ភ្នំពេញប៉ុស្តិ៍
Kingdom's garment shipments still growing
Cambodian garment and textile exports increased nearly 20 per cent in the first eight months of 2011 compared to the same period last year, according to Ministry of Commerce figures. The Kingdom exported US$2.35 billion in garments during the period, a 19.6 per cent increase over ...
Global brands join fainting 'phenomenon' inquiry
At least 24 international apparel brands have pledged to immediately investigate the mass fainting “phenomenon” that has hit the Cambodian garment factories that supply them, the International Labour Organisation says. Executives of global brands had pledged to work together “to determine the precise causes of incidences ...
NBC calls on MFIs to spread risk
The National Bank of Cambodia was pushing microfinance institutions to look to domestic banks for funding in an industry heavily reliant on foreign loans, experts said yesterday. Although the NBC is seeking to foster healthier relationships between MFIs and the Kingdom’s commercial banks, a dearth of ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090951563/Business/nbc-asks-mfis-to-diversify.html
Tourism minister to Thai border
In an attempt to foster tourism on the Cambodia-Thai border, tourism officials this week visited the Cham Yeam border crossing in Koh Kong province. Warming relations with Thailand’s newly elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra are expected to improve cross-border tourism, which deteriorated after border clashes ...
Mobile market still growing
Cambodian mobile operators added more than 1 million new subscribers between May and July, with Smart Mobile seeing the largest percentage increase for the period, according to Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications figures obtained by the Post. Marc Einstein, a Tokyo-based analyst at research and ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090751483/Business/mobile-market-still-growing.html
Japan firms see fresh potential in Kingdom
A delegation of more than 30 Japanese businesspeople yesterday met with the Council for the Development of Cambodia to discuss investment opportunities in the Kingdom, after seeing what they said were vast improvements in domestic legal and tax regulations. However, no definite decisions had yet ...
Minister asks for export break
Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh yesterday called on the US to allow duty-free entry for Cambodian exports, a benefit the Kingdom already enjoyed with the European Union. The introduction of preferential tax treatment from the US would result in the Kingdom’s share of that country’s ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090751485/Business/minister-asks-for-export-break.html
Labour draft law revamped
The government has dropped controversial criminal penalties targeting unionists in its latest draft of the union law, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said yesterday. Addressing a meeting of representatives of international apparel brands, including Nike, Adidas and PUMA, unions, government officials and the International Labour Organisation, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090751499/National-news/labour-draft-law-revamped.html
Land-grabbing letter hits nerve
The government yesterday lashed out at a letter sent by opposition lawmakers to the World Bank that urged the bank to increase pressure on the government to end forced evictions, land grabbing and threats against community members involved in land disputes with well-connected companies. Council ...
Farmers respond to lobster price hikes
As prices continue to climb for freshwater lobster, farming of the crustacean in Cambodia is increasing. A kilogram of top-quality lobster sells for about US$30, up from $10 in 2005, according to lobster farmers. The government is seeking to foster new growth in Cambodia’s wild ...
Port will transfer bulk of capacity to Kandal
The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port will transfer 75 per cent of its loading capacity to a new location at Kandal to better handle the increased shipments passing through the capital, according to PPAP officials. The PPAP had received US$68 mill-ion in financing from the Chinese ...
Minister wants e-trade by end of year
Cambodian government officials have called on the US-ASEAN Business Council to help finalise implementation of the Kingdom’s first e-commerce law by year’s end. However, US-ASEAN Business Council councillor Frances Zwening said Google did not provide an “in-depth response” to the request for assistance, but added ...
Business boom depletes forests
During the past four years, Cambodia has seen drastic decreases in rare species of trees due to illegal logging, community research from the National Resource Protection Group indicates. If continued unabated, illegal logging threatens to wholly deplete Cambodia’s rare tree species, Chut Wutty said. Cambodia’s ...
Factory and union stitch up agreement
More than 300 striking workers at Jie Wei garment factory in the capital’s Dangkor district will return to work today after successful negotiations yesterday settled a labour dispute that led to a three-day strike last week. Factory management agreed to nine of the 11 demands ...
Big brands talk labour rights
The biggest names in the apparel industry, including Nike, Puma and Gap, would meet today with officials from the Ministry of Labour to discuss issues plaguing the Cambodian garment manufacturing industry, such as mass fainting and contractual disputes, labour activists said yesterday. Dave Welsh, country ...
Rail project in ADB sights
The Asian Development Bank said yesterday problems with a railway rehabilitation project – funded by the bank and AusAID – identified by a local NGO that was suspended by the government last month “may require further investigation or analysis”. In July, STT released a report ...
Vietnam top destination for Cambodians
Cambodian outbound tourist departures rose 29 per cent year-on-year through July, with the bulk of the travellers going to Vietnam and Thailand, according to Ministry of Tourism statistics. Nearly 358,000 Cambodian tourists left the Kingdom in the first seven months of 2011, up from about ...
US firms eye new markets in the Kingdom
VISA, Mastercard, Dell and Cisco Systems have been added to a growing list of US companies looking to enter the Cambodian market, according to Frances Zwenig, counsellor of the US-ASEAN Business Council. The financial services and information technology companies joined GE, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson ...
Land disputes in Siem Reap
More than 1,000 families from four districts in Siem Reap province involved in ongoing land disputes released a joint statement on Friday asking for intervention from government officials. Villagers involved in six separate land disputes with various private companies in four districts claim a total ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090551447/National-news/land-disputes-in-siem-reap.html
Digging deep outside the law
Weak enforcement of mining laws excludes local communities from the decision-making process and smudges the revenue transparency, said George Boden, a campaigner at watchdog group Global Witness. Weak enforcement of mining laws excludes local communities from the decision-making process and smudges the revenue transparency, said ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090251412/Business/digging-deep-outside-the-law.html
Exports to be unaffected by debt crisis
As Cambodian exports continue to grow, commerce officials predict sovereign debt crises in the United States and Europe will not threaten the sector. Total exports surged by more than 46 per cent to US$2.677 billion in the first seven months of the year, compared to ...
Fainting link to Canadian cold
Women who had fainted in a poorly ventilated garment factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Wednesday morning were making winter coats to be sold at Walmart stores in Canada, it was revealed yesterday. Executives with Taiwanese-owned Heart Enterprise (Cambodia) Ltd also confirmed reports ...
Major bank downgrade
Moody’s Investors Service announced yesterday it had downgraded the credit rating of ACLEDA Bank, citing the departure of two of the bank’s major investors in as many years. The loss of a second big sharehol-der in the first half of this year had led to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011090251414/Business/major-bank-downgrade.html
Hands-on contest a hit in Cambodia
Long a popular fixture of US TV and radio competitions, “Hands on a Hardbody,” a marathon endurance contest where participants vie to hold their palms against a car the longest in order to win it, has expanded to Cambodia. More than 80 participants took part ...