The Phnom Penh Post

Wah Sun Handbags International Holding unveiled plans yesterday to expand its Cambodia operations, citing the country’s low labour costs as the primary reason for the move. In a filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the handbag manufacturer announced plans to raise up to $18 ...

A little-known Chinese company is investing $200 million in a massive timber plantation in Stung Treng that the government has equated to “replanting the forest”, despite concerns among environmental protection groups that existing forest will be destroyed in favour of non-native commercial species. ...

The leaders of Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, along with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, announced the adoption of a five-year plan for cooperation on matters relating to the Mekong River, though experts and observers yesterday questioned who would benefit from China’s increasing involvement in ...

More than a dozen Chinese companies inked deals to purchase about $526 million worth of agricultural products from Cambodian firms on Monday. The 34 agreements between 14 Chinese firms and 18 Cambodian firms were announced by the two country’s commerce ministries at a press conference ...

A Virgin Atlantic representative yesterday said that the British airline is no longer purchasing carbon credits from an area of Oddar Meanchey province set aside for a UN REDD+ program after a report describing widespread problems. ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed a $180 million package of loans and grants to Cambodia that are meant to improve the country’s roads, water supply and small-scale farms. One $70 million loan will go towards improving 147-kilometres’ worth of flood-prone stretches of National Road ...

A local Poipet union has called off a protest against what they characterised as overly expensive border passes used by day labourers entering Thailand after provincial officials introduced a new, cheaper permit. ...

The rate of microfinance loans with overdue payments nearly doubled last year according to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), though it remained within a normal range and was coupled with a rise in deposits. ...

A REDD Programme representative yesterday said it would be concerning if recent claims of the military systematically clearing protected forest in Oddar Meanchey province covered under the scheme proved true – though a third-party company has dismissed the claims as outdated. ...

An ethnic Phnong community in Kratie province’s Snuol district has accused local officials and soldiers of grabbing over 1,000 hectares of community forest and threatening the lives of local villagers for years, with the rights group Adhoc yesterday saying they would take the case to ...

A young male elephant was found dead after getting stuck in a hole on Monday afternoon in Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, according to officials. ...

The Ministry of Education plans to incorporate an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 community-based kindergartens – currently run by commune councils with support from NGOs – into the state public school system to ensure their sustainability, according to a new sub-decree. ...

Ratankkiri provincial authorities are trying to resolve a border dispute with Vietnam, urging the Vietnamese to reopen four recently blocked border crossings, according to National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith. The conflict originated when Cambodia rejected Vietnam’s proposal to build four new, formal border checkpoints, only accepting ...

Some 900 plaintiffs have joined a class action suit against investment company Empire Big Capital, which is estimated to have defrauded tens of thousands of Cambodians out of up to $400 million, with more complainants expected to join the legal case in the coming weeks. ...

A task force to curb natural resources crimes has cracked down on an illegal mine in Kratie province and is proposing to fill it in after there were four deaths at the site last year. ...

Jailed ex-opposition figure Meach Sovannara has written a letter congratulating Prime Minister Hun Sen on his recent wedding anniversary in an apparent bid to secure a reduction in his 20-year prison term. ...

The New Year brought a new wave of evictions and development to more than 5 square kilometres on Preah Sihanouk province’s Ochheuteal Beach, though local authorities remain in the dark about what company is behind the development. ...

Three days ahead of the highly politicised January 7 holiday marking the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday slammed the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (Untac) for its alleged failure to bring peace to Cambodia in the 1990s, instead claiming his ...

The central bank injected $915 million worth of riel into the economy last year by buying up US dollars with the local currency, stabilising the exchange rate amid higher demand for riel, according to the bank’s latest report. ...

Garment workers at the Benoh Apparel factory in the capital’s Meanchey district returned to work this week after a two-month suspension to find the building abandoned, prompting a protest demanding compensation from the government. ...

A national network of people living with HIV, which has been key in helping coordinate anti-HIV services at the grassroots level, is now being excluded from a new Global Fund grant, raising “deep” concerns, according to NGOs and a leaked internal email sent to government ...

Official confiscated about 6 cubic metres of luxury timber in Preah Vihear’s Chey Sen district this week in two separate busts, also detaining eight for illegally transporting timber out of the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. ...

Kampot is due to have a new governor after just over a year and a half under current Governor Chan Chesda, according to a royal decree signed on Tuesday. The decree appoints Cheav Tay as the new governor, and indicates Chesda is to transfer to ...

Chinese Premier Le Keqiang – the No. 2 politician in the Chinese government – will visit Phnom Penh for an official visit next week. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry confirmed the leader will attend the second Mekong Lancang Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting next Wednesday and ...