The Phnom Penh Post
Sonando gets 20 years
In a move that stunned his supporters and drew ire from rights groups and foreign embassies alike, independent radio station owner Mam Sonando was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday on charges of insurrection. Sonando, owner of broadcaster Beehive Radio and president of the rights ...
Tiger Airways launches daily service to Singapore
Direct daily flights between Phnom Penh and Singapore started yesterday with the first Tiger Airways flight departing at 8:30am and landing in Singapore at 11:30am, kicking off a seven-days-a-week low-cost service. The company is offering a special price of US$38 one-way from Phnom Penh to Singapore ...
Vietnamese bank to extend operation
Vietnamese Bank Sacombak (Cambodia) Plc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sacombank in Vietnam, will extend its operation in the Cambodian financial market, according to a bank official. Nguyen Nhi Thanh, CEO and President of Sacombank in Cambodia, said during the first anniversary celebration after the bank’s transformation ...
Flood's deadly toll contested
Disputed figures surround the flood death toll in Banteay Meanchey province. Yesterday, Banteay Meanchey city hall spokesman Keo Ratanak rejected reports that more than 10 people had drowned in the province as a result of the flooding, saying: “The exact number is seven.” But according to numbers ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012100259036/National-news/floods-deadly-toll-contested.html
Emirates ask for more rice
As part of its plan to become of the world’s top exporters of rice, Cambodia is looking to increase its rice shipments to the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s main milled rice importers. Cham Prasidh, Minister of Commerce, met with delegates and businessmen led ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012100259035/Business/uae-asks-for-more-rice.html
Four face charges in incitement case
Ratanakkiri Provincial Court yesterday summonsed three well-known rights workers and a journalist to appear for questioning next week over years-old incitement charges in connection with a long-standing land dispute. In a summons signed by deputy provincial prosecutor Chea Sopheak, the court ordered Radio Free Asia journalist Sok Ratha, ...
Rice exports up 2 percent over last year
Cambodia’s total export of milled rice via the single window office slightly increased by two per cent over the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture. Speaking at the Cambodian Rice Forum ...
Shots fired at me, says Tep Kolap
In a bizarre series of events, only days after being vindicated by the Supreme Court, Phnom Penh International University rector Tep Kolap claimed to have been chased across Phnom Penh yesterday evening by men who shot at her car as she sought refuge in Prime ...
New condominium launched
A new real estate joint venture between local Sonatra Group and Japan’s Grand Corp launched a $6.5 million condominium project in BKK1 yesterday. The 26-storey tower, with 50 units, will be built with high-quality, energy-saving Japanese equipment, according to the new firm’s chief executive, Jun Takeguchi. ...
Youths heed city's siren call
When 29-year-old store manager Srey Mom sent her mother in Takeo province some money to pay young people to help with the rice planting, her mother told her it was no use – the young people had abandoned the village to seek their fortunes in ...
Alliance an advocate for industry
The executive committee of the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia, ARPEC, decided earlier this month to set up a commercial arm to help members get financing for a variety of rice-related activities. According to ARPEC secretary-general Hun Lak and deputy secretary-general David Van, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Special-Reports/alliance-an-advocate-for-industry.html
Now available: certified chemical-free vegetables
In May, the first group of vegetable producers in Cambodia was certified on the basis of COrAA’s “Standards for Chemical-free Crop Production”. The 72 farmers, belonging to the Women Chemical-free vegetable-producing group of the Vegetable Supply Co-operative in Svay Rieng, have been producing healthy vegetables for ...
Rising world demand for Cambodian organic rice
Several ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, have witnessed a growing demand for organic rice that local producers cannot satisfy, according to Winfried Scheewe, adviser to the Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA). Scheewe says demand for organic rice is on the rise, especially in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, but also ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Special-Reports/cambodian-organic-rice-on-demand.html
New Ministry decree aims at tourist safety
A Ministry of Tourism official said they would finalize an inter-ministerial prakas before the end of this year to enhance tourists’ safety, as previous fatal accidents have led to concerns in the tourism sector. Tith Chantha, general director of tourism at the Ministry of Tourism, said task force officials, affiliated with Tourism ...
Looking to increase water access
More than half of Cambodians living in rural areas still do not have access to treated water, about 200 people heard yesterday at a forum at the Phnom Penh Hotel. The event was sponsored by WaterSHED, an NGO funded by USAID’s Regional Development Mission-Asia and the Stone Family Foundation. According ...
Court grants delay in K Chhnang land dispute
Kampong Chhnang villagers who have been hit with a new lawsuit over property that they and the wife of a senior government official both claim said yesterday that coming to court would be impossible, as they did not have a defense lawyer and needed time to locate ...
Kenya wants flights and rice imports
The Ambassador of African country Kenya, Richard Titus Ekai, told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on Wednesday that he would like to see direct flights between Phnom Penh and Nairobi. Sok An met Kenyan Ambassador Ekai at his office to discuss the initiative regarding direct flights ...
Union boss grilled on incitement allegation
The president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions Rong Chhun appeared in Kandal Provincial Court for nearly three hours yesterday, fielding questions stemming from accusations of incitement and defamation, the union boss said. According to Chhun, his appearance was related to a complaint alleging that he had incited ...
Million-tonne goal still a challenge
It has been more than two years since the Cambodian government issued a rice export policy in June 2010, aiming to export a million tonnes of milled rice by 2015. However, a shortage of capital to buy unmilled rice, known as “paddy”, together with high ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Special-Reports/million-tonne-goal-still-a-challenge.html
Mind the wage gap
Most mornings, garment worker Vicheka buys food from the street vendors outside her factory in Kampong Chhnang province. The beef and pork dishes, she says, have a tendency to give workers a stomach ache – a reputation forged long before Vicheka and her co-workers at ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092858979/National-news/mind-the-wage-gap.html
Cambodia hits oil revenue
Officials yesterday confirmed that the Cambodian government will receive a majority of the revenue share from Chevron’s offshore Block A oil permit area near Sihanoukville in the Gulf of Thailand. The government expects to issue the American oil giant a production permit licence by the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092858984/Business/cambodia-hits-oil-revenue.html
Stirrings from B Kak developer
After months of inactivity that has fueled questions about the company’s future, Boeung Kak lake developer Shukaku Inc has launched a recruitment drive, calling for at least half a dozen architects, engineers and other employees. When contacted yesterday, Sok Heng Ly, an administrative employee listed in the ...
Transport costs remain high
Cambodia’s transport costs remain high compared with those in neighbouring countries, according to a 10-container shipment comparison conducted between Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam by a Korean-owned company, Pan Continental Freight (PCF). The comparison found Cambodia’s free on board (FOB) costs were US$35 a tonne, whereas Thailand ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092758948/Business/transport-costs-remain-high.html
Land title deals for former Khmer Rouge in question
Former Khmer Rouge cadres who in return for laying down their weapons and swearing allegiance to the Cambodian government were granted plots of land in what is now Kampot province say local authorities aren’t respecting the deal. Representatives of 80 families in the province’s Chhouk district told the ...