The Phnom Penh Post
Unionists cry foul over rejection
K-Cement workers who were told they could not form a company-wide union because their workplaces were “separate” entities have now had their application to register individual unions rejected by the Ministry of Labour, union leaders said yesterday. Sok Kin, vice president of the Building and Woodworkers ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020161139/National/unionists-cry-foul-over-rejection.html
Bangchak plans petrol stations in Cambodia
Bangchak Petroleum, a majority state-owned oil refiner and retailer in Thailand, said it wants to open five petrol stations in Cambodia, with the first station opening in 2014, the Bangkok Post reported last week. Tui Rutten, president of the Thai Business Council of Cambodia did not ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020161112/Business/bangchak-plans-petrol-stations-in-cambodia.html
Cambodia's fuel needs increased in 2012
Cambodia spent more than $1.6 billion importing fuel oil and petrol last year, a figure 14.3 per cent higher than for 2011, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday. The money spent on importing 1.6 million tonnes of petrol and fuel oil – 100,000 tonnes more than ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013161091/Business/cambodia-s-fuel-needs-increased-in-2012.html
Phnom Penh’s development not fair for all?
Despite the massive spike in development underway in Phnom Penh, a new report says that the public interest is becoming marginalised in favour of the political and business elite. The report, from NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), says that currently “commercial interests are driving the urban ...
South Korea leads Asia’s big three as Cambodia’s leading investor
South Korea replaced the UK as the largest investor in Cambodia last year, with about $287 million injected, 12.5 per cent of the total foreign direct investment, according to data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). This represents 33 per cent ...
Plans for 7-Eleven chain in Cambodia
Thailand’s biggest convenience store operator, CP All, plans to apply for licences to open 7-Eleven stores in countries including Cambodia by 2015, according to a Reuters news report yesterday. The other two countries are Myanmar and Laos, and the plan is part of CP All’s expansion ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013161087/Business/plans-for-7-eleven-chain-in-cambodia.html
Sen Sok Condo’s second project starts
After the success of its first project, the Shangri-La Garden City, Sen Sok Condo Company is beginning its second project along Road 595, located two kilometres north of the 7 Makara Sky Bridge. Construction on the second project, called Maldives City, has begun, and the company ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013061083/Real-Estate/sen-sok-condo-s-second-project-starts.html
Foreigners buying Phnom Penh condos
The number of foreigners who bought condos in Cambodia increased by between 30 and 40 per cent in 2012 compared with 2011, a recent study showed, while 997 condo units currently belong to foreigners. Nuon Rithy, general manager of the Bonna Realty Group, said that according ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013061082/Real-Estate/foreigners-buying-phnom-penh-condos.html
Land laws not properly implimented
Laws protecting ethnic minorities’ communal land rights are good, but their implementation has a long way to go, said participants in a forum of minorities from Mondulkiri and Kratie provinces yesterday. After July’s parliamentary elections, legislators should take the opportunity of a newly constituted government to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013061073/National/land-laws-not-properly-implimented.html
Hun Sen promotes price lists for public institutions
Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged public institutions to provide clear terms of reference for the services they provide, as part of an effort to attract investment in the Kingdom. Institutions that did not implement this policy would be punished under the law, he said. ...
GMAC members double
The number of companies registering to become members of the Garment Manufacturing Association in Cambodia (GMAC) doubled last year, with more investment in value-added products. GMAC said the number of new members reached 120 last year, compared with 60 newcomers in 2011. “Labour-intensive industries in China ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013061067/Business/gmac-members-double.html
Mfone $65 million in debt
Failed Cambodian telco Mfone owes at least $65 million to multiple creditors that sources say include the government. A court injunction to freeze Mfone‘s assets, obtained by the Post yesterday, shows Mfone owes Chinese telco provider Huawei Technologies more than $65 million. Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013013061068/Business/mfone-65-million-in-debt.html
E-card holders concerned about SIM card exchange
Mfone e-card holders are concerned that the cards can no longer be used after the change from Mfone’s SIM card to Cellcard’s SIM and, along with officials, are unsure of a solution. Wholesalers and retailers have expressed concern that they will lose money when the scratch ...
Huge rosewood haul seized in Preah Vihear province
Senior members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) yesterday seized about a tonne of luxury rosewood near the house of a two-star general in the Choam Ksan district of Preah Vihear province after a night hunting for illegal smuggling. General Ngeth Chanthon, deputy general of ...
MoU to improve tech skills
A Thailand-based technical university yesterday signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with technical training institutes in Cambodia to improve human resources in the technical sector. The MoUs were signed between the Thai Rajamangala University of Technology and the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia and the National ...
Fish exports performed swimmingly in 2012
Exports of Cambodian fish and shellfish products reached 1,618 tonnes last year, worth $3.5 million, a 16 per cent increase from 1,391 tonnes in 2011, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce. “A major share of the total exports last year was from saltwater fish ...
Officials Draft Sub-Decree to Develop the Silk Sector
Officials at the Ministry of Commerce met on Friday to draft a sub-decree for the promotion and development of the Cambodian silk sector, but industry experts say the draft does not do enough for the local products used in the production of silk. The main ...
Imported Delays Cap Pharma Growth
Although the Ministry of Heath estimates that 40 to 50 percent of Cambodians use traditional medicine, the Kingdoms Pharmaceutical industry is growing rapidly. In 2012, according to the latest forecast from Business Monitor International (BMI) people in Cambodia spent $263 million on pharmaceuticals, compared with $217 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012861016/Business/import-delays-cap-pharma-growth.html
Stonewalling at Angkor complex’s temple
THIRTY workers involved in the restoration of the Angkor complex’s Ta Prohm temple were barred by their manager from entering the work site yesterday because of their unionism, labour representatives said. The stand-off followed the manager’s announcement that on February 1, he would dismiss the 30 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012560975/National/stonewalling-at-temple.html
Corn prices to rise with new Thai policy
Cambodian officials in provinces bordering Thailand said the price of Cambodian corn would increase as a result of a reduced supply and a new Thai government policy of importing more corn for animal processing. The Bangkok Post reported on Tuesday that the Thai cabinet approved the ...
Hundreds of strikers block road in Phnom Penh
More than 700 workers from the International Royal Fashion garment factory, in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, blocked the Veng Sreng road yesterday for about four hours to show their dissatisfaction with their employer’s failure to respond to their demands. An International Royal Fashion official, ...
Opportunities for Cambodian growth
China’s transition from export-led to domestic-led growth, combined with the rising costs of production, could provide opportunities for Cambodian growth and diversity, analysts say. Faisal Ahmed, the IMF representative for Cambodia, said the Kingdom was already experiencing an increase in trade activity as a result of ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012560983/Business/opportunities-for-cambodian-growth.html
Industry Handicraft Fair to feature Cambodian-made goods
Organisers expect the Industry Handicraft Fair 2013, with the theme “Excellence of Cambodia Goods and Services”, to attract about 200,000 people. The fair, to be held at the Koh Pich Exhibition Center over three days at the end of March, will have 460 booths exhibiting 100 per ...
LED lights’ lure of lower electricity bills
The locally based Global Media Group is bringing the latest LED lighting technology to the Cambodian market in an effort to reduce people’s electricity bills. GMG assistant chief executive Bun Sim said the company would use all its know-how, as well as experts from South Korea, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012460969/Business/led-lights-lure-of-lower-electricity-bills.html