News

Portraits of the late King Father Norodm Sihanouk covered the floor and dozens of coin-sized badges emblazoned with his image were scattered on the sidewalk in front of the Singha Mean printing house yesterday. Kuo Ransiky, the 41-year-old owner of the printshop on Phnom Penh’s street ...

Sales of plants and flowers will reach a high during the Lunar New Year celebrations in Phnom Penh, which start on Sunday, as more customers than ever before buy floral decorations for their houses, flower shop owners in Phnom Penh predicted. “During the weekend many people ...

A national policy on science, technology and innovation is being drafted to boost Cambodia’s development in the competitive field, as the Kingdom endeavours to catch up with its regional neighbours and internationally. Officials met for the first-ever consultation workshop yesterday to draft a national policy document ...

Two ethnic Banong communities in Mondolkiri province’s Keo Seima district have completed the final stage in the process to receive rare collective property titles, and are set to receive ownership documents early next month, an official at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) said. Kan Vibol, ...

Bangchak Petroleum, a majority state-owned oil refiner and retailer in Thailand, said it wants to open five petrol stations in Cambodia, with the first station opening in 2014, the Bangkok Post reported last week. Tui Rutten, president of the Thai Business Council of Cambodia did not ...

Hundreds of residents in five villages in southern Cambodia have been deprived of their sole source of water as a massive pond in their area has dried up, villagers said. The affected villagers of Sre Ronnong commune in Takeo Province’s Tram Kork district have been buying ...

A local legal aid NGO said yesterday that American retail giant Wal-Mart and Swedish clothing brand H&M have failed to take responsibility for a shuttered supplier factory in Phnom Penh that owes its workers up to $200,000 in unpaid severance payments. The Community Legal Education Center ...

Despite the massive spike in development underway in Phnom Penh, a new report says that the public interest is becoming marginalised in favour of the political and business elite. The report, from NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), says that currently “commercial interests are driving the urban ...

The number of foreigners who bought condos in Cambodia increased by between 30 and 40 per cent in 2012 compared with 2011, a recent study showed, while 997 condo units currently belong to foreigners. Nuon Rithy, general manager of the Bonna Realty Group, said that according ...

Fears of theft are on the rise among market vendors in a tourist district in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, the gateway to the world-renowned Angkor archeological site. Vendors at a market in Puok district said they had lost a lot of money following a slew of ...

Bangkok-based new ambassador of Israel to Cambodia Simon Roded on Monday expressed Israel’s desires to promote bilateral ties with Cambodia in tourism and agriculture. Speaking during presenting credentials to President of Cambodia ‘s National Assembly Heng Samrin, who received the credentials on behalf of King Norodom ...

U.S. fast-food chain Burger King is set to open its first restaurant in Cambodia next month, an official confirmed yesterday. Advertisements have gone up at the Phnom Penh International Airport bearing the famous Burger King logo, with a message saying that the chain is “Coming soon.” ...

Connectivity is crucial to the process of building the Asean Community, and ties in with the effort to market the region as a single tourist destination, the grouping’s chief said. “Asean is in the process of building the Asean Community, and in the process of building ...

The southwestern areas along the Vietnam – Cambodia border are now in their usual busy time of the year, with smuggled goods entering the country with near impunity. Most of the markets in the Mekong Delta are flooded with various contraband products, mostly brought from China ...

Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are in talks to promote bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and tourism on Wednesday. In the meeting, both sides discussed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on aviation in order to enable UAE airlines to operate direct flights from ...

Government officials yesterday met with representatives from the Republic of Ecuador to discuss ways to improve economic and political ties between the two countries, Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ouch Borith said. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding to protect Cambodian artifacts ...

The amount of money spent on construction in Cambodia soared by 72 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011, according to data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. The ministry said it had issued 1,694 construction patents covering 6.5 million square metres ...

Worldwide, office demand stemmed from the automotive, high-tech and energy industries. The latter is evident in Cambodia, where drilling off the coast near Sihanoukville has helped to increase office demand. Thus, companies such as Total and Chevron are large office occupiers, and new Japanese oil ...

Cambodian company Soma Group has signed a joint-venture agreement with Thai-based CP Intertrade to build and operate a $20 million rice mill that will process fragrant rice for export. Industry insiders say the mill will increase Cambodia’s rice export capacity and boost the Kingdom’s ability to ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said more investment in agriculture was needed to ensure that Cambodia can process its crops and add value to agricultural produce being exported abroad. Speaking at the inauguration of a new cargo port in Kandal province, Mr. Hun Sen said there was an ...

Cambodia on Tuesday inaugurated a new container terminal of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, turning the port as a large hub for logistics supply and goods collection and distribution. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia ...

This year marks the 60th anniversary since the start of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Japan – the country’s largest bilateral donor – and to celebrate, the Japanese Embassy is planning an array of cultural events. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the anniversary, Japanese Ambassador ...

Vietnam urged Laos to halt construction of a $3.5 billion hydropower dam pending further study, environmental activists said on Friday after a meeting of the Mekong River Commission. The activists said Cambodia, also downriver from the Xayaburi dam, accused Laos during heated discussions on Wednesday and ...

Representatives of the ten ASEAN nations met on Sunday in Laos’ capital of Vientiane to launch the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), where they pledged to expand tourism cooperation and discussed creating a pan-ASEAN tourist visa. The ATF, which was first held in 1981, is designed to ...