News

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday that the minimum wage for teachers is set to exceed $230 (about 950,000 riel), not including additional bonuses, come April next year. During a graduation ceremony for Cambodia University for Specialties students at Koh Pich, Mr. Hun Sen said the ...

Cambodia’s national debt stood at $5.7 billion as of the end of June, totalling about a third of GDP, according to a report on the national budget submitted to the National Assembly yesterday. ...

Yesterday was hailed as a “good day for pangolins” after a meeting of signatories to the CITES wildlife protection treaty decided to move the Asian species of “scaly anteater” to the agreement’s Appendix 1 category, which bans all commercial trade in the small mammals in ...

The Institute of Standards of Cambodia (ISC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will team up to boost the export of four seafood products that adhere to international standards. Speaking at a workshop at the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft yesterday, ISC director-general Chan ...

The latest report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) describes Cambodia’s economic situation in 2016 as “broadly as expected,” as it predicts a slight increase in economic growth of 0.1 percent, to 7.1 percent. Released yesterday, the update to its annual “Asian Development Outlook” for 2016 ...

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) demanded the government intervene immediately after finding that 98.2 percent of women involved in land disputes with private companies were suffering from serious psychological after-effects and nearly half of the women participating in the survey said they had ...

The government plans to create “cheque de vacances” or holiday vouchers by 2017 to encourage middle-income Cambodians to travel within the country, according to an official from the Ministry of Tourism yesterday. Chhay Khunlong, deputy director-general of tourism at the ministry, said holiday vouchers will enable ...

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert yesterday cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”. ...

Cambodia has been selected to chair the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) next year, state-owned media outlet AKP reported yesterday. ...

Commune offices around the country are bracing for a surge in voter registrations over the Pchum Ben holiday that could become a make-or-miss moment in building the foundation for upcoming elections. After nearly a month of registrations, the National Election Committee reported on Tuesday that 3.5 ...

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned residents in six southwestern provinces to brace for possible floods during the final days of the Pchum Ben festival. According to an announcement posted on the ministry’s Facebook page yesterday, heavy rain from Saturday to Monday is expected ...

The National Election Committee (NEC) has thrown cold water on a request by the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) that it permit garment workers extra time off to register in their home provinces without receiving a pay cut, according to a letter posted on the NEC’s ...

An obscure NGO is providing life insurance coverage to low-income individuals, mostly garment workers, offering a financial safety net for the families of its policyholders, but triggering the concern of insurance regulators who take issue to its unlicensed operations. ...

The Japanese government will provide almost $30 million in grant aid to Cambodia to boost Phnom Penh’s public bus system and to strengthen ongoing demining operations. At a signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, minister Long Visalo and outgoing Japanese Ambassador Yuji Kunamaru, ...

The integration of technology into Cambodia’s agricultural sector is vital to increase the competitiveness and overall performance of the Kingdom’s harvest, but efforts to push for widespread adoption of innovative solutions has been slow to take off, industry experts and stakeholders said at a forum ...

Representatives from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Ministry of Environment and a handful of climate advocates met in Phnom Penh yesterday to brainstorm ways the country can transition to a “sustainable energy future”. ...

The economic stability of Cambodian households took a beating during the El Nino weather cycle that enveloped the region during the last dry season, resulting in drought conditions that drove many families into debt and lower income brackets, a new study has found. The study, released ...

Cambodia and Vietnam yesterday pledged to enhance cooperation and also pushed for the completion of demarcating the border to build peace and development. The discussion was held yesterday during a meeting between National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Vietnam’s National Assembly chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who ...

Japan has pledged to help fund three projects in Cambodia with a grant totalling about $31.9 million. Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Long Visalo met with Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Yuji Kumamaru yesterday for a signing ceremony to officially award the funding. One of ...

Cambodia’s armed forces have vowed to protect Chinese businesses and investors in the Kingdom and sought to reassure corporations fearful of the country’s potential hurdles in a statement released yesterday. ...

Despite numerous laws and committees created to tackle deforestation and illegal logging in Cambodia, the timber trade has continued unabated. In another attempt to deal with the issue, authorities across the country have been ordered to ensure they execute their responsibilities to oversee the enforcement of ...

The state-owned bank entrusted with extending $27 million in emergency loans to millers to purchase rice paddy has marginally lowered the interest rate on these conditional loans in an effort to shorten some of the strings attached. The Rural Development Bank (RDB) announced late on Sunday ...

The government has asked China to make good on its pledge to buy 200,000 tons of rice annually from the Kingdom and also to speed up the approval of a $300 million loan to the country’s beleaguered rice sector. This request was made yesterday during a ...

Bangkok Life Assurance expects to offer life insurance policies in Cambodia by the beginning of next year, according to Thai news outlets, adding to the list of international insurers looking to tap into the Kingdom’s nascent but potentially lucrative market. ...