Khmer Times

Cambodia fared dismally in the 2014 budget transparency index compiled by the US-based International Budget Partnership, scoring only eight out of 100 and coming in near the bottom of the 102 countries surveyed, at 94. ...

The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) and the Association for SMEs of Cambodia will jointly hold the fifth Cambodia Rice Forum to discuss the future of the country’s rice industry with major stakeholders. ...

A US government finance institution plans to inject more capital into Cambodia’s businesses, forecasting rapid growth in small business and microfinance institutions around the country. The development finance institution Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is looking to invest in Cambodia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) ...

More than 6,400 residents of Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia have signed and thumb-printed a statement on the Don Sahong Dam project, airing concerns ranging from the river’s diminishing fish stocks to the lack of transparency of the Mekong River Commission. The statement, presented last week ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the government will move forward in adopting the Trade Union Law despite the absence of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party. ...

Cambodia has issued a pamphlet to local authorities asking them to ban the practice of renting land to people from neighboring countries. From governors to district chiefs, officials were told to focus especially on Cambodians renting their land along the border to Vietnamese farmers. ...

One of the country’s fastest-growing developers, Orkidé Villa, is making a move for a share of the premium condominium market with a $350 million condo and mall project that will cover a 36-hectare area of Sen Sok district adjacent Street 2004, it announced this ...

A new law protecting investment from Russia and Belarus will help Cambodia diversify its export markets as well as encourage more investments from Russia and Eastern Europe, Senate spokesman Mam Bun Neang said yesterday. ...

The move toward modernity and development is often represented in numbers: growth in GDP, wellness indicators and many other kinds of statistics. ...

As Cambodia has the highest rate of deforestation among developing countries. Experts say that the country needs a more sustainable development plan to protect its ecosystem. ...

Now that the roads to Mondulkiri are better and driving to the province is much cheaper, provincial officials have found a new use for the dilapidated airport. ...

Fleeing strict new laws at home, surrogacy companies are moving their “wombs for rent” services from Thailand to Cambodia, causing some analysts to raise concerns that would-be parents could be swindled by the little-regulated industry. ...

A hand-painted sign nailed to a tree at the entrance of Sre Ko village along the southern banks of the Se San River in Stung Treng province greets visitors with a disturbing message – one made even more alarming by the seemingly tranquil environment and ...

As the harvest of wet-season rice ends this month, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture says the yield will fall slightly below the target but this will not affect exports.  ...

Entertainment Gaming Asia, a Nasdaq-listed company that supplies electronic gaming machines, posted a an 88 percent year-on-year rise in its third-quarter profit, citing higher sales in Cambodia as a major driver of its growth, according its filing to the Nasdaq on Monday in New York.  ...

Kampong Speu provincial deputy governor Vey Samnang is scratching his head over a dispute between a company that operates a cashew plantation, Ouk Khun, in his province and villagers who say it grabbed their land and then installed electricity cables to electrocute them.  ...

She had to leave Cambodia to learn how radio can be used to keep indigenous communities both up to date and in touch with their roots – and now she wants to do the same for the ethnic Jarai community in Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district.  ...

The deadline for the country’s five mobile operators to ensure all their subscribers are registered by National ID cards or other legal documents is December 22, officials said yesterday.  ...

Several weeks after villagers on the outskirts of a community forest in Battambang Province began clearing trees and seizing land, forestry administration officials say there has been a lull in deforestation. ...

A police officer and a Forestry Administration official were shot dead by illegal loggers in Preah Vihear province early Saturday morning in an attack that also left a second officer injured, according to a local official who gave two different versions of the incident. ...

Minister of Environment Say Samal yesterday vowed that those responsible for the murder of two forest rangers shot dead while patrolling a protected forest near Preah Vihear temple Saturday morning will be brought to justice. ...

A draft law seven years in the making to regulate and standardize the Kingdom’s animal health regulations is on the verge of reaching parliament after getting approval from the Council of Ministers on Friday.  ...

The number of registered vehicles surged this year due to rapid economic expansion and rising incomes this year, according to Ministry of Public Works and Transport secretary of state Min Meanvy.  ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs yesterday announced that it would form a committee to address the lack of services available to the homeless and mentally ill. Yesterday’s meeting was precipitated by the revelation this week by rights organization Licadho that two more residents at Prey ...