The Phnom Penh Post
Investment treaty with US discussed
The United States and Cambodia have agreed to begin discussions on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in a bid to spur trade and investment between the two countries, officials said on Friday following the end of the ASEAN-US Business Summit in Siem Reap. “A bilateral investment ...
Two Officials Sacked over land 'graft'
Kampong Chhnang authorities had sacked the Teuk Phos district governor and police chief after subordinate officers accused them of conspiring to sell almost 300 hectares of state-owned forest land to a private company, provincial officials said yesterday. According to a Kampong Chhnang official who declined to ...
'Verbal Abuse' surfaces at Ocean
An investigation by garment factory monitor Better Factories Cambodia into the alleged sexual harassment of four female employees at Ocean Garment uncovered extensive verbal abuse, according to BFC technical adviser Jill Tucker. A BFC team visited the Dangkor district site on August 24 after a group ...
Fainting workers blame fumes
Almost 150 garment factory workers from two Phnom Penh factories fainted late last week after inhaling toxic fumes used to treat clothes, workers and union leaders said yesterday. The mass faintings came as the Clean Clothes Campaign and Community Legal Education Center released an evaluation report ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012090358448/National-news/fainting-workers-blame-fumes.html
Report Urges Better Factories to do more
Better Factories Cambodia must name and shame garment factories that abuse the labour law if it is to transform Cambodia into an ethical sourcing option, a report on the International Labor Organization initiative says. Better Factories should make monitoring reports public, according to the 10 Years ...
Cambodian Sweet Treat Showcase
At least 100 varieties of cakes and desserts were displayed at the riverside park in front of Wat Ounalom, drawing in hundreds of locals and tourists eager to sample the local delicacies. The three day event, which concluded on Saturday, was organised by Phnom Penh City ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012090358433/Lifestyle/cambodian-sweet-treat-showcase.html
Youths seek to create jobs
With different talents but similar passions, Small World is a small enterprise that brings talented young Cambodians together to learn, work and network in the new world of business. Small World is a collaborative workplace created to ensure that young people passionate about business have access ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012083158396/Business/youths-seek-to-create-jobs.html
Study of Angkor impact to be done
Apsara Authority on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three Japanese companies to conduct a feasibility study to solve various environmental problems in the Angkor area. The MoU was signed between Bun Narith, director general of Apsara Authority, Shoichi Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012083158397/Business/study-of-angkor-impact-to-be-done.html
Canadians urged to invest in Cambodia
Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast yesterday said he would urge Canadians to invest in Cambodia as opportunies become more viable to potential foreign direct investment from countries that have thus far played a small role in the Kingdom. Fast attended a ceremony recognising the first ...
US firms suggest ASEAN improve financial services
Although US businesses across ASEAN have expressed a positive investment outlook towards Cambodia and the other members of the regional group, they are unsure of how to take advantage of the free-trade agreement with China, insiders said at the first-ever ASEAN-US Business Summit, which kicked ...
Trafficking convictions upheld
Five brokers saw their convictions upheld yesterday at Phnom Penh’s Court of Appeal for trafficking 20 Cambodian nationals into Thailand, but legal experts say such convictions for trafficking in Cambodia are still far too rare. While Judge Chan Madyna upheld the men’s 2010 convictions, he shaved ...
Market Shop Owners Try to Prevent Eviction
Vendors in Phnom Penh’s Ngin An market are protesting a government-backed bid by the market’s new owner to push them out by tomorrow. More than 40 representatives of 223 vendors waved a banner at the market yesterday to protest a letter from Russey Keo District Hall ...
Lower Sesan 2's Power not worth a dam: NGO
While the humanitarian objections to Mondulkiri’s proposed Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam project are well documented, a report from conservation NGO International Rivers yesterday highlighted an objection of another sort: the Lower Sesan wouldn’t be a very good location for a dam in the first ...
Borei Keila protester summonsed to court
A Borei Keila protester received a summons yesterday to come to Phnom Penh Municipal Court to address a complaint of “incitement to commit a crime” filed by Suy Sophan, director of the Phanimex company, which evicted the Borei Keila families in January. Borei Keila resident Tim ...
Ocean Garment strike to end, workers return
More than 50 police officers exchanged heated words with Ocean Garment strikers yesterday afternoon, marching for over an hour to Phnom Penh Municipal Court in support of five worker representatives suspended by the company. Mid-protest, however, the group of more than 2,500 – who have been ...
Firm's 'hostage' awaits justice
Heng Hak wore a blank expression yesterday, her hair recently dyed a shade of blonde. Though her appearance suggested composure, a lift of her pant leg revealed the manifestation of the trauma she tried to escape last year. In March 2011, Hak jumped from the third ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012083158412/National-news/firms-hostageawaits-justice.html
Angkor Restorers ink first bargaining pact
Under the shade of Angkor’s canopies and twisted Banyan trees, more than 100 restoration workers watched yesterday afternoon as union delegates signed their first collective bargaining agreement, in what union advocates say should set a precedent for Cambodia’s construction industry. Over the past two years, the ...
Claire Knox and Mom Kunthear, P. 5
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012083158404/National-news/angkor-restorers-ink-first-bargaining-pact.html
Show the licenses: SRP
An opposition lawmaker is calling for the government to publicise its licensing of Cambodian mines, claiming that parliament has never received formal documentation of licensed mining companies. In a letter to Minister of Industry Mines & Energy Suy Sem last week, Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012083158408/National-news/show-the-licences-srp.html
Relief, tales of abuse as fishermen return
In a scene that has become all too familiar over the past year, a group of five fishermen who had endured more than a year in forced labour on a Thai fishing vessel returned to an emotional reunion with their families in Phnom Penh last ...
Disaster management officials prep for floods
The National Committee for Disaster Management was preparing to ensure end-of-season floods did not compound the woes caused by months of drought, officials said yesterday. To minimise the effects of flooding, the NCDM had sent a request to the Council of Ministers for 16,000 tonnes of food and ...
Prasac borrows $1.5m from German company
Assets of Cambodian Microfinance Institution Prasac reached US$210 million with the combination of newly borrowed $15 million from Germany’s Deg-Deutsche Investitions Und Entwicklungsellschaft Mbh (DEG), officials said during the signing ceremony. The seven-year agreement at an annual interest rate of 5.5 per cent would help Prasac ...
Incitement Charge for Chhun
Global brands Levi’s and Gap had continued slashing orders at the Tai Yang and Camwell factories in Kandal province, costing the company that owns them about US$6 million, its manager claimed yesterday. Tai Yang Enterprises manager Wu Minghuor said the brands had reduced their orders from ...
'Suspicious suspect' in Bavet shooting named
Police in Svay Rieng province said yesterday a Bavet town police officer had been under court-ordered supervision since last week on suspicion of being involved in the February shooting at a garment factory protest in the Special Economic Zone there. Provincial police chief Prach Rim said ...
Cambodia to boost China rice exports
Cambodia expects to export around 300,000 tonnes of milled rice to China per year, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said during the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in Siem Reap. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming on Tuesday night, ...