News

Cambodia and Bangladesh on Friday signed a visa-free agreement for diplomatic and service passport holders in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties in politics, trade, investment and tourism, officials said. The deal was inked here between Long Visalo, secretary of state at Cambodian Ministry of Foreign ...

Cambodian garment exports are expected to grow in 2013 with the increasing foreign investments along with focus on new market including Japan and China, according to the Garment Manufactures Association of Cambodia (GMAC). In 2012, apparel exports of Cambodia grew nine percent to US$ 4.61 ...

Luxury jewellery brand Tiffany & Co is building a diamond-polishing factory in Phnom Penh, as the company, which has enjoyed increasing sales, seeks to ensure it can continue supplying the diamonds it needs. Construction began last month on the 1.2-hectare factory, along with a training centre, ...

The Prime Minister appealed Wednesday to Australian investors to increase their investments in Cambodia, especially in the agriculture and the tourism sectors. The comments were made during a meeting with the outgoing Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, Penny Richards, at the Peace Palace. He said, because of ...

Asia and the Pacific continued as a hot spot for international tourism in 2012, attracting what is expected to be in excess of 350 million international visitor arrivals, expanding its collective inbound count by more than 5% and generating more than 18 million additional foreign visits, year-on-year. Within this ...

The Cambodian government on Thursday dismissed media reports in Australia linking Prime Minister Hun Sen to a mining company under investigation there for corruption. Earlier this week, The Age newspaper reported on Australian documents that described officials from BHP Billiton seeking a special meeting with Hun ...

A BHP Billiton mining deal being investigated for alleged corruption was personally overseen by Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, diplomatic cables reveal. The miner’s aborted attempt to establish a bauxite mine in Cambodia, and its hospitality program for Chinese officials at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, are at ...

Malaysia-based Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad has tied up with Rex International Holding Pte Ltd to participate in exploration opportunities in Cambodia and 10 other countries across the Asia-Pacific region, according to a statement released last Thursday. Hibiscus’s wholly owned subsidiary Orient Hibiscus Sdn Bhd and Rex International ...

E. Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), the banking arm of E. Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控), yesterday announced plans to buy a 70 percent stake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia-based Union Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) for US$69.33 million to facilitate its expansion into Southeast Asia. “We decided to ...

Debt levels among the more than 1,000 families being evicted by a $142.6 million railway project bankrolled by Australia and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) have reached “crisis” proportions and require major intervention, according to a U.S resettlement expert who was hired by the ADB ...

The Asian Development Bank has refused to release a critical study on the impacts its $141.6 million railway project is having on thousands of Cambodian families because disclosure of the report could hurt its relationship with the government, an ADB spokeswoman said. Raising concerns about the ...

Property experts say foreign companies are coming to invest in Cambodia’s property sector, as they see the growth and potential of the Kingdom. Sung Bonna, director of Bonna Realty Group, said that the number of foreign companies in the sector has grown, and most are from ...

Impoverished countries hoping to strike it rich by developing their limited oil and gas reserves are being urged to move quickly or risk having their expectations clipped by fracking, which is depressing market prices while adding life to fields once thought exhausted. The ...

Ecotourism sites in the northeast of Cambodia last year saw visitor growth of 9.7 per cent – a total of 53,374 tourists – compared with 2011, an official said yesterday during the first Workshop on Northeast Ecotourism Development, organised by the Ministry of Tourism. Tith Chantha, ...

The University of Sydney Business School has launched a research project in an effort to identify barriers to franchising in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, and to develop a strategy to boost the sector’s growth in the region. The two-year project, funded by AusAID, targets structural, regulatory, ...

The government has asked Australia to provide more funding to help complete the rehabilitation of the dilapidated railway line between Phnom Penh and the Thai border, a spokesman said yesterday. Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong met with Lieutenant General John Sanderson, former chief of the Australian ...

The government has publicly issued lists showing the costs of fees that businesses must pay to authorities for various services, in an effort to help companies avoid making informal payments made illegal by the anticorruption law. The lists were drafted during the past year after Cambodia ...

Cambodia had granted licenses to 157 domestic and foreign investment projects with a total investment of 2.28 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, according to a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) on Tuesday. Domestic investors topped the chart among all investors last ...

Although the Ministry of Heath estimates that 40 to 50 percent of Cambodians use traditional medicine, the Kingdoms Pharmaceutical industry is growing rapidly. In 2012, according to the latest forecast from Business Monitor International (BMI) people in Cambodia spent $263 million on pharmaceuticals, compared with $217 ...

The government will not allow international airlines to establish domestic services in Cambodia, and the country’s domestic air travel industry is not being monopolised, says an industry leader. These two points were made by Tek Reth Samrach, state secretary of the Council of Ministers, in response ...

Khmer Resources Investment, which is backed by the Cambodian government, aims to list in Hong Kong within two years, chairman Cao Yunde said. “We intend to leverage the capital market of Hong Kong to finance our growth through a public listing so as to maximise the ...

THE Australian Federal Police will reopen corruption inquiries into major Australian companies OZ Minerals and Cochlear, after searing criticism that it was lax in its investigations. OZ Minerals will be targeted following discussions with the OECD about the AFP’s previous investigation of alleged foreign ...

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) will forgo an opportunity to voice opposition to the Xayaburi dam project – which member state Laos began building in November – when it meets for its annual council meeting next week. Surasak Glahan, communications officer with the MRC secretariat, confirmed ...

Worldwide renowned travel advisory website–the tripadvisor.com–has listed Nepali capital Kathmandu in its top 10 best places to visit in Asia. While Siem Reap of Cambodia topped the chart, China’s Beijing and Shanghai cities hold the respective second and third best places to travel in the ...