News

The ties between Cambodia and China in trade, investment and tourism have steadily grown from year to year thanks to good relations between the two countries, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said Tuesday. “China is one of our key trading partners. The two-way trade volume ...

When the government decided to raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht nationwide, labour-intensive industries knew sunset was descending on their businesses. As a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for popular clothes lines in Thailand, the company is relocating its largest production site to ...

Less developed countries should promote domestic software development that meets local needs and capabilities, bringing development gains, a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report published last week says. Locally developed software is more likely to fit the culture, context and language where it ...

Prudential Plc, the U.K.’s biggest insurer by market value, plans to begin selling insurance in Cambodia in the first quarter of next year to extend its presence in Asia across 13 markets. The firm is hiring sales agents and expects to gain a license to operate ...

Despite the fact that the Chairman’s Statement of the recently wrapped 21st ASEAN Summit welcomed progress on regional “connectivity”, a long-awaited joint visa for Thailand and Cambodia remains stalled. Koy Kuong, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that there is still no progress ...

Cambodia’s ASEAN economic minister said the official launch of the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will lead to potentially forming the biggest single market in the region and is much bigger than the traditional markets of the US and the EU. An economist ...

A plan to create a free trade area covering roughly half the world’s population by 2015 was initiated yesterday by regional and world leaders meeting in Phnom Penh. During the Asean and related meetings at his office, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that the group of ...

When the new Ford showroom opened on Monivong Boulevard on Friday morning, the most distinguished guest was the great granddaughter of company founder Henry Ford, Elena A Ford. The entourage also included Ford’s regional and local associates, all of whom were joined by the deputy. ...

The US “pivot to Asia,” which will be punctuated next week with the Cambodian visit of US President Barack Obama, will likely put Cambodia in a tough spot in the region, caught between the renewed focus of the United States and the increased influence of ...

Newly re-elected US President Barack Obama will attend a series of top-level Asian meetings next week, with Cambodia hosting an Asean summit, and China in attendance with new leadership. The high-profile meetings will present challenges for the US president, whose administration has become more deeply ...

Cambodia’s total exports increased more than 13 per cent in the first nine months of this year, with a year-on-year comparison indicating a widening trade deficit. A private-sector representative, an exporter and an independent economist said the slow growth was mainly due to the slowing of ...

The US yesterday criticised Laos for announcing it will begin building the 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River today without studying its potential effects on Cambodia and Vietnam. A spokesperson from the US State Department in Washington said the government was concerned construction of the ...

New European legislation passed last month could help transparency in the extractive industries, by forcing companies to declare payments to foreign governments rich in resources For resource-rich countries like Cambodia, that means much more transparency, she said. More than 95 percent of the world’s major extractive ...

The slump in global markets has depressed demand for Cambodian products, leading to reduced growth forecasts by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 2012 and 2013. “Falling global demand, especially in Europe and the US, means that the industry sector will grow at a slower pace ...

US retailer Gap Inc says it has “demanded an immediate investigation” in response to allegations of harassment at one of its suppliers in Cambodia. A strike at the Ocean Garment Factory in Phnom Penh has now entered its third week, despite a court ordering the 2,500 ...

A strike at the Ocean Garment factory in Phnom Penh, which supplies US retailer Gap, has entered its third week, despite a court ordering the 2,500 protestors to return to work. The unrest began on 11 August after six female employees accused their Bangladeshi manager of ...

The biggest US trade delegation to Cambodia in decades joined Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here as the two countries look to expand their economic relationship beyond exports of cheaply produced garments. “On the economic front, there is much more room for us to grow ...

The producer of Mee Yeung instant noodles is set to expand its business by investing US$1 million in equipment to produce noodles for export, said a company official. The new machines will be delivered from China and will be able to produce 6,000 cases or ...

Police in the capital yesterday arrested the alleged leader of a “secessionist plot”, Beehive Radio station director Mam Sonando, who had already been abroad for two months when hundreds of security personnel stormed a Kratie province village in May. Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry ...

Canadian insurance and financial services company Manulife Financial officially launched its Cambodian country office on June 28, one of several new players seeking to enter one of Southeast Asia’s still-untapped markets. Britain’s No.1 insurer Prudential said last week it had approval from the Cambodian government to open a wholly foreign-owned life insurance operation. Manulife, the world’s ...

The United States has expressed its commitment to the success of next week’s 19th ASEAN Regional Forum, which will be held in Phnom Penh, while British Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne said on the same day that the United Kingdom plans to strengthen its relationship ...

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with Senator Jim Webb, of Virginia, this week, to discuss how Cambodia might be forgiven war-era debt to the US or find a better way to pay it off. Cambodia owes nearly $450 million on pre-Khmer Rouge borrowing. ...

Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong’s visit to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington was met with a small protest Tuesday from Cambodian-Americans voicing a number of grievances. Video footage posted online shows a cluster of protesters outside the State Department building in Washington ...

More than 70 judges and judicial officials from ASEAN member states attended a US-supported ASEAN workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday to discuss legal and judicial cooperation, the protection of investors and the state of the rule of law in the region.   ...