industry department, said that along with an effort by the government to improve tax revenue, ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36411/casino-tax-revenue-rises/
Efforts to formalise SMEs fall short
The Cambodian government has made negligible progress in bringing small- and medium-size enterprise (SMEs) into the regulatory fold, reporting a less than 0.5 percent increase in the total number of companies registered in the last five years – a sign business professionals claim shows that ...
Kali Kotoski and Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/efforts-formalise-smes-fall-short
Japan wades in on Tonle Sap algae
The Japan International Cooperation Agency has agreed to oversee a project to help recover water quality in the Tonle Sap lake in response to the appearance of a large bloom of algae. ...
Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36423/japan-wades-in--on-tonle-sap-algae/
Central bank sets interest rate ceiling, sparking fears
The National Bank of Cambodia announced on Monday that it would set an annual interest rate ceiling of 18 percent for all microfinance institutions (MFIs), sparking concerns that lenders would stop offering smaller loans that often keep the most financially vulnerable afloat. ...
Hang Sokunthea
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/central-bank-sets-interest-rate-ceiling-sparking-fears-126483/
Old US bombs revive dispute over $500m war-era debt
The head of Cambodia’s largest demining operator cited Monday’s disposal of a pair of decades-old American bombs as part of the government’s mounting efforts to shame the U.S. into canceling the country’s ballooning war-era debt, which now stands at about $500 million. ...
Phan Soumy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/old-us-bombs-revive-dispute-over-500m-war-era-debt-126478/
Developing society and infrastructure
Two images on the back of the 500 riel banknote depict bridges, with the one on the left showing the Kingdom’s longest and most modern bridge, the Tsubasa (“Bird’s Wing”) Bridge linking Kandal and Prey Veng provinces. ...
Riel Gains
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36412/developing-society--and-infrastructure/
Top court upholds decision to deny bail for Adhoc officials
Four senior officials for rights group Adhoc will remain behind bars after the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Court of Appeal’s ruling that they should be held in detention while awaiting trial, but gave no reason for the decision. ...
Families want road expansion scaled back
About 40 families asked the government last week to review road expansion plans at Phnom Penh’s Prek Pnov Bridge, saying the proposed dimensions would force them to lose property and even parts of their homes. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/families-want-road-expansion-scaled-back
Employers seek delay in garment pay reform
Plans to pay garment workers twice a month will be difficult for employers to implement, industry representatives have warned. The Labor Ministry is amending laws so companies will be required to pay staff twice a month, in a bid to protect workers from being abandoned by ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36429/employers-seek-delay-in-garment--pay-reform/