News
Cambodia to levy economic land concessions tax
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday ordered investors in economic land concessions (ELC) to pay tax from the sixth year of their investment in a bid to speed up their agricultural production. The premier decided that investment companies receiving ELCs must pay the land tax ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-09/28/c_131880215.htm
Alliance an advocate for industry
The executive committee of the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia, ARPEC, decided earlier this month to set up a commercial arm to help members get financing for a variety of rice-related activities. According to ARPEC secretary-general Hun Lak and deputy secretary-general David Van, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Special-Reports/alliance-an-advocate-for-industry.html
Piaggio's Vespa Scoots Back Into Phnom Penh
Vespa, the iconic Italian scooter, is now officially available for purchase in Cambodia-again. Italy-based automobile company Piaggio, in cooperation with the local Narita Group, opened the doors yesterday to the country’s first licensed Vespa dealership. The new Vespas range in price from $2,950 for the ...
Now available: certified chemical-free vegetables
In May, the first group of vegetable producers in Cambodia was certified on the basis of COrAA’s “Standards for Chemical-free Crop Production”. The 72 farmers, belonging to the Women Chemical-free vegetable-producing group of the Vegetable Supply Co-operative in Svay Rieng, have been producing healthy vegetables for ...
Rising world demand for Cambodian organic rice
Several ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, have witnessed a growing demand for organic rice that local producers cannot satisfy, according to Winfried Scheewe, adviser to the Cambodian Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA). Scheewe says demand for organic rice is on the rise, especially in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, but also ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Special-Reports/cambodian-organic-rice-on-demand.html
New Ministry decree aims at tourist safety
A Ministry of Tourism official said they would finalize an inter-ministerial prakas before the end of this year to enhance tourists’ safety, as previous fatal accidents have led to concerns in the tourism sector. Tith Chantha, general director of tourism at the Ministry of Tourism, said task force officials, affiliated with Tourism ...
Looking to increase water access
More than half of Cambodians living in rural areas still do not have access to treated water, about 200 people heard yesterday at a forum at the Phnom Penh Hotel. The event was sponsored by WaterSHED, an NGO funded by USAID’s Regional Development Mission-Asia and the Stone Family Foundation. According ...
Tiger Air's First Flight to Cambodia Lands Monday
Tiger Airways’ first flight from Singapore to Cambodia is scheduled to land at Phnom Penh International Airport on Monday morning, making it the latest airline to offer direct flights to the country. Deborah Yeo, a public relations consultant for Tiger Airways, said that beginning Monday, the ...
Court grants delay in K Chhnang land dispute
Kampong Chhnang villagers who have been hit with a new lawsuit over property that they and the wife of a senior government official both claim said yesterday that coming to court would be impossible, as they did not have a defense lawyer and needed time to locate ...
Kenya wants flights and rice imports
The Ambassador of African country Kenya, Richard Titus Ekai, told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on Wednesday that he would like to see direct flights between Phnom Penh and Nairobi. Sok An met Kenyan Ambassador Ekai at his office to discuss the initiative regarding direct flights ...
Court Questions Unionist on Incitement Charges
The Kandal Provincial Court yesterday questioned labor leader Rong Chhun over allegations he incited garment factory workers to stage an illegal strike, a court official said. A director at the Tai Yang garment factory in Ang Snuol district- which supplies apparel to U.S. brands Levi Strauss, ...
100 Kg of Fish Killed by 6-ton Chemical Spill
An estimated 100 kg of fish were killed and about 1,000 villagers were told not to drink from a stream that was contaminated with 6 tons of an unknown chemical substance in Kompong Chhnang province on Tuesday night, police said. A truck carrying 22 containers of ...
Union boss grilled on incitement allegation
The president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions Rong Chhun appeared in Kandal Provincial Court for nearly three hours yesterday, fielding questions stemming from accusations of incitement and defamation, the union boss said. According to Chhun, his appearance was related to a complaint alleging that he had incited ...
Land Issues Are Dominating Talks Between Citizens, Lawmakers
Land conflicts, discrimination, corruption and inequality dominated discussions between citizens and lawmakers at forums across the country this year, according to the U.S.-based organization the National Democratic Institute (NDI). In its annual report, obtained yesterday, the NDI noted “significant consistencies in the concerns facing Cambodians across ...
Gov't and Donors Set New Reform Targets
The new list of reforms approved by the government at a high-level meeting with its foreign donors on Wednesday offer a mixed bag of targets, with some sectors, such as education, given more ambitious goals than before, while others had their ambitions scaled back and old goals ...
Million-tonne goal still a challenge
It has been more than two years since the Cambodian government issued a rice export policy in June 2010, aiming to export a million tonnes of milled rice by 2015. However, a shortage of capital to buy unmilled rice, known as “paddy”, together with high ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Special-Reports/million-tonne-goal-still-a-challenge.html
New ADB-Cambodia director vows to focus on inclusive growth, boosting partnership
Newly-appointed Asian Development Bank’s director for Cambodia Eric Sidgwick said Wednesday that promoting inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth that will help improve the quality of life of Cambodians, especially those who are most vulnerable, are his key focus areas. “This is an exciting time to be ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2012-10/10/c_131897620.htm
Mind the wage gap
Most mornings, garment worker Vicheka buys food from the street vendors outside her factory in Kampong Chhnang province. The beef and pork dishes, she says, have a tendency to give workers a stomach ache – a reputation forged long before Vicheka and her co-workers at ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092858979/National-news/mind-the-wage-gap.html
Thousands to Be Evicted From Riverbank
Nearly 2,000 families living on the bank of the Sekong River in Stung Treng district will be evicted beginning January to make way for the construction of public gardens, officials said this week. Loy Sophat, Stung Treng provincial governor, said the evicted families could purchase ...
Cambodia hits oil revenue
Officials yesterday confirmed that the Cambodian government will receive a majority of the revenue share from Chevron’s offshore Block A oil permit area near Sihanoukville in the Gulf of Thailand. The government expects to issue the American oil giant a production permit licence by the ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092858984/Business/cambodia-hits-oil-revenue.html
Stirrings from B Kak developer
After months of inactivity that has fueled questions about the company’s future, Boeung Kak lake developer Shukaku Inc has launched a recruitment drive, calling for at least half a dozen architects, engineers and other employees. When contacted yesterday, Sok Heng Ly, an administrative employee listed in the ...
Gov't Official Says UN Envoy's Reports Favor Opposition
Om Yentieng, president of the government’s Cambodian Human Rights Committee, yesterday accused U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi of pandering to the opposition party and trying to stifle the work of the national court system through his examination of Cambodia’s rights situation. Mr. Yentieng, who also heads the Anti-Corruption ...
Hunters and Hunted
Unable to effectively police the Cardamoms alone, the Cambodian government partners itself with several international NGOs. The forests directly north of Highway 48 arc patrolled with the help of Wildlife Alliance. Beginning in 2002 with two ranger stations, Wildlife Alliance now operates six outposts in the ...
Tiger goes terminal, and adds India and Cambodia cities
Tiger Airways reverses its ‘terminal’ thinking at long last in Singapore, and adds new cities in Cambodia and India. .. Tiger Airways is adding Hyderabad, India (tomorrow) and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (next Monday) to its reach only days after shifting up market into Singapore’s main terminal ...