Economy and commerce

Prime Minister Hun Sen helped inaugurate the fourth bridge built by the Chinese in Cambodia. The $33 million bridge will span the Tonle Bassac river at Takhmau City. In Phnom Penh, a fifth bridge, dubbed the Cambodian-Chinese Friendship bridge is about to begin construction. ...

Cambodia has approved the creation of a footwear association under the umbrella of the Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia. 37 of the country’s 38 footwear factories agreed to the creation of a representative body for their industry. The footwear industry is said to have exported ...

Gold in Mondolkiri is at the center of a dispute between OZ Minerals and Shin Ha Mining Co Ltd after an alleged breach in contract. OZ Minerals bought out Shin Ha Mining Co Ltd from their joint venture without paying the true value of the ...

Japanese fund manager Asset Design plans to launch a Cambodian equities fund in late 2011. The fund would target large returns after the Kingdom opened its stock exchange this month, an Asset Design executive said yesterday. Asset Design expected the scale of the fund to ...

Vietnam’s Cai Mep port has contributed to a growth in shipments from the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port this year, Cambodian officials say. The Vietnamese deep-water port, near Ho Chi Minh  City, allows cargo to be transferred to ships travelling to more distant markets such as ...

Sixty community representatives from Preah Vihear and Kampong Thom provinces expressed concern yesterday over a string of recent economic land concessions granted within the bounds of the Boeung Per Wildlife Sanctuary. At a press conference held in Preah Vihear’s Rovieng district yesterday, they claimed the ...

Sokimex Group is set to break ground on six high-rise condominium buildings in Phnom Penh. Originally suspended in 2010 by Sok Kong because of low demand, the project has now been green lit. Phnom Penh property prices fallen 50 percent since 2008. ...

Six additional economic land concessions have been granted, totaling 46,000 hectares in protected areas. As a means to spur agribusiness companies the concessions include two in Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary in Kompong Speu province. Prime Minister Hun Sen signed in the grants on June 3 ...

Inflation rose to 6.5 percent in May when compared to the same time last year, marking a 14 month high. Consumer prices are also shown to have risen by 1.4 percent with meat, fish and vegetables as the main culprit as they increased as well. ...

Cambodia is set for a 30 per cent increase in garment exports this year, according to Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) president Van Sou Ieng. The sector was heavily dependent on foreign buyers, which were increasing their orders  as the global economy recovered, he ...

The global economic recovery this year continues to benefit Cambodian banks, although insiders said yesterday macro-economic press-ures were still weighing on the industry. Some of Cambodia’s biggest banks had enjoyed a strong 2011 thanks to a rebound in lending, deposits and profits, officials said. Economists, ...

The former country partner and staff of Grant Thornton Law and Associates in Cambodia have joined the accountancy and advisory firm BDO Malaysia effective July 1, according to a statement. As a result, BDO Cambodia’s team will now comprise over 30 staff and partners, a ...

Overloaded vehicles are contributing to a more rapid than anticipated deterioration of Cambodia’s road network, experts said yesterday. “The cost of overloading causes problems to everyone involved, but it is easy to control damage if we have good system in place. This is the only ...

Compensation for Phnom Penh villagers set to be displaced by railway reconstruction may be insufficient due to a “systematic downgrade” of the value of their homes by the government, a report released yesterday said. The report, issued by the NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, said the ...

The documents concern a court case brought by representatives of Hong Kong-based Enviro Group Holdings Limited who are suing John Davies and Lim Lian Tho – both former company directors of Phnom Penh based subsidiary Enviro Corporation (Cambodia) Ltd – and Mark McCluskey, a lawyer ...

The Asian Development Bank announced yesterday that the organizations behind the rehabilitation of Cambodia’s railways, including the government and the Australian development agency, have jointly pledged to address the complaints of people facing eviction from dwellings across the rail lines. The Australian government provided ...

Internet service provider Online is aiming to compete in the voice call market with its latest product, TalkMobile, a Skype-like application for handsets. Customers buy US$2 a month in credit to use the internet-based TalkMobile, and then pay prices ranging from about 6 cents a ...

Commercial banks are providing more loans for vehicle purchases, leading to a jump in car sales this year, according to dealers. While the improved domestic economy and effects of the March disasters in Japan on its competitors had improved sales figures of Great Wall vehicles, ...

ANZ Royal Bank posted an $8.1 million profit for 2010 according to the bank’s annual report. A profit of $24.3 million was reported by Acleda. Trade and national payments were shows to have generated substantial earnings for the bank according to the report. ...

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported yesterday that Cambodian officials have agreed to assist in the investigation of a scandal ridden South Korean savings bank with investments in the Kingdom. A South Korean investigation has revealed that bank executives and shareholders used deposits to ...

Thailand’s reported move to ban exports of live pigs highlights the need to develop a larger Cambodian pig industry,  insiders say. The Bangkok Post reported yesterday that Thailand’s Acting Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai had banned the exports in order to bring down its own prices, ...

Revenues per user in Cambodia’s mobile phone sector will drop sharply over the next five years, according to global research and consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan. The company said the average revenue per user – ARPU, a key metric for the industry – would fall ...

An enormous sand dredging operation in Koh Kong province has escalated, a resort owner said yesterday, with boat crews allegedly trespassing onto private land and digging sand within hundreds of metres of the complex. Janet Newman, the owner of the Rainbow Lodge eco-tourism resort, said ...

The president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions said yesterday that he would defy a municipal order banning employees from June Textile Factory from marching to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house to seek resolution in a labour dispute. According to a report from a City ...