Economy and commerce

Cambodia continues to face a multitude of challenges as digital payments and solutions graduate from a niche business to a key segment in the Kingdom’s development strategy, according to National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) assistant governor Chea Serey on March 17. ...

Singapore-listed Union Gas Holdings Ltd has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LoI) with Worldbridge Industrial Developments Co Ltd (WBID) to form a joint venture company (JVCo) to supply and distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Kingdom. ...

Cambodia approved eight investment projects worth over $69 million in the first three weeks of this month that are expected to deliver 5,249 jobs, according to a report from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). ...

The pandemic has increased pressure on building operators, resulting in an all-time high in demand for property management, US-based commercial real estate and service and investment firm CBRE – the largest in the world – said yesterday. ...

Cambodia exported more than 5.8 thousand tonnes of dried tobacco leaves worth more than $17 million to nine countries last year, marking a 14 per cent and 28 per cent decline in volume and value, respectively, over 2019. ...

Conch KT Cement (Phnom Penh) Co Ltd plans to build a $263 million cement factory in Kampong Speu province with a two-million-tonne-a-year capacity, according to provincial governor Vei Samnang on March 18. ...

Data from the Korean International Trade Association showed that during January and February Cambodia exported about $64 million of products to the east Asian country, an increase of over 2.9 percent compared with the same period last year. ...

Cambodia’s exports to Vietnam rose in 2020 despite both nations imposing strict cross-border movement control to fight the pandemic. Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Cambodia’s exports to Vietnam rising by 14.8 percent in 2020 to $385 million. ...

During an interview with CoinDesk’s online web show, “Money Re-imagined”, the Director-General and Assistant Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Chea Serey explained how the central bank is working towards financial inclusion by encouraging the opening of formal savings accounts. ...

The Kingdom is forecast to register gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.5 percent, a sharp reversal of 2020’s contraction of 3.1 percent, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said in its macroeconomic situation report. ...

ACLEDA Bank Plc has proposed a five-year, $200 million blended finance investment from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), disclosure documents reveal. ...

The prices of Cambodian natural rubber latex on international markets have risen by more than 10 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, driven by rising demand from China, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ...

The February 20 community transmission has compounded the woes of the transport and logistics sectors still reeling from the Covid-19 health crisis. ...

The newly-renamed Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) and its nine capital-market-regulator counterparts in ASEAN on March 15 signed a new five-year Action Plan 2021-2025 for the development of the sector. ...

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) has announced that payment of property tax is now possible via mobile phone through the “GDT Taxpayer App”. The announcement was issued on March 11 and signed by Kong Vibol, minister attached to the Prime Minister and director-general of ...

According to a new think-piece released by Visa, small businesses have demonstrated their resilience by adapting quickly to the impact of COVID-19. ...

Most retail businesses in Phnom Penh have seen a substantial plunge in sales since the February 20 community transmission, which continues to spread across the capital and to the provinces. ...

A Tbong Khmum provincial farming community is on tenterhooks as it waits for its 11 20-litre batches of mango wine to ferment, in a new project backed by the provincial agriculture department as it explores new opportunities for the fruit. ...

Hong-Kong-based fintech firm Kiwi Pay Group Co Ltd (KiwiPay) announced a strategic merger with Cambodian food and grocery delivery start-up Meal Temple Group Pty Ltd to enter more developing markets with a new app called KiwiGo. ...

Nine international business chambers have called on the General Department of Taxation (GDT) to extend the deadline for filing tax on income for fiscal year 2020 past March 31 in light of economic pressure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. ...

The Kingdom’s technical team and its Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) counterpart recently assembled to share thoughts and opinions as both parties prepare for the third round of preliminary working-level talks toward formally launching free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and expand trade markets and investments. ...

Angkor Enterprise has extended the period of validity for entry tickets to Angkor Archaeological Park in a move to revive tourism to the sprawling temple complex, it said in a March 10 press release. ...

Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) on March 10 reaffirmed their commitment to boost border trade and investment with a specific focus on the construction of border markets and to improve customs clearance procedures. ...

A team from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) on March 10 conducted a virtual inspection of three Cambodian mango farms and four treatment facilities to ensure that they are fit for export, according to Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon. ...