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The Cambodian economy faces major problems for its predominantly rural population in the event of more erratic climate shifts, according to the United Nations Development Programme’s 2011 Cambodian Human Development Report. “This is an agrarian economy that depends very much on weather. And we are among the ...

Democrat MP for Surat Thani Suthep Thaugsuban denies he held secret talks with Cambodian officials about oil and gas interests in the overlapping marine area during the tenure of the Democrat-led government. Mr Suthep, a former deputy prime minister, conceded yesterday he met Cambodian Deputy Prime ...

Phnom Penh–Kong Song’s farmland was his family’s livelihood for three decades until the bulldozers moved in and tore down his home in rural Cambodia to make way for a multimillion dollar foreign-led business. His family was one of 253 forcibly evicted five years ago in southern ...

Several property developers ave approached the Ministry of Finance to ask for licenses after the ministry warned buyers last month not to purchase housing fro developers who are not licensed to sell their properties. The ministry’s warning, issued Aug 11, identified three local developers that ...

The number of visitors arriving by cruise ship in Sihanoukville dropped steeply in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year, a Tourism Ministry official said yesterday. A lack of attractions in Sihanoukville and high visa fees were keeping ...

Following a decision in March to give land back to residents of 13 communes in Pursat province from a vast economic land concession belong to the conglomerate Pheapimex, boundaries have yet to be drawn, and ownership of the land still remains unclear, residents and a ...

Officials working in Boeng Per Wildlife Sanctuary and in nearby communities said yesterday that they were receiving new motorbikes and digital cameras from businessman Try Pheap, who in recent months received large-scale rubber concessions in the Preah Vihear province sanctuary. Earlier this week, it was ...

Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court has extended a deadline for 52 villagers embroiled in a long-standing land dispute with a development company owned by the wife of Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Suy Sem to pay court fees, a court official and rights workers said ...

Two airlines plan to begin regular flights between the tourist towns of Siem Reap and Sihanoukville this year, officials said yesterday. Cambodia Angkor Air aims to begin its regular flights by December, though may delay into 2012 if necessary, said Office of the Council of ...

Finance minister Keat Chhon yesterday identified reforming the management of natural resources as a priority in the government’s efforts to reduce poverty.  Keat Chhon also called on wealthier nations to help fund climate change-related projects in developing nations like Cambodia. Minister of Environment Mok Mareth said ...

Government officials and armed police burnt down 25 homes in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district yesterday claiming they were in the protected Kulen Prumtep Wildlife Sanctuary, villagers and a rights group investigator said yesterday.  The houses, which are part of larger community of about ...

Almost  650,000 hectares of ecologically-rich flooded forest surrounding the Tonle Sap lake has been protected by a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday. The 647,406 hectare area spans sections of Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces. ...

Secret meetings between high-ranking Thai and Cambodian officials to solve the demarcation of disputed offshore petroleum resources took place during the administration of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority revealed yesterday.  In a statement some commentators described as “coordinated attack” by ...

Cambodia’s petroleum authority yesterday announced that it would like to renew discussion with Thailand in order to find a solution over disputed waters in the Gulf of Thailand widely believed to hold large quantities of oil and gas. Negotiations over how to split revenue from ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday signed off on a sub-decree that officially created a 640,000-hectare protected zone covering the flooded forest and floodplains of Tonle Sap lake. The sub-decree determined that 647,406 hectares of flooded forest around Tonle Sap lake in Kompong Chhnang, Pursat, ...

Businessman Try Pheap, who in recent months received large-scale economic land concessions in Boeng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in Preah Vihear province, has donated $130,000 to the sanctuary’s environmental management and the local CPP office,  officials said yesterday. Recipients of the funds denied that there was ...

The first-ever report on the direct effect of climate change on Cambodia’s population was launched yesterday in Phnom Penh, highlighting significant flaws in the country’s ability to deal with future health, finanace and food supply issues. The UN Development Program’s Cambodia Human Development Report 2011, ...

Hybrid rice producer SL Agritech Corp. plans to set up a plantation in Cambodia via a joint venture instead of shipping out produce from its Philippine farms, a ranking official said last week. “We are looking at starting the shipment of seeds to Cambodia and to ...

Malaysain firm Lion Forest Industries Berhad plans to acquire 58,000 hectares of land in Kampong Thom province for US$26.1 million, the company announced yesterday. The company has also announced its intention to purchase 9,995 hectares of land in Preah Vihear province for $3.9 million, according ...

Cambrew yesterday paid the beer promoters who went on strike in late July to demand that the company abide by an Arbitration Council ruling earlier that month that said it owed the women three years of overtime for working on Sundays. The company, which is ...

Dredging operations are causing whole sections of farmland along Svay Rieng’s Toek Vel River to collapse, villagers said in a petition thumb printed by more than 300 affected families. Ros Mov, a chief of Romeas Hek Samiky Land Community, said yesterday 389 families from four ...

Climate change posed a major threat to Cambodia because of its extreme poverty and predominantly rural population, development experts told a conference yesterday. “This is an agrarian economy that depends very much on weather.  And we are among the poorest countries in the world,” Dr ...

The government is drafting a new law that will aim at improving auditing standards and management practices at all of Cambodia’s ports on the coast and rivers and at dry ports inland, officials said yesterday. Speaking at a workshop on port regulation in Phnom Penh, ...

Hong Kong-listed China Oilfield Services Ltd, an offshore services provider for the oil and gas sectors, is looking to start operations in Cambodia, according to an earnings report released by the company last week. “For the overseas market, apart from expanding and strengthening the overseas ...