News
Revenues from trade inspection climbing
Camcontrol Directorate General revenue from goods inspections during the first half of the year increased by more than 32 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Ministry of Commerce data. Camcontrol, or the Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate General, which regulates ...
Sickles brought to protest
Armed villagers from Kratie province’s Snoul district protested yesterday against district officials and a Vietnamese company they believe wants to cheat them out of their farmland. The rights to 300 hectares of land around Sre Cha commune’s Meanchey village have been highly disputed since 2008, when ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011092251800/National-news/sickles-brought-to-protest.html
World Bank highlights wage gains
The wages and working conditions of garment factory workers in Cambodia are at or above the national average, a report from the World Bank has found The minimum wage for garment workers in Cambodia rose to US$61 for regular workers in June 2010 and in March ...
Fainting factory goes on sick-leave strike
More than 100 workers at a garment factory hit by a mass fainting incident in late July went on strike yesterday to demand the dismissal of a supervisor they accused of denying them the right to take sick leave. The strike at Hung Wah (Cambodia) Garment ...
500 hectares of sanctuary granted to rubber company
Five hundred hectares of Mondolkiri land inside a protected wildlife sanctuary have been granted to a rubber company, sparking concerns among indigenous minorities who rely on the forest. According to a sub-decree dated August 31 and signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the government approved an ...
Evictees urge ministry to take action
Eight families whose homes were demolished at Boeng Kak lake last week have called on the Ministry of Interior to take action against the private construction firm – Shukaku Inc, owned by ruling party senator Lao Meng Khin – and district officials who ordered the ...
IMF says GDP will grow to 6.7 percent this year
The International Monetary Fund yesterday estimated that economic growth in Cambodia would reach 6.7 percent this year, though it warned that a slowdown in the US and Europe could lead to a dip in the economy. In its world economic outlook, the IMF also predicted that ...
Bank unaffected by partner's suspension
The senior manager of Tomato Specialized Bank yesterday said the bank would continue to operate in Cambodia despite a decision by South Korea’s financial regulator to suspend one of its partners. Korea’s Financial Services Commission on Sunday announced that seven banks, including the Tomato Savings Bank, ...
Chinese bank to enter country's banking fold
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) will enter Cambodia’s banking sector in November to become the country’s 30th commercial bank to date, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. The report said that ICBC president Yang Kaisheng had met with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday ...
Luxury cruises take to the Tonle Sap, Mekong
Gliding through the water almost soundlessly, the MS AmaLotus docked for only its second time in Phnom Penh last week At 92 meters in length and capable of holding 124 passengers, the AmaLotus is the latest cruise ship to start transporting tourists between Siem Reap and ...
Officials mum on 'advocacy' NGO missive
Top government officials yesterday either declined to comment or said they had no knowledge of a letter from Finance Minister Keat Chhon to Prime Minister Hun Sen proposing to bar all foreign NGOs from “advocacy” work in the country, as well as stopping foreigners from ...
SMEs call for better loan rates
The Kingdom’s small and medium enterprises have called on commercial banks and micro-finance institutions to lower interest rates on loans, as insiders have said they hamper SMEs’ potential for growth. Many Cambodian SMEs are concerned that the high interest rates offered by banks reduce productivity, according ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011092151765/Business/smes-call-for-better-loan-rates.html
Payout for swept-away workers
The company constructing a dam in Koh Kong province, where seven workers were swept away in floodwaters earlier this month, has paid US$1,000 to the families of each of the men for funeral expenses, but is denying responsibility for the incident, an official said yesterday. Sok ...
PM talks gas and oil with Thai assembly head
Prime Minister Hun Sen held talks with President of the Thai National Assembly Somsak Kiatsuranot in the capital yesterday, paving the way for the extraction of contested oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand Yesterday’s talks between Hun Sen and Somsak focused on restoring ...
Outlook on Campu 'negative'
Moody’s Investment Services yesterday announced a change in outlook for Cambodian Public Bank to “negative” from “stable”, citing increasing risks in the Kingdom’s banking system and exposure to slow-downs in Western markets. While CamPu Bank country head Phan Ying Tong said yesterday the company’s financial position ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011092151766/Business/outlook-on-campu-negative.html
SBI, Royal to create $50m investment fund
Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc announced yesterday that it would launch a $50 million investment fund with The Royal Group to invest in local companies in a wide range of industries. In a statement, SBI Holdings also said that its securities company in Cambodia, SBI ...
Officials meet to discuss risks from natural disasters
Amid forecasts that provinces around the Mekong River could see further flooding, government officials, donors and NGO workers met yesterday to discuss the risks posed by natural disasters and climate change. Rafael Dochao Moreno, charge d’affaires of the European Union Delegation, warned that Cambodia is already ...
Rights group urges halt to Boeng Kak evictions
Amnesty International has called on the government to halt forced evictions at Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak lake, and urged the authorities to punish the police officials responsible for the beating of an opposition Sam Rainsy Party member and Boeng Kak residents during a protest at ...
Letter reveals minister's ire with NGOs
Prime Minister Hun Sen received a proposal from Finance Minister Keat Chhon in June seeking to bar “foreign NGOs” from advocacy work in Cambodia, as well as preventing foreigners from working with local advocacy groups because of activism around the rehabilitation of the nation’s railway, ...
Maid recruits routinely deceived, report finds
Job recruitment agencies that send workers overseas often deceive young women through misleading job advertisements by using brokers that have “a position of authority” within the community, according to a new report by the Asia Foundation. According to the report, agencies also inflate migration costs that ...
Brighton grows in Mondulkiri
Mining concession buy-outs will make Brighton Mining Limited one of the Kingdom’s largest miners by concession size in Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province, according to a company statement released yesterday. Brighton, an ASX-listed company, has completed negotiations with Summer Gold Investment Pty Limited for mining concessions in Mondulkiri ...
Cambodia, Vietnam talk trade
Cambodia and Vietnam yesterday pledged to strengthen cooperation on a range of issues involving trade and investment, in order to boost increasing trade between the neighbouring countries. Bilateral trade between the nations is currently in its most significant period, with trans-border business continuing to grow, Cambodia ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011092051739/Business/cambodia-vietnam-talk-trade.html
Rare tiger prey at risk from land concessions
Surveys conducted by the World Wildlife Foundation have revealed that the world’s largest population of banteng, an endangered species of cattle that once thrived in the Kingdom, remains at risk due to economic land concessions and poaching inside protected areas The number of banteng in Cambodia ...
Shanghai firm leads the way
Shanghai Construction Group has announced it will complete US$700 million in projects in Cambodia over the next five years, highlighting China’s dominant and still-growing presence in the Kingdom. The company presently oversees nine bridge and road construction projects in the Kingdom, according to government relations officer ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011092051749/Business/shanghai-firm-lead-the-way.html