Ministries and other national bodies

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) recently decided to shrink the tax burden for local microfinance institutions (MFIs) by lowering withholding tax on interest from loans acquired from abroad from 14 to 10 percent, a move that the government claims will keep the massive ...

A Ministry of Health official yesterday said the ministry has banned the buying and selling of antibiotics without a prescription in an effort to curb the overuse that has led to an alarming level of antibiotic resistance in the Kingdom. ...

More than 100 families in Takeo province have been given back their land after a dispute with the Sun Hour company and an individual landholder.​ The 137 families were told officially on Saturday that 915 hectares in Tram Kak district’s Trapaing Kranhoung commune would be restored ...

The first direct flight between Japan and Cambodia, which launched last year, has bumped up the number of Japanese tourists visiting the kingdom, helping the government edge closer to its goal of attracting 300,000 tourists from the East Asian nation by 2020, according to the ...

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng yesterday issued an order demanding that all provincial governors create a “standby working group” to monitor the political situation in anticipation of unrest following the opposition party’s potential dissolution later this week. ...

Cambodia and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday to support the development of the Kingdom’s e-commerce business operations. ...

The waters of the Koh Rong Archipelago may yet receive an additional layer of administrative protection, the Ministry of Environment announced last week, although how the proposed “marine park” will function remains to be seen, stakeholders said yesterday. ...

Authorities in Kandal province arrested 19 people in a timber raid at a Metfone shop, but released 15 after questioning, including the branch’s director. ...

Cambodia has sent officials to interview refugees in the United States who are subject to deportation orders. Interior Ministry spokesman General Khieu Sopheak said about 50 refugees had been interviewed but no decision had been made on their repatriation. ...

The Ministry of Interior has said it will not allow any demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court during a hearing on Thursday to decide if the opposition CNRP will be dissolved, while the Koh Kong provincial governor’s office warned it will prevent residents from ...

The Interior Ministry’s general department of identification has urged two million people with incorrect civil records to amend their personal information with officials. ...

Police in Kratie province were caught on video letting potentially illegal timber transporters pass through their checkpoints on Monday night, with provincial police yesterday suggesting they were powerless to crack down on such shipments as many transporters possessed axes and machetes and were addicted to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen approved the establishment of a new interministerial task force yesterday that will work to develop and manage community-based ecotourism locations in a bid to find sustainable ways to draw tourists to destinations across the Kingdom. ...

Foreign tourist arrivals to the Kingdom have gone up during the first nine months of this year, reaching roughly 3.9 million to represent a year-on-year increase of 11.5 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism yesterday. ...

The US multinational Walmart has said it will buy more garment, footwear and luggage products from Cambodia next year due to increased capacity from suppliers and improved labour conditions in the country. ...

Farmers and agricultural NGOs slammed the seventh and final draft of a controversial agricultural law at a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday, claiming that the law would benefit large corporations at the expense of small farmers if passed. ...

The Minister of Planning yesterday announced the third national census set for next year will be delayed until 2019 because the government must focus on the July general election. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recently released a handbook on contract farming to promote agricultural leasing arrangements among farmers and buyers in the hope it will aid sustainable development of the sector. ...

Government officials yesterday called for more private investment in cassava production, arguing it will help boost and diversify Cambodian exports. ...

Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak has announced that the government will be spearheading a new National Cassava Policy which aims to address challenges in the industry and work towards ensuring a sustainable and resilient crop, strong value chains and greater regional market presence. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) will open a museum on finance and monetary matters in January 2018, a representative of the central bank has announced. ...

Thousands of organisations have failed to meet the deadline for filing their financial reports under the controversial Law on Associations and NGOs (Lango), according to a ministry official. ...

A European delegation on a two-day visit to the Kingdom yesterday expressed concerns about recent political developments in Cambodia, saying that the deteriorating political and human rights situation could have consequences for development assistance and trade. ...

A student group was suspended by the Ministry of Interior yesterday for a series of violations of the Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organisations (Lango), including the highly controversial Article 24, which requires organisations to remain “politically neutral”. ...