ព័ត៌មាន
Hor Namhong Asks for More Cash for Rail Project
Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong made another appeal to Australia for additional funds to complete a behind-schedule project to rehabilitate the country’s railway network, this time to newly appointed Australian Ambassador Alison Burrows, according to a ministry spokesman. While work on the Southern Line of the ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hor-namhong-asks-for-more-cash-for-rail-project-30272/
Families Left Worse off After Railway Project
Phnom Penh families being pushed to the city’s outskirts to make way for a $142.6 million railway renovation project funded by Australia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are falling into debt and finding it harder to earn money and access healthcare according to a ...
Duty-Free Agreements Worry Minister
Duty-free agreements between regional competitors and foreign importers would put the Cambodian garment industry at risk, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said last week. Speaking to reporters after a meeting, Prasidh warned that the Kingdom’s garment sector would not be able to maintain its competitive edge over ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013060366010/Business/duty-free-agreements-worry-minister.html
Geopacific extends its copper zone
Geopacific Resources, an Australian mineral exploration company, said it has extended the zone of copper found in Preah Vihear province’s Kou Sa district to 18 kilometres, the company announced yesterday. ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052965899/Business/geopacific-extends-its-copper-zone.html
As Foreign Aid Increases, Questions About Conditions
Cambodia has seen huge growth of foreign aid and loans over the past two decades, but experts are beginning to question its worth—and what conditions might be attached. Total aid from 1993 to 2012 amounts to around $10 billion, with the percentage of aid coming as ...
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/as-foreign-aid-increases-questions-about-conditions/1664821.html
Thai generator looking at Kingdom
Thailand-based Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl (RATCH) has “seriously assessed” investment possibility in neighbouring countries including Cambodia, a company statement said last Thursday. It said it had geared up for business expansion in domestic and international markets in the potential existing investment bases Laos and Australia, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052065705/Business/thai-generator-looking-at-kingdom.html
Australia Ups Aid Funding
Australia announced yesterday that it will increase the amount of aid it provides Cambodia by about US$13 million (A$13.2 million) in the coming year, putting the country’s official development assistance at $96.1 million. ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051765681/National/australia-ups-aid-funding.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
CIMB says Local Investors Bring More Franchises to Cambodia
The steady growth of franchises from overseas is likely to continue as young, moneyed Cambodians seize the opportunity to bring name brands into the country, a bank official said yesterday. Hoping to help its customers and others invest in franchises, Malaysia-based CIMB Bank yesterday organized ...
Gold resource in northeastern Cambodia estimated at 1.2 mln ounces
Australia’s Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) Ltd. unveiled Thursday that it estimated that gold resource[s] at O’kvau area in Cambodia’s Mondolkiri province could be as much as 1.2 million ounces, the firm’s Managing Director Justin Tremain said. Speaking during a meeting with Cambodian Minister of Industry, Mines and ...
Work Begins on Controversial Cambodian Dam
As work begins on Cambodia’s biggest dam, those advocating against its construction have warned that the region’s rush for hydropower will have a disastrous effect on millions of people who rely on the Mekong River to survive. Last month, workers began preparing an area in northeastern ...
http://www.voanews.com/content/work-begins-on-controversial-hydropower-dam/1656035.html
Cambodia, Bangladesh ink visa exemption deal for diplomatic, official passport holders
Cambodia and Bangladesh on Friday signed a visa-free agreement for diplomatic and service passport holders in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties in politics, trade, investment and tourism, officials said. The deal was inked here between Long Visalo, secretary of state at Cambodian Ministry of Foreign ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/03/c_132357925.htm
Cambodian Garment Exports likely to Grow in 2013: GMAC
Cambodian garment exports are expected to grow in 2013 with the increasing foreign investments along with focus on new market including Japan and China, according to the Garment Manufactures Association of Cambodia (GMAC). In 2012, apparel exports of Cambodia grew nine percent to US$ 4.61 ...
Tiffany to polish diamonds
Luxury jewellery brand Tiffany & Co is building a diamond-polishing factory in Phnom Penh, as the company, which has enjoyed increasing sales, seeks to ensure it can continue supplying the diamonds it needs. Construction began last month on the 1.2-hectare factory, along with a training centre, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013041064983/Business/tiffany-to-polish-diamonds.html
Hun Sen wants more Australian investors
The Prime Minister appealed Wednesday to Australian investors to increase their investments in Cambodia, especially in the agriculture and the tourism sectors. The comments were made during a meeting with the outgoing Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, Penny Richards, at the Peace Palace. He said, because of ...
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=YzFhMzAxN2QzNDZ
Growing Tourism – A Positive Sign: Asia and Pacific Continue as Travel Hot Spots
Asia and the Pacific continued as a hot spot for international tourism in 2012, attracting what is expected to be in excess of 350 million international visitor arrivals, expanding its collective inbound count by more than 5% and generating more than 18 million additional foreign visits, year-on-year. Within this ...
Government Denies Reports on Mining Corruption and Hun Sen
The Cambodian government on Thursday dismissed media reports in Australia linking Prime Minister Hun Sen to a mining company under investigation there for corruption. Earlier this week, The Age newspaper reported on Australian documents that described officials from BHP Billiton seeking a special meeting with Hun ...
Strongman's hand in BHP deal
A BHP Billiton mining deal being investigated for alleged corruption was personally overseen by Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, diplomatic cables reveal. The miner’s aborted attempt to establish a bauxite mine in Cambodia, and its hospitality program for Chinese officials at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, are at ...
http://www.smh.com.au/national/strongmans-hand-in-bhp-deal-20130325-2gqae.html
Joint venture will take part in oil explorations
Malaysia-based Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad has tied up with Rex International Holding Pte Ltd to participate in exploration opportunities in Cambodia and 10 other countries across the Asia-Pacific region, according to a statement released last Thursday. Hibiscus’s wholly owned subsidiary Orient Hibiscus Sdn Bhd and Rex International ...
E. Sun plans to purchase stake in Cambodian bank
E. Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), the banking arm of E. Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控), yesterday announced plans to buy a 70 percent stake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia-based Union Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) for US$69.33 million to facilitate its expansion into Southeast Asia. “We decided to ...
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2013/03/23/2003557740
Evicted Railway Families Facing Debt 'Crisis'
Debt levels among the more than 1,000 families being evicted by a $142.6 million railway project bankrolled by Australia and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) have reached “crisis” proportions and require major intervention, according to a U.S resettlement expert who was hired by the ADB ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/evicted-railway-families-facing-debt-crisis-15618/
ADB Smothers Report On Families Hit by Rail Project
The Asian Development Bank has refused to release a critical study on the impacts its $141.6 million railway project is having on thousands of Cambodian families because disclosure of the report could hurt its relationship with the government, an ADB spokeswoman said. Raising concerns about the ...
Foreign investment in Cambodia’s property rises
Property experts say foreign companies are coming to invest in Cambodia’s property sector, as they see the growth and potential of the Kingdom. Sung Bonna, director of Bonna Realty Group, said that the number of foreign companies in the sector has grown, and most are from ...
Fracking a problem for SE Asia
Impoverished countries hoping to strike it rich by developing their limited oil and gas reserves are being urged to move quickly or risk having their expectations clipped by fracking, which is depressing market prices while adding life to fields once thought exhausted. The ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013022561573/Business/fracking-a-problem-for-se-asia.html