Economy and commerce

Economic freedom in Cambodia worsened over the past year, according to the latest report from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in the US. Cambodia is ranked 108 out of 178 countries surveyed, with an overall score of 57.4, a 1.1-point dip from ...

More than 600 families of ethnic Tumpuon villagers from Taveng district on Monday filed complaints with Ratanakkiri authorities and rights group Adhoc seeking a halt to illegal mining of gold by two companies. ...

Vietnam Dairy Product Joint-Stock Co, better-known to milk lovers as Vinamilk, was granted a licence on Monday to open a $23 million processing facility in Phnom Penh’s Special Economic Zone. A statement to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange released by the dairy giant on Monday ...

Thousands of garment workers from four factories have gone back on strike this week to protest a decision by their employers to withhold pay for the days they did not work during recent nationwide strikes. Between 8,500 and 12,500 workers at four factories—two in Phnom Penh, ...

Cambodia’s opposition leaders were questioned in court Tuesday in connection with recent protests against strongman premier Hun Sen — a case they denounced as politically motivated. Prosecutors at Phnom Penh Municipal Court spent several hours grilling Sam Rainsy and his deputy Kem Sokha about unrest that ...

The Free Trade Union (FTU) on Monday reported an overall increase in industrial action by its local branches last year with 136 total strikes in the first 11 months of 2013, up 35 percent from all of 2012, when there were 101 strikes by its ...

The Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court laid fresh charges of money laundering on the detained chairman of an embattled British investment firm on Friday, the same day that a provincial official was arrested in relation to fraud charges the businessman was already facing, a court official ...

Political instability has done little to dampen Vietnam’s appetite for investment in Cambodia, the latest figures revealed yesterday by Prime Minister Hun Sen show. Last year, Vietnamese investment reached $302 million, up 250 per cent from $86 million in 2012, according to the prime minister, who ...

Visiting representatives from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on Monday urged the Labor Ministry to withdraw its threat to revoke the licenses of six unions behind recent strikes, and to drop legal proceedings against union leader Rong Chhun. His visit follows garment worker protests ...

The new year has brought with it a mixed outlook for the vehicle market, as dealers post both positive and negative sales figures for 2013. Pily Wong, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen distributor Hung Hiep (Cambodia), said sales had been seriously affected by the Kingdom’s ...

Construction on a four-year, $150 million commercial and residential development that will transform 70,000 square metres of land on Koh Pich into Parisian-style apartments with a replica of the Arc de Triomphe at the centre is reportedly scheduled to commence in the coming months. The Élysée, ...

A hotel catering to foreign investors and expatriate employees is being built inside the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ), management confirmed yesterday. The project will be constructed through a joint venture between PPSEZ and the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Tama Home. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said that the flow of investment in Cambodia increased sharply from USD2.9 billion in 2012 to USD4.9 billion in 2013. During the 4th Cambodia-Vietnam Conference on Investment Cooperation at Peace Palace, he said the Vietnamese investments also increased, from ...

Construction investment in Cambodia in the past 11 months of 2013 was worth of USD 2.4 billion or 1526 projects, covering construction area of 7 million sq km, said The Ministry of Urbanization and Construction. The ministry added that compared with the same period of last ...

About 100 people, including 20 monks, held a ceremony in Phnom Penh on Friday in memory of the five people killed a week beforehand when military police opened fire on protesting garment workers, and demanded that the government introduce a mandatory, sector-wide standard minimum wage. In ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday assigned former Finance Minister Keat Chhon as the head of a newly formed committee tasked with researching the government’s capacity to introduce wage increases for civil servants and factory workers. The statement said that Mr. Hun Sen also spoke ...

Japan has expressed its deep concern about the situation in Cambodia following the deadly crackdown on striking garment workers last Friday, and admitted Thursday that it had contacted the government during the protests to ask for protection of Japanese citizens and companies. Military police armed with ...

Major labels that have clothing manufactured in Cambodian factories have written an open letter expressing concern for the recent shootings of workers demonstrating for higher wages. Adidas, Gap, H&M, Levi’s and Puma were among those that signed the January 7 letter to the Phnom Penh government, ...

The UN human rights agency urged Cambodia to launch an investigation into the “disproportionate” use of force by security forces last week against garment factory workers striking over pay. Military police opened fire on workers protesting outside a factory in Phnom Penh on January 3 and ...

Since being designated for development by the municipal government in 2006, Koh Pich has been abuzz with activity. Now covered in the widest, least-congested roads in central Phnom Penh, this island is filling up quickly with residential, retail and hospitality projects aimed at affluent locals ...

Palm sugar farmers in Kampong Speu province will soon export their goods to South Korea, the senior officer of a grower’s network said on Monday. Sam Saroeun, president of the Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Promotion Association, said an agreement with the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency ...

German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG) on Thursday signed to lend 10 million U.S. dollars to a leading Cambodian microfinance institution Hattha Kaksekar. The loan deal was inked here between Herbert Jaeger, Vice President of DEG Representative Office in Bangkok, and Hout Ieng Tong, President and ...

The kingdom’s General Department of Taxation had collected 881 million U.S. dollars of taxes in 2013, up 19 percent from 740 million U.S. dollars in a year earlier, a press release said Thursday. ...

Construction on Times Centre’s three skyscrapers near Olympic Stadium will commence early this year, but little is known about several key aspects of the project, including the company behind the project. The Times Centre project, which will incorporate retail and office space with 1,000 condominium ...