ព័ត៌មាន
Vietnam rubber tycoon rejects land grabbing accusations
A Vietnamese rubber tycoon has rejected accusations by Global Witness, a group that campaigns on resource issues, that it was involved in a land grabbing crisis in Southeast Asia. Doan Nguyen Duc, the chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Group, told Vietnamese media the information ...
IFC, Deutsche Bank respond to Global Witness report
On May 13, we ran an interview with London-based NGO Global Witness accusing the Deutsche Bank and the International Finance Corporation of financing two Vietnamese rubber companies that are allegedly involved in land grabs in Cambodia and Laos. We asked both banks for a response ...
Cambodia Plantations Not IFC’s First Controversy
In the wake of a new report from environmental rights group Global Witness rebuking the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Deutsche Bank for investing in rubber plantations accused of illegal logging and forced evictions, both institutions have denied responsibility and deflected the blame ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-plantations-not-ifcs-first-controversy-23793/
Fears over new bank note
The new 100,000 riel banknote depicting the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk is not just a pretty historical token. It will also help inject much needed cash into the economy, according to the National Bank of Cambodia. Although take-up will occur as older banknotes of other ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051465591/Business/fears-over-new-bank-note.html
Compulsory insurance for car owners planned
Private car owners could soon be required to buy motor insurance if a planned law amendment gets the green light, stoking optimism that such a bill could put the brakes on Cambodia’s high rate of hit-and-run accidents. Currently, only commercial vehicles, such as buses, legally require ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051465590/Business/compulsory-insurance-for-car-owners-planned.html
Koh Kong cashes in on conservation
Koh Kong province’s mangrove forests have changed from being a source of charcoal to serving tourists who help to protect their biodiversity. The forests have now become a popular destination for Cambodian tourists. Yem Yan, Peam Krasorb commune chief in Koh Kong, said gradually visitors ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051465588/Business/koh-kong-cashes-in-on-conservation.html
Villagers Burn Down Soldiers’ Shelter on Disputed Land
Three members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) on Monday filed a complaint with police in Kompong Chhnang province, accusing irate villagers of torching a wooden shelter built for them by the well-connected KDC agro-industry firm. The soldiers have accused local residents, who have been ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/villagers-burn-down-soldiers-shelter-on-disputed-land-23790/
Agricultural brokerage firm begins operations
Chief Cambodia Holding, a Hong Kong-based brokerage firm, started its operations in Phnom Penh yesterday. The company aims to strengthen Cambodian agricultural products, a company official said. The company reserved $100 million investment capital to connect domestic agricultural producers to the market, Director of Chief Cambodia ...
Residents Rally At Palace For Release Of Land Activist
Around 30 residents from Boeung Kok, Borei Kei and Thmor kol communities gathered and knelt down Monday in front of the Royal Palace to seek intervention from the King to release jailed land activist Yorm Bopha. In the petition, they asked him to intervene the ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=15&token=OWNiYWVhYmQ4ZmM
Deutsche Bank, IFC Rubber Investments Questioned
Deutsche Bank and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) have poured millions of dollars into Vietnamese rubber companies operating in Cambodia that have engaged in illegal logging and forced evictions of local farmers, the environmental rights group Global Witness says in a new report ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/deutsche-bank-ifc-rubber-investments-questioned-23598/
Egat wants coal plants in Cambodia, Myanmar, Krabi
Energy Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal has given the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) the green light to proceed with a plan to build coal-powered plants in Myanmar and Cambodia – providing Thailand with 10,000 megawatts of electricity. Egat has also been instructed to negotiate the ...
