News

He came, he said nothing, he left. Publicly at least, President Barack Obama, the first US head of state to visit the Kingdom, uttered not a single word to the Cambodian people, although many have noted that he was extremely pressed for time. Cambodians, from the ...

It was a major event for Cambodia. Some 35 years after flying for the last time with a Boeing 707 from Phnom Penh to Paris, French national carrier Air France-KLM was back to the Cambodian capital. The flight was first operated with an Airbus A340-300, ...

The United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) predicts the paddy output in Cambodia this year will decline, according to its Rice Market Monitor (RMM) issued on Monday. Paddy output in Asia is forecast at 661 million tonnes, or 441 million tonnes on a milled basis, ...

Troubled Cambodian telecoms operator Mfone will be disposed of by its parent company, Thaicom, in the coming weeks for $100 to INT Management Service Company Limited (INT), according to a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Shenington Investment, a subsidiary of Thaicom and the ...

Land prices along National Road 4 still have the potential to rise, despite the relocation of a number of factories to National Road 3, property experts say. The price of land goes from $100 to $300 per square metre from Chaom Chao cycle to the ...

Cambodia’s ASEAN economic minister said the official launch of the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will lead to potentially forming the biggest single market in the region and is much bigger than the traditional markets of the US and the EU. An economist ...

A plan to create a free trade area covering roughly half the world’s population by 2015 was initiated yesterday by regional and world leaders meeting in Phnom Penh. During the Asean and related meetings at his office, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that the group of ...

Further comprehensive economic co-operation and expansion among ASEAN’s member states, East Asia and its development partners was imperative for managing risks and impacts from the fragile global economy, Prime Minister and ASEAN chairman Hun Sen said during the ASEAN Global Dialogue yesterday. The dialogue brought together ...

The president of the Philippines, a major Asean claimant to portions of the South China Sea, says the country wants the right to solve its problems on the world stage. But Asean leaders on Tuesday sought to downplay his remarks and said they did not ...

Thailand will host the International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Lancang-Mekong Sub-Region next year to push for natural-disaster management, development and security in the Mekong River and its basin, a government official said yesterday. ...

A group of roughly 100 anti-eviction protestors were blocked by riot police yesterday from marching to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Peace Palace to appeal to U.S. President Barack Obama for help in reforming Cambodia’s land rights policy. The protest, which took place at the Boeng Kak ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is marking 20 years of operations in Cambodia with the release of a book today celebrating its achievements in the Kingdom. The 67-member ADB says that over 20 years it has given Cambodia $1.8 billion in loans, grants and technical assistance. ...

Transparency International Cambodia is set to step up its presence in the Kingdom with the launch of a $2.5 million three-year program to monitor and record corruption. On a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), Cambodia ranks 2.1, according to the organisation, ...

Japanese Investment in Cambodia is steadily increasing as a result of sharply rising wages in China and other Southeast Asian nations. But experts warned this week that for sustained investment growth and to avoid driving Japanese companies to other attractive investment destinations such as Burma ...

Asean leaders Tuesday discussed the importance of expanding economic opportunity for the region, vowing to increase efforts for better trade and investment amid members states and with the US. Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of Asean, said “more and more” was expected of Asean today. “So it is ...

The Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court delayed the destruction of the homes and subsequent eviction of 14 families embroiled in a land dispute with a company owned by tycoon Kong Treav in Village 4 of Sihanoukville’s Commune 4, local authorities said yesterday. Though many of the families ...

Prime Minister John Key has joined a launch of Asian free trade talks – but made it clear he favours a US-backed deal. The East Asian Summit wrapped up in Phnom Penh yesterday with Asian leaders formally announcing a start to negotiations towards a Regional Comprehensive ...

Two polarizing narratives emerged after the Monday night discussion between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Hun Sen, with the U.S. claiming it had been “tense,” while Cambodia insisted the talks were cordial. When it came to agenda, Mr. Obama put human rights, electoral and ...

Cambodian officials have refused to establish a specialised bank for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) despite experts saying the sector needs aid in order to compete efficiently with ASEAN economic integration in 2015. Hang Chounnaron, secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Cambodia would ...

At the U.S.-Asean meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh yesterday, the U.S. and the 10 Asean member nations agreed to further their cooperation in all areas, including security to ensure peace in the region. ...

The secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) called on Asean member states to work collectively towards achieving the Asean Economic Community by 2015. Sok Chenda Sophea, who chaired the 2nd Asean Investment Forum (AIF) held in Phnom Penh, said Asean members must ...

Acleda Bank announced on Sunday that it will expand its banking services into Burma by opening a microfinance institute there in January. ...

Criticism continued yesterday of the Asean Human Rights Declaration, which was signed in Phnom Penh on Saturday after regional leaders decided to make last-minute revisions that were widely deemed as inadequate. U.N. experts ans civil society groups criticized the lack of consultation in drawing up the ...

Asean leaders yesterday failed again to form a common front towards geo-political disputes with China over the South China Sea as the Philippines vowed to continue shouting while Cambodia tried to contain discussions to the two immediate sides. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hoped ...