News

Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh yesterday called on the US to allow duty-free entry for Cambodian exports, a benefit the Kingdom already enjoyed with the European Union. The introduction of preferential tax treatment from the US would result in the Kingdom’s share of that country’s ...

The government has dropped controversial criminal penalties targeting unionists in its latest draft of the union law, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said yesterday. Addressing a meeting of representatives of international apparel brands, including Nike, Adidas and PUMA, unions, government officials and the International Labour Organisation, ...

Cambodian government officials have called on the US-ASEAN Business Council to help finalise implementation of the Kingdom’s first e-commerce law by year’s end. However, US-ASEAN Business Council councillor Frances Zwening said Google did not provide an “in-depth response” to the request for assistance, but added ...

Ratanakkiri Provincial Court has summoned for questioning two rights group activists and a journalist over charges that they incited ethnic minority villagers in Lumphat district to violence in 2009, a court official said yesterday. The case against the three men – Adhoc provincial coordinator Pen ...

A US-Asean Business Council delegation representing 11 fortune 500 companies concluded a two-day visit to Phnom Penh on Saturday, the council said in a statement. With Cambodia scheduled to take the chairmanship of Asean next year, members from US companies such as Chevron, GE, Abbot, ...

The government should abandon its current management of Prey Long forest and shift to a plan that conserves the forst while also optimizing its economic uses, such as agriculture, carbon credits and controlled timber exploitation, according to a recent report by the US Agency for ...

The evictions and so-called “land grabs” have angered aid donors, putting at stake hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid as well as a trade scheme that gives Cambodian produce tariff-free access to the EU. International donors and lenders such as the World Bank ...

VISA, Mastercard, Dell and Cisco Systems have been added to a growing list of US companies looking to enter the Cambodian market, according to Frances Zwenig, counsellor of the US-ASEAN Business Council. The financial services and information technology companies joined GE, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson ...

Thailand–Consumers face prospect of high prices, low quality rice from Burma, Cambodia: TDRI. While consumers and taxpayers will suffer from the government’s controversial rice policy, Vietnam will substantially gain, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has warned. Ammar Siamwalla, a prominent economist, yesterday asked the ...

As Cambodian exports continue to grow, commerce officials predict sovereign debt crises in the United States and Europe will not threaten the sector. Total exports surged by more than 46 per cent to US$2.677 billion in the first seven months of the year, compared to ...

Long a popular fixture of US TV and radio competitions, “Hands on a Hardbody,” a marathon endurance contest where participants vie to hold their palms against a car the longest in order to win it, has expanded to Cambodia. More than 80 participants took part ...

The number of foreign tourists visiting Cambodia through July climbed 14 per cent year-on-year, with the most arrivals coming from Vietnam, South Korea and China, according to the latest Ministry of Tourism figures. Improved transportation, greater promotion of the Kingdom to world markets and widely ...

As the creation of Cambodia’s first law on trade unions enters a final phase this week, labor activists and unions said the draft law as it stands is in urgent need of revision, as it would cripple unions and severely undermine collective bargaining rights. They ...

Ten international organizations including Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, and Global Witness have urged dozens of foreign ministers to consider freezing aid to Cambodia if the government passes the current draft of its proposed NGO law. In a letter sent Wednesday to 36 foreign ministers ...

Cambodia’s foreign donors are staying largely mum about the government’s decision to indefinitely  high-level aid meeting, though one donor conceded that the move had caught it off guard. Economists also said yesterday that a delay in holding the donor meeting would have little effect, but ...

Cambodia, on Saturday, hosted the 7th Asia Economic Forum ( AEF) under theme of “The Asian Century in the Making: Achievements, Challenges and Future Trends” while highlighting the majority of the region’s demonstrated remarkable resilience against the global economic and financial crises, while major superpowers ...

Increased interest by Asian tourists has led to about 33 percent growth for Angkor Wat ticket sales so far this year, according to the Apsara Authority. Revenues during the first six months hit US$20 million, compared with about $15 million in the period last year, ...

Bauxite reserves in Mondolkiri province abandoned by Australian mining form BHP Billiton in 2009 are now being explored by China’s Mongolia Erdos Hongjun Holding Group, the same firm that is behind the controversial development of Boeng Kak lake in Phnom Penh. Kong Pisith, director of ...

Construction  of the 1,260 megawatt Xayaburi dam on the Mekong river has been suspended after a meeting between the USA, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. A report from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has been leaked showing that construction was begun on the dam without ...

According to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks US officials in Bangkok believed that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to name former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser in 2009 backfired after it increased support of the opposition. The Premier at the time of ...

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has called for a “pause” on construction of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong River. She is urging time and consideration for all who would be affected by the dams, with 11 planned for the Lower Mekong, nine of which ...

Garment exports for the first half of 2011 have increased as demand from Europe and Asia grows. The relaxation of duty-free exports to Europe has sped the growth according to the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia. Exports are said to have increased by 32 percent ...

Cambodia is concerned that US debt could lead to rising import costs. US lawmakers are currently trying to pass a deficit-cut deal before Aug. 2 when the US reaches its own debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion. Without a deal the US would default on its ...

A US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks from the Embassy in Bangkok has provided evidence that Cambodian soldiers were providing assistance and protection to loggers along the Thai-Cambodian border. Some of the loggers were killed in clashes with Thai troops. The allegations have been denied ...