Hun Sen Orders Toxic Ice Factory Shut Down
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday that he had ordered a Phnom Penh ice-making factory to shut down, after pungent chemical emissions from the plant in Russei Keo district caused more than 100 nearby residents to be hospitalized with breathing problems on Friday. At least 20 ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-orders-toxic-ice-factory-shut-down-23617/
Investment and Trade Fair Opens In Koh Kong
The first three-day Koh Kong Investment and Trade Fair 2013 kicked off on Saturday, promoting trade and investment in the southern provinces of Cambodia with neighbours Thailand and Vietnam. “The [fair] is aimed at promoting trade and development in Koh Kong province and other border ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051365565/Business/investment-and-trade-fair-opens-in-koh-kong.html
Boost For Animal Healthcare
Cambodia’s promising animal feed sector will soon see support from a big pharmaceutical manufacturer which is now studying local demand for animal healthcare – a nearly untapped market. “We intend to introduce animal health business in Cambodia for our farm products and feed mills,” Khalid Baig, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051365566/Business/boost-for-animal-healthcare.html
CPP Senator Wins Power Transmission Contract
The government on Friday awarded CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat a $92.21 million contract to install power lines in Cambodia’s eastern provinces, the Council of Ministers said in a statement. During the weekly Cabinet meeting, senior officials including Prime Minister Hun Sen signed off on the ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/cpp-senator-wins-power-transmission-contract-23634/
The canes of wrath
Satiating the demands of the global sugar industry is big business for Cambodia’s sugarcane plantations. Yet accusations of human rights abuses and land grabs in the Kingdom have left a bitter aftertaste for many on the ground as companies vie for a larger slice of ...
Navy arrests 4 Cambodian rosewood smugglers
Royal Thai Navy ships intercepted a Cambodian fishing boat illegally smuggling 10 million baht in Siamese rosewood out of the kingdom. The HTMS Chao Phraya staffed with military, customs and forestry office personnel captured the 18-meter-long fishing vessel carrying 296 logs in its fish holds ...
http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/navy-arrests-4-cambodian-rosewood-smugglers-25782?ref=pmci
SMC to invest 1.5 billion dollars in Cambodia Airlines
Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) will invest $1.5 billion for its airline venture in Cambodia, its top executive said yesterday. Cambodia Airlines will have about 20 aircraft in its fleet and add as much as $400 million revenues per year to Philippine Airlines (PAL), said ...
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/05/10/13/smc-invest-15-billion-dollars-cambodia-airlines
Work underway on 'catastrophic' Cambodian dam
Srekor village has stood on the banks of the Se San River in northeastern Cambodia for generations. In a few years it will be gone, submerged along with more than 300 square kilometres of surrounding farmland and forest. For 37-year-old rice farmer Pa Tou, the ...
http://www.dw.de/work-underway-on-catastrophic-cambodian-dam/a-16803423
Opposition Lawmakers Want ‘Social’ Land to Go to Farmers
Cambodian lawmakers have passed a new law on agriculture, but critics say the law does not go far enough to protect the country’s farmers. The law passed on Thursday evening, but not before debate at the National Assembly. During the debate opposition representatives called on the ...
Villagers Make Heady Claims Against NGO
Families living in Koh Kong province have called on the provincial governor to intervene in what they claim are ongoing land disputes with Forestry Administration authorities and conservation NGO Wildlife Alliance. Thirty-eight families from Mondul Seima and Khemarak Pumin districts have 110 hectares of land between ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065550/National/villagers-make-heady-claims-against-ngo.html
Kingdom to reach rice target
Following a considerable increase in Cambodia’s milled rice exports in the first four months of the year, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said he was optimistic the Kingdom’s rice exports would reach the 2015 target of one million tonnes. With this year’s export figures notably higher ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065539/Business/kingdom-to-reach-rice-target.html
‘Power cuts just a transitional problem’
Recurring power cuts and power shortages draw sharp complaints from Cambodia’s public, the political opposition and business owners. Keo Ratanak, director-general of Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), talked to the Post’s Sarah Thust. What is EDC doing to reduce electricity cuts here? The issue of power shortage is ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051065532/Business/power-cuts-just-a-transitional-problem.html
Cambodian Parliament Ratifies ASEAN-China Maritime Transport Agreement
The National Assembly of Cambodia on Friday ratified the agreement on maritime transport between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, saying the agreement is essential to develop trade and economic ties between ASEAN and China. “The agreement aims to facilitate and foster ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-05/10/c_132372924.htm