Economy and commerce

Cambodia could expand its foreign trade by up to 16 percent, adding approximately $2 billion worth of exports, by complying with a new international trade protocol that aims to slice through the red tape that slows and complicates cross-border trade. ...

Sathapana Bank Plc has received a hefty $50 million bilateral loan from the Bangkok branch of Mizuho Bank, a subsidiary of one of Japan’s largest financial institutions, in a move that banking insiders say will help the newly consolidated bank expand its lending portfolio as ...

Taiwanese-owner garment manufacturer Grand Twins International (GTI), which posted a 44 percent surge in revenue and a massive 390 percent in net profit last year, attributed the surge to an increase in orders and the decrease of raw material costs, administration costs and total commissions, ...

Though the export of cassava from Cambodia to foreign markets increased by more than 50 percent in 2016, compared with previous years, export earnings were still low due to below-market-prices offered by buyers in Thailand and Vietnam.   ...

The state-owned enterprise that operates Cambodia’s only deep-sea port is aiming to raise $27 million by floating a 25 percent stake on the Kingdom’s stock market, a company executive said yesterday. ...

About 30 cart pullers at the Poipet International Border Checkpoint staged an hour-long protest yesterday demanding that Thai customs officials remove transit fees that have been in effect for about one month.   ...

The trade volume between Cambodia and the United States in 2016 reached about $3 billion, while nearly 240,000 American tourists visited the kingdom. Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told reporters yesterday after a meeting between Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Mom Rady, a Democratic member ...

Sweden’s development agency will provide $7 million to foster the development of small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Cambodia, according to state-run news agency AKP. ...

The Cambodian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with officials from China’s Shaanxi province aimed at bolstering trade and tourism, according to a release yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce. ...

Cambodia will unveil another commercial center in China in May, to boost trade between the two countries and inform Chinese business people and tourists about opportunities in Cambodia.   ...

Trade between Cambodia and the United Kingdom is expected to increase after Britain’s exit from the European Union, according to the British ambassador, saying that after Brexit, the UK will independently negotiate trade agreements with Cambodia.   ...

 Just months ahead of local elections, the Cambodian government has ordered the microfinance industry to cap interest rates on new and refinanced loans at 18 percent a year starting April 1. ...

Vietnamese state-owned dairy giant Vinamilk intends to spend almost $11 million to buy its Cambodian partner’s entire stake in Angkor Dairy Products Co Ltd, better known as Angkormilk, according to Vietnamese media. ...

The Council of Ministers on Friday adopted a draft law on trade remedies to protect local producers, businesses, enterprises and foreign businesses operating in Cambodia from imported products being sold below their cost base. ...

The apex body for the nation’s microfinance industry announced yesterday that the central bank had tentatively agreed to a number of measures it had requested to ease the burden on microfinance lenders following last week’s unilateral decision to cap annual interest rates at 18 percent ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation will start dispensing pensions for former civil servants and veterans at select ATMs starting in April. Minister Vong Soth issued a notice yesterday stating that pensioners will be able to withdraw their monthly allocations from Canadia Bank ...

Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) is edging closer to be listed on Cambodia’s burgeoning stock exchange after five years of delays. The state-owned enterprise will start a formal process of studying investor demand by April, to decide how much shares will cost when the company makes its ...

Cambodia’s capital market regulator announced yesterday that it would suspend the issuance of new central counterparty licences to derivatives trading firms, claiming that capping the market at four was sufficient to serve current demand. ...

While Prime Minister Hun Sen has publicly expressed his distaste for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was dealt a critical blow by US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the agreement, economists say there has been little visible progress in cementing ...

In an effort to boost the use of the riel, private companies have called on the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) to ensure that all goods worth less than $100 are priced in riel. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the World Trade Organization (WTO) of operating under a double standard yesterday, claiming the international trade body was applying pressure on small developing economies while overlooking the regulatory breaches of its more developed member states. ...

The value of Cambodia’s international trade surged to $22 billion last year on double-digit growth of both imports and exports, according to newly released data from the Ministry of Commerce. ...

Cambodia is committed to join hands with other Asean member states to make the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) a success after the cancellation of the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), said Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday. ...

The credit histories of about 400,000 borrowers were added to its database last year, raising the number to slightly more than 4 million in credit bureau database, Credit Bureau Cambodia Interim CEO Mr. Oeur Sothearoath says at the bureau’s newly opened office in Vattanac Capital. ...