Cambodia’s Developers Again Aim at Stars

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s low-rise capital city is reaching for the sky—again. Long known as one of the last major Asian cities without a skyline, Phnom Penh embarked on a high-rise building boom in the middle of the last decade, only to see it derailed by the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009… Among the most prominent projects is Vattanac Capital Tower, a 38-story, $170 million office, retail and serviced-apartment development under construction downtown. Its developer, a local company called Vattanac Properties that has investments in industrial and golf properties, says the building should be finished later this year, and will include a host of amenities not commonly associated with Cambodia, including luxury boutiques, 29 elevators and five-star service for its serviced apartments. …The developer is targeting tenants such as securities firms affiliated with Cambodia’s stock exchange, which officially launched last year even though there weren’t any companies ready to be listed. It is expected to expand this year.

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