News
Four Men Arrested for Illegal Clearing of National Forest
Police in Kompong Chhnang Province arrested four men and confiscated two bulldozers Tuesday for illegally clearing more than 10 hectares of national forest in the Toek Phos district, officials said yesterday. District Police Chief Kim Sareth said that police apprehended the four laborers in Chorng ...
Businesses Feel Strain of High Gas Prices
The price of gasoline rose to a 5800 riel ($1.44) per liter Monday, a 14 percent rise since the beginning of the year. Economists and businesses yesterday said the high prices are having a negative impact on the economy, as everything from transportation companies to ...
Ease Flood Victims' Debts, Hun Sen Tells MFIs
Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on microfinance institutions to reduce interest rates and expand repayment periods for the tens of thousands of families affected by last year’s devastating floods. Addressing microfinance institutions (MFIs) on Tuesday during a conference at the Ministry of Rural Development, ...
Villagers take hostages
The clearing of land for a Ratanakkiri rubber plantation had been frozen after more than 300 Tumpoun ethnic minority villagers captured a quartet of company security guards and another staffer, tied them up and held them hostage on Tuesday, company officials said yesterday. Jing Zhong Ri ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022354691/National-news/villagers-take-hostages.html
Puma officials go to Cambodia after factory shooting
German sportwear maker Puma sent officials to investigate working conditions in Cambodia after a local woman working for one of its suppliers was shot during a labour protest on Monday. The woman, who was employed by Kaoway Sports, was shot during a protest by employees of ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/puma-cambodia-idUSL5E8DN8S820120223
Still No Arrest in Shooting of Special Economic Zone Workers
A day after Interior Minister Sar Kheng revealed that authorities had identified a suspect in the shooting of three female factory workers at a special economic zone (SEZ) in Svay Rieng province, officials yesterday refused to reveal the identity of the gunman, who had still ...
Kingdom must diversify its economy, ADB says [Interview]
“I think when you have an economy that depends on the agricultural sector, there is a need to ensure that we strengthen the linkages between rural and urban areas. Our work also focuses on promoting education so that we can provide better employment opportunities for ...
ADB provides Cambodia $69 mil. to improve provincial roads
The Asian Development Bank has provided $69 million for Cambodia to make major upgrades of provincial roads in some of the country’s poorest provinces, according to an ADB statement Wednesday. The Provincial Roads Improvement Project, financed by a $52 million loan from ADB Special Funds and ...
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20120223p2g00m0bu134000c.html
Airline ups stake in fuel fight
The dispute that grounded a Tonlesap Airlines plane on Tuesday and stranded more than 200 passengers in Siem Reap and Taipei, Taiwain, continued yesterday, as plane owner Far Eastern Transport upped the sum it claimed Tonlesap owed for fuel. Far Eastern grounded a plane it had ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022354679/Business/airline-ups-stake-in-fuel-fight.html
Fear, rumours in wake of shooting
Speculation is bubbling in Bavet town over the identity of the man who shot three people protesting outside a shoe factory on Monday, with eyewitnesses, police and villagers suggesting blame lies with town officials. The shooting, which took place outside the Kaoway Sports Ltd factory ...
Worming a Way Into the Agriculture Sector
For 53-year-old farmer Ros Mao, it’s not just the early bird that catches the worm. The Takeo province farmer has raised millions of earthworms for eight years in Tram Trak district, selling the slimy red creatures and using the manure they create to grow his ...
Child labor drains Kingdom
Child labour was draining the Kingdom’s brainpower and adversely affecting 750,000 of its children, officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said yesterday. Speaking at a three-day conference on child agricultural labour, Kaing Khim, deputy director-general of fisheries administration at the MAFF, said ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022354686/National-news/child-labour-drains-kingdom.html
Duty calls: Strikers told they must go back to work
The Arbitration Council yesterday ordered protesting workers in Kampong Cham province to return to their factory today, as a union official reported that their numbers had swelled to nearly 3,000 outside the provincial hall in their third demonstration this week over an ongoing labour dispute. Free ...
Shootings May Impact Security Council Bid, Minister Says
Monday’s shooting of protesting factory workers by security guards at a Svay Rieng special economic zone could damage Cambodia’s international reputation and potentially impact the country’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said yesterday. Speaking at the opening ...
CSX takes another step toward listing companies
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia has approved in principle the listing of Phnom Penh Water Supply on the Cambodian Securities Exchange, according to the SECC’s website. The announcement fell a step short from listing approval for PPWS, with the SECC requiring additional paperwork, including ...
Hard investment: Chinese firm eyes Kingdom investment
A Chinese company is aiming to invest in cement production in Cambodia, according to officials at the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy (MIME). The China Triumph International Engineering Company (CTIEC) would become one of Cambodia’s biggest cement producers and would invest in the Kingdom, said ...
Chea Mony Resigns from Union Confederation Role
Free Trade Union (FTU) President Chea Mony said yesterday that he has split from longtime colleague Rong Chhun by stepping down from his position in the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU). Mr. Mony said he had resigned on Friday from his position as Secretary-General of the ...
Rubber investments in Kingdom jump 255%
Investment in Cambodian rubber plantations increased by 255 per cent in 2011 on rising global demand for the commodity. There were 20 new projects worth US$675 million in the Kingdom last year, according to data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia. There were nine ...
Fuel feud leaves tourists stranded at Angkor Wat
More than 200 Taiwanese tourists traveling to and from Angkor Wat in Cambodia were delayed yesterday after Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) unexpectedly suspended its flights to the world heritage site. The Taiwanese airline, which resumed services in April last year, leased one of its aircraft ...
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/02/22/2003526086
Sciaroni in US to Attract American Investment
Brett Sciaroni, the storied founder of Sciaroni and Associates in Phnom Penh, is in Washington for a two-day State Department business conference where he will urge US companies to invest in Cambodia, the firm said in a statement. Mr. Sciaroni will be representing Cambodia as president ...
Cambodia Faces Tests With 2012 Asean Chairmanship
For the second time in the history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Cambodia has taken over the chairmanship of the 10-nation bloc. The country first chaired Asean in 2002–03, when it had been a member for only three years. Yet the world and the ...
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/cambodia-faces-tests-with-2012-asean-chairmanship/499533
Shootings May Impact Security Council Bid, Minister Says
Monday’s shooting of protesting factory workers by security guards at a Svay Rieng special economic zone could damage Cambodia’s international reputation and potentially impact the country’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said yesterday Speaking at the opening ...
Flood-affected poor ‘drowning in debt’
The curse of Cambodia’s 2011 floods continues for those most affected, as they fall deeper into debt from unsustainable cyclical debt practices, a consortium of international NGOs said yesterday. The consortium of Care, Oxfam, Pact and Catholic Relief Services released the results of their January survey ...
Cambodia, China willing to further enhance cooperation in all fields: officials
Cambodia and China are willing to further promote bilateral cooperation in all fields in the framework of ASEAN-China relations, officials said Monday. The commitment was made during the official visit of Ma Mingqiang, secretary general of ASEAN-China Center, to Cambodia. In a meeting with Cambodia’s Minister ...