News

On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a new phase of the Public Financial Management Reform Program, a donor-assisted initiative established in 2004 to bolster the country’s ability to soundly manage its budget. In a speech at the launch event, he touted the government’s progress ...

Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana met on Friday with the National Assembly’s opposition-led human rights commission to discuss issues related to judicial independence and court procedure, including government interference in the court system and abuse of the pretrial detention system.   ...

Phnom Penh’s hell-raising street racers will enjoy a structured outlet for their love of motorbikes at a new amateur racing cup on Koh Pich island this weekend, a competition also meant to promote compliance with the new traffic law. ...

Cambodia launched an economic cooperation forum here on Thursday, aimed to further promote bilateral trade, investment and tourism relations with China, officials said. ...

Kampong Speu palm sugar production is predicted to slightly decrease this year due to a late start, climate change, water shortages and working capital for farmers, but prices are expected to rise due to the sugar’s growing popularity since its geographical indication certification. ...

The Anti-Corruption Unit on Thursday dismissed a complaint filed by a Cambodian NGO against the local arm of the international humanitarian group ActionAid for allegedly embezzling $3 million, the unit’s chairman said.   ...

A high school director in Prey Veng province accused of embezzling thousands of dollars was transferred to a new position with the provincial government on Wednesday following a protest by students and teachers. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked China to import more agricultural products from Cambodia to boost bilateral trade and strengthen the relationship between the two countries. The prime minister wants to boost bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2017. ...

Imports of construction materials grew dramatically last year compared with the year before due to strong demand, while the prices of imported goods declined. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen discussed the outstanding debt Cambodia owed to Russia on Wednesday, with the prime minister urging the debt be turned into investment and development in the country. ...

The government was unaware of about half of the residential child care centers operating in four provinces and Phnom Penh prior to a study conducted last year, according to a report released on Thursday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen will attempt to renegotiate the $1.5 billion of Soviet-era debt Cambodia accrued during the 1980s when he visits Russia in May, according to a post on the premier’s Facebook page.   ...

The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) has called on schools to adopt a flexible school uniform policy to help transgender students and for the government to introduce(CCHR) anti-discrimination laws, in partnership with a USAID program worth almost $300,000.   ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has doubled the minimum capital requirements for commercial banks and significantly raised the requirements for microfinance institutions in a move experts say will protect and consolidate the country’s banking sector.   ...

The business community in Cambodia has welcomed the recent Cabinet reshuffle, which many say will improve the way the government works and will also improve the economy. ...

The government’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) on Thursday announced it was launching an official investigation into allegations that deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha made unlawful land and apartment purchases for a mistress. ...

Up to 40 percent of the $100 million River Premium Development Company, a joint venture between local partners and Malaysian investors, has been completed and sold, said Houn Heng Eriya, the sales manager of the project in the city center of Ta Khmao. ...

Judge and prosecutors were called to a two-day workshop to address the sector’s pervasive ethics challenges, but legal experts said change could not occur until there were concrete rules, instead of vague moral guidelines. ...

The third round of negotiations between Win Shingtex (Cambodia) company and workers’ representatives under Ministry of Labor official supervision failed again yesterday, with workers planning to file a complaint to the Arbitration Council for help. ...

Cambodia’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) earned $1.9 billion in revenue last year from the tourism sector, and could increase this amount further by reducing imports, an industry spokesman said yesterday.   ...

An obscure Malaysian company has obtained approval from Cambodia’s Council of Ministers to develop hotels and casinos in Sihanoukville, with an online promotional video claiming the firm will transform the coastal city into the “Macau of Southeast Asia.”     ...

A new survey released by Cambodia’s Social Affairs Ministry on Thursday showed that the number of residential care institutions in the country’s five key provinces increased to 267 last year, up 92 percent from only 139 in the year before. ...

Cambodia is considering allowing visitors from Thailand directly access Preah Vihear temple, Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh said on Thursday. ...

The amount of water that will be released from a Chinese dam until 10 April could be too low to help alleviate drought-stricken South-East Asia. ...