Economy and commerce

Cambodia’s trade deficit with the rest of the world continued to widen last year to $5.2 billion, as the Kingdom’s imports outstripped its exports once again, a National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) report released on Saturday said. The NBC figures revealed that the Kingdom imported $18.8 ...

Today (Tuesday) marks the final day for the EU Commission for Trade to receive the opinions of the EU bloc’s 28 member-states before deciding whether to suspend the Everything But Arms (EBA) tariff preferences for Cambodia. However a unanimous decision will be required to withdraw ...

The Cambodian government has begun a series of reforms intended to strengthen economic independence and promote business in the Kingdom, as they prepare for the possible loss of preferential trade access to the EU and US in the coming months. Prime Minister Hun Sen on ...

Private companies have expressed their “deepest concerns” over the potential withdrawal of the Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential scheme. In a joint letter to the European Commission, they said the move will negatively impact the Kingdom. The letter, signed by 40 of the Kingdom’s private ...

Four days after the EU imposed tariffs on rice imported from Cambodia, China agreed on Monday to increase its import quota for Cambodian rice to 400,000 tonnes this year from the previous 300,000 tonnes. If Cambodia can supply the quantity under the new Chinese quota, ...

Charcoal traders have complained about the high cost of “service payments” required to export to Thailand via Banteay Meanchey province’s Boeung Trakuon border crossing, forcing some to stop operating. Meanwhile, Forestry Administration officials recently imposed a blanket ban on all charcoal exports. ...

Cambodians may be able to market rice in the EU tariff-free if they sell the semi-processed grain to European millers instead of finished products to end consumers, as the former is still subject to a zero tax rate, said an exporter. ...

Air conditioner imports from Thailand were valued at about $16 million last year – a fraction of the total $5 billion Thailand earned from its air conditioner exports to international markets, the country’s Department of International Trade Promotion at the Ministry of Commerce said. ...

The Cambodian rice sector is set to lose its duty-free export status to the EU today – its major rice market – after the European bloc decided to impose tariffs on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar to curb a surge in such imports. ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has unveiled a new campaign to boost economic independence and reduce the reliance on preferential trade statuses offered by advanced countries, saying the government will provide better trade facilitation and eliminate unnecessary procedures. ...

On the back of strong growth in the garment, construction and hospitality sectors, the national economy expanded by 7.3 percent last year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Presenting on the ministry’s latest report during a public forum on macroeconomic management and the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen recently unveiled a new campaign to boost economic independence and reduce the reliance on preferential trade statuses offered by advanced countries, saying the government will provide better trade facilitation and eliminate unnecessary procedures. At a dinner with 5,000 Cambodian journalists on Friday, ...

Two US senators on Wednesday introduced the Cambodian Trade Act of 2019 bill, requiring the administration to re-examine Cambodia’s eligibility to access the preferential trade treatment granted by the US under the General System of Preferences (GSP). ...

The Kingdom’s rice exports saw a 1.5 per cent drop last year compared to 2017 due to the industry’s lingering challenges – the cost of production and competition with the international market. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries figures show that the country exported 626,225 ...

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) market capitalisation rose more than 40 per cent last year from 2017, mostly boosted by the rise in the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) share price, the CSX said. ...

Those wishing to export their goods to the EU under the tax-free preferential scheme, Everything but Arms (EBA), are no longer required to apply for a Certificate of Origin (CO), according to a joint announcement from the ministries of Commerce, and Economy and Finance on ...

Longmate Agriculture Co has announced that it will conduct a test shipment of bananas to the Chinese market next month, which will be followed by the company’s first official shipment to China in February. ...

Salt imports from China are expected to sell at $100 per tonne in the Cambodian market, $25 more per tonne than local salt, according to the Salt Producers Community of Kampot-Kep (SPCKK). ...

The Ministry of Commerce approved 269 business trademarks this year, bringing the total number of such registrations at the ministry to 4,186 – an increase from 3,917 last year, its annual report said. ...

The Ministry of Commerce generated more than $82 million this year in customs and public services, according to the ministry’s annual report. ...

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) recorded its highest ever trading volume on Monday, exchanging 2,150,535 shares with a total value of more than $4.43 million, according to a CSX press release. The previous record was 939,498 shares traded on July 5, 2017. ...

The Kingdom’s total exports for this year increased more than 23 per cent from last year to $10.36 billion, led by garments and agro-products, according to the Ministry of Commerce’s annual report. ...

To encourage more young people to become entrepreneurs, the government must prioritise improving the process of starting and registering a business, reducing capital requirements, and expanding access to finance, experts said last week. ...

Eleven development projects in the Kingdom were approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), bringing $297 million in total investment and more than 6,000 jobs to the Kingdom’s industry, according to a CDC press release posted on Facebook on Friday. ...