ព័ត៌មាន
Long-Running Protest Still Without Resolution
About 2,000 workers at a factory supplying clothes to U.S. brands Levi Strauss, Gap and Old Navy were stopped by security forces yesterday as they attempted to march from Kandal province to the Ministry of Labor to protest for severance payments and additional benefits. Protests at ...
Government to cut power subsidies
The government will drop subsidies for high electricity use, after the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) reported losses of US$3 million between January and May this year. Households consuming more than 200 KW/h per month will no longer receive a 100 to 200 riel per KW/h ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070657247/Business/govt-to-cut-power-subsidies.html
Factory Owners Agree to Provide More Benefits
Garment factory owners have agreed to provide workers with an additional $9 in monthly benefits for transportation, housing and attendance in order to reduce growing protests in the sector, Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) officials said yesterday. “We will provide $3 in attendance bonuses and ...
Unions reject bonus bargain
Union leaders yesterday rejected a proposal from Cambodian garment makers to provide US$9 a month for a worker’s housing and transport fees, demanding an additional $1. The benefits were announced last week after unions said they would lead a large-scale protest ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070657244/Business/unions-reject-bonus-bargain.html
Cambodia, Vietnam Seek Stop to Xayabari Dam Construction
Cambodia and Vietnam will send a letter signed by the prime ministers of both countries to demand that Laos and Thailand halt the construction of a dam on the mainstream Mekong River in Laos, an official from the Cambodian National Mekong Committee said yesterday. The decision ...
Not all economic land concessions listed
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ latest list of economic land concessions reveals some peculiar discrepancies with known records of ELCs. Some that have recently been granted are missing, while others known to have been cancelled remain. The June 8 MAFF list makes no mention ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070557236/National-news/not-all-elc-listed.html
Rice exports facing challenges
Pou Puy, president of the Cambodian Rice Millers Association, said that the export of Cambodia’s white rice faces challenges in terms of both quantity and competitive pricing, as exports of milled rice dropped about 35 per cent for the first half of 2012 compared to ...
Emaxx, Excell deal long dead
The collapse of Digital Star Media’s acquisition of mobile operator Excell emerged yesterday, nearly a year after the firms announced the potential buy-out. Digital Star Media, branded under the name Emaxx, announced in late July last year it was in talks to buy GT-TELL’s Excell. The ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070557224/Business/emaxx-excell-deal-long-dead.html
Hun Sen Asks Businesses to Serve Local Foods
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday reiterated comments made by government officials Tuesday that government institutions, hotels and restaurants should begin serving local cuisine and produce to generate more cash flow in the tourism sector. ...
Cambodia, Vietnam united on Xayaburi
Cambodia and Vietnam will write a joint letter to the Lao and Thai governments urging that construction of the Xayaburi dam, in northern Laos, be halted, a spokesman for the government’s Mekong committee said yesterday. Minister of Water Resources Lim Kean Hor met with Vietnam’s Minister ...
Strike wounds slow to heal
More than 70 garment workers who claim they were sacked after a nationwide workers’ strike in September, 2010 are still waiting to be reinstated, Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), has told the Post. Thorn claimed on Tuesday about ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070557227/National-news/strike-wounds-slow-to-heal.html
Cambodia Beer to Ship First Export Batch to Japan
Less than two months after opening a $60 million brewery on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia Beer will be exported for the first time today when vessels carrying the beer set out for Japan from Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, according to a statement issued yesterday ...
Hun Sen shoots down free-visa plan
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday shot down calls for a free visa system for all ASEAN + 3 nations. The proposal would have included the ASEAN nations as well as China, Japan and South Korea. Minister of Tourism Thong Khon made the proposal during a Tourism Ministry ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070557223/Business/pm-shoots-down-free-visa-plan.html
Once thought full of potential, Cambodia's palm oil sector has mostly fizzled
At one time, palm oil production stirred a lot of excitement in Cambodia. Perhaps hoping to follow in the footsteps of palm oil giants Malaysia or Indonesia, more than 10 firms in Cambodia registered for land concessions for palm cultivation around a decade ago. Today, there is one left. The others decided palm ...
As Cambodia Courts US Business, Old Problems Remain
As a delegation of US business owners prepares to travel to Cambodia with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, analysts say they will be tough to court, given Cambodia’s lack of law enforcement. “Investors don’t bring guns, they don’t bring bodyguards—they bring money to invest,” said ...
Over 300 Cambodian protesters demand Laos to halt construction of Xayaburi dam
Over 300 Buddhist monks and Cambodian residents who live along Mekong River in Kampong Cham province, about 120km from Phnom Penh, gathered in the provincial town to demand for Laos to halt the construction of Xayaburi dam. “We want the Lao government to stop the construction of Xayaburi dam because it will affect the ...
Cambodia to create its first Marine Protected Area
Cambodia will begin the creation of its first Marine Protected Area (MPA) this year, covering some 300 square kilometres of coral-rich seas around islands of Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem in the Gulf of Thailand. This follows a successful two-year scientific survey of the area ...
http://www.peopleandplanet.net/?lid=30370§ion=35&topic=23
Global insurers expanding in Southeast Asia turn to Cambodia
Two global life insurers are opening offices in Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia’s few untapped insurance markets, as they strengthen their foothold in a region that could eventually be a key driver of revenue growth. Britain’s No. 1 insurer Prudential said on Monday it won in-principle ...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/04/cambodia-insurance-pru-manulife-idUKL3E8I32H220120704
More Cambodian maid abuse revelations
A Cambodian maid in Malaysia has committed suicide, another was allegedly raped by her employer and a third tortured, according to rights groups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is investigating the cases. An 18-year-girl is being sheltered at the Cambodian embassy after she was ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012070557237/National-news/more-maid-abuse-revelations.html
3,000 Factory Workers Block Road; Protests Set to Continue
About 3,000 workers at a factory supplying clothes to U.S. brands Levi Strauss and Old Navy blocked traffic for nearly five hours yesterday on National Road 4 in Kandal province, as part of a protest for more benefits and severance pay, protesters and police said. Protests ...
Two ‘secessionists’ to face press
Bun Chhorn and Sok Tong – fugitives accused of orchestrating a “secessionist plot” in Kratie province – are refusing to admit their guilt, and will hold a press conference Friday in Phnom Penh to say as much, despite Hun Sen’s recent promise to drop their ...
Beeline General Director Exits after Two Months
Mobile operator Beeline yesterday announced the departure of Siddhanta Kothari as its general director of Cambodian operations after just two months in the job. According to the statement, Mr. Kothari had been seated in the position for a fixed two-month term to “ensure the sustainability of ...
Borei Keila evictees plead case
Homeless Borei Keila evictees who have been living in tents surrounded by garbage since authorities bulldozed their homes in January pleaded outside Phnom Penh Municipal Hall for housing yesterday. Representative Chhay Kimhorn said the families could no longer stand living in tents and stairwells infested with ...
Road blocked as strike escalates
Thousands of workers from factories owned by Tai Yang Enterprise in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district blocked National Road 4 for more than seven hours yesterday to push the company to meet their demands. May Sopheaktra said workers decided to block the road after the companytried ...