ភ្នំពេញប៉ុស្តិ៍
Small concession in eviction fight
Authorities have partially backed down on an order forcing 196 residents in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district to move their homes, but refused to scrap the plan completely when confronted at Chaom Chao commune hall yesterday. Phuong Sopheap, one of about 20 residents that congregated ...
Abused Workers Back Home
A maid who fled her employer after an attempted rape and was then thrown in a detention centre just two days after she gave birth was one of 26 distressed men and women who make up the latest repatriated abuse victims from Malaysia. Detained for as ...
Sen David and David Boyle, P. 1
Graft claims over mining revenue
Political activists and watchdog organisations say Cambodia’s US$13 million revenue from the mining sector over the last five years is exceedingly low and that the government must be more transparent. The claims come after the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy (MIME) released its figures on the mining ...
Rock and a hard place
Sarorn Phi, 39, cautiously stops his moto 20 metres away from the large, signless boom gate blocking his path in Sesan district. He shuffles toward the security guard’s hut at the entrance to a sprawling Chinese rubber plantation and negotiates with the guard to enter ...
Families cling to hope for land
Representatives of 44 families embroiled in a violent land dispute in Banteay Meanchey province say they are living like squatters and haven’t been granted long-promised property in the area. Kao Ty, a defence lawyer for the families, said that his clients are among the more than ...
Worker relieved of factory job
The dismissal of a worker allegedly fired by Xin Lan (Cambodia) garment factory in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district for frequently relieving himself on the factory’s perimeter fence has sparked a mass strike of about 1,000 fellow workers – almost all of the factory’s staff. Nov ...
Asian tourist numbers up, profits stagnant
The growth in international tourists visiting Cambodia is almost 27 per cent that of the numbers seen during the first six months of 2011, according to tourism officials who are predicting that the growth may be 25 per cent at the end of this year. Visitors ...
China giant looks to Kingdom
Shandong Shantui, a Chinese firm and one of the largest manufacturers of heavy construction machinery and largest producer of bulldozers has expressed an interest in investing in Cambodia’s agricultural sectors. General Manager Cheng Zhaohong met with Cambodia’s National Assembly President Heng Samrin yesterday morning to present the company’s ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012080757846/Business/china-giant-looks-to-cambodia.html
Growth to be focus of ASEAN Economic Summit
Prime Minister Hun Sen will be opening the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting and related meetings will kick off August 27 in Siem Reap, the centre of Khmer culture and civilization in Cambodia, and will run to September 1, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The meeting ...
Flood's lessons linger in Kratie
When 41-year-old Pheng Seng’s brick-making business was ravaged by flood in Kratie province a year ago, he lost about US$5,000. Kratie town also flooded this time a year ago. It was so bad that speedboats were seen zipping through the streets past submerged motorcycles with ...
Preah Vihear villagers protest soldiers' SLC
Villagers who allege authorities and armed forces in Preah Vihear province have been burning their houses and clearing farmland of 400 families, to create a social land concession, protested yesterday, calling on intervention from Prime Minister Hun Sen. The 5,557-hectare SLC in Kulen district’s Srayang village ...
Families stand firm on eviction
A group of families whose homes are in the way of a municipal road-widening project rejected an offer from city hall on Friday to relocate and receive financial compensation, representatives from the community said. Located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in Tuol Kork district, community ...
New spin on an old traditionArtisan Designers (AND)
Putting a new spin on a traditional art form isn’t a simple thing to achieve, but for niche fashion enterprise Artisan Designers (AND) an ambitious new branding campaign is seeing Cambodian handicrafts pushed in a new direction. Opening eight months ago on the tourist-friendly street 240, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012080657820/Business/new-spin-on-an-old-tradition.html
Adidas joins fashion district
Phnom Penh now offers Adidas brand-name sportswear at #90 Sihanouk Boulevard just west of the Independence Monument in the latest enhancement of what has become Cambodia’s fashion district. Phnom Penh’s movers and shakers were on hand for Saturday night’s Adidas launch event with a tent-enclosed street-side stage adjacent ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012080657821/Business/adidas-joins-fashion-district.html
Brokers nabbed at airport
Four brokers accused of duping 19 victims out of thousands of dollars for non-existent jobs in South Korea were arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport on Saturday. Keo Thea, chief of Phnom Penh’s anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection department, said Por Sen Chey district police arrested ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012080657832/National-news/brokers-nabbed-at-airport.html
Strike may end if deal holds: union
Workers who have been told they have been sacked for striking at the co-owned Tai Yang and Camwell factories will forget about their seniority bonuses – for now – if they are reinstated, unions and an advocacy group said yesterday. In an attempt to end one ...
National Bank of Cambodia looks at local yuan role
Bank of China is in negotiations with Cambodia’s central bank on the promotion of business transactions in Chinese yuan. The official talks reflect rapid trade growth between the two countries at a time when several commercial banks in Cambodia have launched yuan remittance and trade-settlement products. The ...
Prey Lang ELCs rejected
In a rare victory for those battling to preserve Prey Lang forest, the government has cancelled four economic land concessions in the area totalling more than 40,000 hectares that threatened pristine ecosystems. Another 3,200 hectare ELC in Koh Kong province has also been cancelled, while two ...
Koh Kong king bowed out of 'blood sugar' firm
A sugar company originally part-owned by ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat that has long fought villagers over a land dispute in Koh Kong province is now under the complete control of two foreign-owned companies, statements released by the firms last week reveal. The Mitr Pohl ...
Rep wrongfully fired from airport: union
The Cambodian Tourism and Service Worker’s Federation (CTSWF) is asking Minister of Labour Vong Sauth to intervene in the case of one union worker fired from a Phnom Penh International Airport company with no reason offered. Nin Kosal, who worked as union secretary for the Cambodia ...
Job security low as unemployment drops
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) released the latest data from its EU-funded project Monitoring and Assessing Progress of Decent Work this week, showing that despite an improving environment, including low rates of official unemployment , 75 per cent of workers are in vulnerable jobs. This includes the self-employed or ‘own ...
Bounced cheques causing concern
Military police in Siem Reap province arrested a 33-year-old woman this week on accusations of fraudulent activity involving writing a cheque at a local bank. Cheque account usage, an infrequently used service only a few years ago, is gaining traction in the Kingdom. Bank officials said fraudulent cheques ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012080357788/Business/bounced-cheques-causing-concern.html
Insurance, banks join forces
Cambodia Life Insurance Company Plc plans to bundle services with banks to offer guarantees on mortgages, company representatives said. The service is hoped to make mortgages more accessible in a country where housing loans are still considered risky business. Collateral is usually required to take loans ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012080357789/Business/insurance-banks-join-forces.html
Unions skirmish using factory as 'battleground'
The setting is familiar – a garment factory in Kandal province that supplies Levi’s and Gap – and so is the number of people involved, but a strike that has raged at Yung Wah Industrial II factory since Monday has a twist: it’s worker versus worker and union versus ...