The Phnom Penh Post
Workers face contract woes
The use of short-term contracts by employers in the Kingdom’s garment industry is threatening workers’ rights and could lead to decreased productivity in the sector, researchers said at a meeting yesterday. Following the release of a report by Yale Law School last week based on ...
Protected forest ‘is finished’
In the latest government backed appropriation of protected land, nearly 20,000 hectares of the Boeung Per wildlife sanctuary have been reclassified as state private land for agro-industrial development. Two sub-decrees, obtained by The Post this week and initialed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on July ...
Bank of India looks ahead
The Bank of India will move to a larger location on Norodom Boulevard, aiming to attract increased business from both Cambodian and Indian clients, said Chief Manager Sripada Rao. The Mumbai, India-based bank first opened in the Kingdom in 2009 headquartered on the capital’s Monivong ...
Petroleum imports surge on economic growth
A resurgent economy and efforts to crack down on smuggling have led to a large increase in petroleum imports, according to experts. Cambodia has imported 756,139 tonnes worth US$692 million in the first half of the year, from 440,607 tonnes worth $296 million in the ...
Tycoon’s dredging tests locals’ patience
Ruling party senator Ly Yong Phat has defied an order endorsed by the Prime Minster to halt his controversial sand dredging activities on the Tatai river in Koh Kong, prompting authorities to request intervention, documents obtained by The Post reveal. The dredging operation on the ...
World Bank fund halt irks officials
THE government expressed disappointment yesterday with the World Bank’s announcement that it had halted new country loans due to the ongoing land dispute at Boeung Kak lake in Phnom Penh and vowed to raise the issue with the bank’s executive board. “We are very dissatisfied ...
Kith Meng re-elected
PROMINENT businessman Kith Meng was re-elected unopposed yesterday as president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. Kith Meng, the only contender who declared his candidacy for the three-year mandate, received support from all 11 candidates eligible to stand. Kith Meng, who is also chairman and chief ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080950932/Business/kith-meng-re-elected.html
Villagers protest at governor’s home
Representatives of 168 families from Kampong Cham’s Memot district staged a protest at the provincial governor’s home yesterday, seeking an intervention on their behalf in an ongoing land dispute with Memot Rubber Plantation. ...
Farmers get permission to cultivate
Farmers who on Sunday said they had been shot at by Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) soldiers for trying to cultivate 390 hectares of disputed land in Battambang province’s Samlot district were granted permission yesterday to plant on some parts of the land, villagers and ...
Forest on the auction block
Almost 30,000 hectares of a wildlife sanctuary in Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces have been reclassified as state private land for agricultural development, drawing sharp criticism from rights groups. Four sub-decrees signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on July 22 reclassify land ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080950943/National-news/forest-on-the-auction-block.html
Fashion retail enters the online era
SOURSDEY Fashion occupies a small shopfront near the Russian Market. It looks similar to many of the small boutiques sprouting up across Phnom Penh, packed with the latest in fashion aimed at young, trendy consumers. But the shop’s business plan differs from that of many ...
Korea trade keeps on climbing
CAMBODIA’S trade with South Korea grew 38 percent in the first half of 2011 on the same period last year, according to Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KORTA) statistics. The growth is partly due to increasing numbers of South Korean importers seeking business in Cambodia, KOTRA’s ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080850915/Business/korea-trade-keeps-on-climbing.html
More workers faint at factory
About 50 factory workers fainted on Friday at the Zhen Tai Garment (Cambodia) Co Ltd factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the day after a group of workers fainted at the facility. On Thursday, roughly 30 workers fainted and about 2,000 fled the factory ...
Girl freed from T&P training centre
The Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies will consider kicking its most notorious member, T&P Co Ltd, out of the association if the company is found to have falsified documents to conceal the age of a 15-year-old girl rescued from its training centre last week. ACRA ...
Inflation fuels protest over petrol prices
More than 200 factory workers gathered at Freedom Park near Wat Phnom yesterday to urge the government to cut taxes on petrol, saying fuel prices were driving food prices beyond what they could afford. But the government is doing all it can to curb inflation ...
Region’s links crucial
Improved transportation links will assist further economic growth in the region, as Cambodia’s economy continues to improve, officials said yesterday. Ministers from Cambodia as well as China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar met yesterday at the 17th Greater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Conference held in Phnom ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080550888/Business/regions-links-crucial.html
Proposed changes to reserve requirement meets controversy
A proposed increase in the reserve requirement would decrease lending and slow Cambodia’s economic growth, according to some bankers and experts. The National Bank of Cambodia is set to hold a meeting later this month discussing a possible raise of the reserve requirement from 12 ...
Union makes poisoning claim
More than 70 employees continued to protest in front of a luxury resort in Siem Reap town yesterday, demanding that 18 workers be reinstated after they were allegedly dismissed for attempting to unionise. Chhey Phi, head of the Angkor Village Resort Workers Union, claimed yesterday ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080550873/National-news/union-makes-poisoning-claim.html
Firing pregnant staff triggers strike
More than 500 workers at a garment factory in suburban Phnom Penh went on strike yesterday over what they described as their employer’s history of disregarding labour laws, including firing pregnant employees. Taiwanese-owned Nan Kuang Garment (Cambodia) allegedly forces staff to work overtime, employs under-age ...
One week deadline for beer strike resolution
Following “tough discussions” with Phnom Penh’s deputy governor yesterday, Angkor Beer promoters agreed to suspend their protest for one week starting today. Ou Tep Phally, vice-president of the Cambodian Foods and Service Workers’ Federation, said five beer promoters and one union representative negotiated with officials. ...
More than 1,800 families seek help
About 60 people representing 1,850 families from seven villages in Battambang province’s Sampov Loun district yesterday petitioned Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Prime Minister Hun Sen for intervention in a land dispute. Villagers claim that district authorities leased 4,095 hectares of their land in Chrey ...
Boss blames panic on alarm
About 2,000 workers fled a garment factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and an estimated 30 workers fainted yesterday after sparks started flying from a generator and a fire alarm went off at 10:00am. Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, said the episode ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080550882/National-news/boss-blames-panic-on-alarm.html
Damning revelations
An environmental group has accused the Lao government of “unilaterally” pushing forward with construction on the controversial US$3.8 billion Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River, despite serious concerns about the project and an incomplete regional decision-making process. In a statement released yesterday, conservation group International ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080550883/National-news/damning-revelations.html
Property tax questions asked
Cambodia’s property tax is to come into effect next month, though experts say the levy is not widely understood and may be too early. The property tax will initially focus on the capital’s properties, comprising an annual payment calculated of 0.1 percent of the value ...