Investment Hightlights
Cambodia Weekly Financial News September 11~15, 2023
2023-09-16View Times｜ 1061
Cambodia Weekly Financial News
September 11~15, 2023
11 September 2023
CGCC accredited as Cambodia’s first bond issuance guarantor
The Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) under the Non-Bank Financial Services Authority (FSA) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has accredited the state-owned Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) as the country’s first guarantor for bond issuance to support local companies in raising funds, said a statement. CGCC has developed a policy framework on bond guarantee that was approved by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of MEF Aun Pornmoniroth on May 17, 2023, in response to the sustainable development of Cambodia’s financial market through the company’s delivering guarantee on bond issuance services to corporations to raise funds for business development. Sou Socheat, Director General of SERC, told Khmer Times last Friday that accrediting the CGCC as a guarantor is another milestone for our bond market development and the presence of CGCC in the securities market is expected to help to boost the bond market development in Cambodia through building more market confidence and lower the issuance cost.
Source : Khmer Times
11 September 2023
SEZs drive $26B exports since 2011
Cambodia has 24 special economic zones (SEZ) operating from 2016 to the end of the first half of 2023, with capital investment of $8.1 billion, mainly in sectors such as garment, footwear and travel products, auto parts, electronics, car tire manufacturing, automotive and bicycle assembly. According to a report by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), there are 655 factories and companies, which employ 174,000 people, and a total export value of $25.7 billion recorded between 2011 and June 2023. The special economic zones have played an important role in the diversification of the Cambodian economy, industries and investment sources. The investment of local and foreign investors in Cambodia would continue to increase as the global economic and political situation improves. “Foreign direct investment (FDI) is very important for the strength of the economy because in addition to helping to create jobs, it also raises Cambodia’s finished product exports to international markets,” he said. In 2021, FDI in Cambodia totalled $41 billion, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 2020.
Source : Phnom Penh Post
12 September 2023
Japan to urge private sector to invest more in Cambodia
Japan-Cambodia Association (JCA) president Fumiaki Takahashi has pledged during a meeting on Sept 11 with newly-appointed Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul to bring in more Japanese investors to Cambodia. “The ministry has always considered the private sector an indispensable partner in promoting trade and investment. We know that Japan is one of Cambodia’s major trading partners, where we export goods worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Thus, through the commitment of the Japan-Cambodia Association, the private sector would feel more confident to invest [in business operations] in Cambodia and export to Japan and other destinations,” said Penn Sovicheat, secretary of state of the ministry. Japanese investments in Cambodia are mostly in the financial, construction, hotel and real estate sectors.
Source : The Phnom Penh Post
12 September 2023
Cambodia’s total exports marginally up
Cambodia’s exports in the first eight months of 2023 were worth $15.69 billion, up 0.3 percent compared to the same period last year, a General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) report showed last Friday. The US remained the Kingdom’s biggest export market during the January-August period of this year with exports worth $6.11 billion, a 4.8 percent decrease from $6.24 billion last year. “Cambodia’s exports to the international market, particularly RCEP member states, have remarkably increased, making Cambodian products attractive in the long term,” aid Penn Sovicheat. The trade pacts have played important roles in promoting Cambodia-made products and contributed to attracting new foreign investment, he said.
Source : Khmer Times
12 September 2023
Prey Veng exports nearly 1.6 million tons of rice, earning nearly $400 million
in the first nine months of 2023
At least 1.6 million tons of rice was exported from Prey Veng province to Vietnam, earning nearly $400 million by the first nine months of 2023. This is according to the report of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Prey Veng Province on September 12, 2023. According to a report by the Prey Veng Provincial Department of Agriculture, in Prey Veng Province in the first nine months of 2023, the volume of unofficial rice exports to Vietnam from January 1 to September 4, 2023, totaled 1,589,740 metric tons, equivalent to a total revenue of $393,151,262”. For rice export to Vietnam, there were two main ports: Banteay Chakrei International Port, Preah Sdach District; Koh Roka International Port, Peam Chor District; and Prey Veng Province.
Source: Khmer Times
13 September 2023
A firm grasp of RCEP ‘key to growth’ of stakeholders
Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra has urged merchants and investors alike to study the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) thoroughly, noting that it should enable businesses to develop themselves and increase competition. The RCEP is a multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 members of the ASEAN bloc and Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. It became effective on January 1, 2022, as Cambodia assumed the ASEAN chairmanship. “The RCEP is very important to Cambodia. It’s essential that the general public, including local and international merchants and investors, develop strategies that will capitalise on this agreement.” he said. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the RCEP covers more than 2 billion people and roughly $26.2 trillion, or 30 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP). “A clear understanding of the agreement will enable domestic investors and companies to align themselves with global trends, thus enhancing their competitiveness,” he added.
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
13 September 2023
Tax collection to exceed budget plan this year
The General Department of Taxation’s (GDT’s) tax collection in the first seven months of this year reached 64 percent of the budget plan for 2023, indicating that the collection will exceed the target by the end of the year. At a meeting of the officials last week, GDT Director General Kong Vibol said that for the last decade, tax collection has exceeded the budget plan by 20 to 25 percent every year. GDT collected $2.3 billion as tax in the first seven months of this year, which is equal to 64 percent of the budget plan of $3.5 billion. The collection drive is also helped by the reforms implemented by GDT, such as strengthening governance and management through digitalization, tax law modernization and tax compliance.
Source: Khmer Times
14 September 2023
Japanese firms keen on local SME investment
Fumiiaki Takahashi, head of the Japan-Cambodia Association (JCA), has conveyed Japanese investors’ keen interest in Cambodia’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Their focus is on the production of processed goods for export using the Kingdom’s raw materials and Japanese technology. During his meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet Takahashi on September 12, Takahashi said Japanese investors are primarily interested in two sectors. “First, we are focusing on processing for export purposes. Second, we provide vocational training in fields such as hospitality, mechanics, vehicle repairs, cosmetics, elderly care and IT,” he said. Prime Minister Hun Manet encouraged Takahashi to strengthen cooperation with relevant Cambodian entities to achieve mutual goals, saying: “We are ready to support Japanese businesses through concrete policy and incentive packages”.
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
14 September 2023
RCEP to attract more investments to Cambodia in coming years
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will play a crucial role in attracting more foreign direct investments to Cambodia and contributes to a sustainable economic growth. “RCEP has helped in gaining market access to products made in Cambodia, attracting investors to inject investment in Cambodia to process and produce for domestic markets and export,” he underlined in a Lecture on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement: Geo-Political and Geo-Economic Aspects, held at the Ministry of Information on Wednesday. Cambodia attracted 113 fixed-asset investment projects worth $1.1 billion in the first half of 2023, creating some 122,000 new jobs, said a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia.
Source: Khmer Times
15 September 2023
Cambodia’s economy continues to recover strongly, says AMRO
An initial research by an international economic and financial research organization shows that Cambodia’s economy has continued to recover strongly with a high growth rate that is supported by more active domestic economic activities and growth in its service sector, according to a statement released by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). The statement pointed out that the initial assessment result on Cambodia’s economic health was showcased yesterday during a consultation meeting between Sum Sannisith, NBC’s Deputy Governor and a delegation led by Kouqing Li, Director of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) at the NBC’s headquarters in Phnom Penh. “The delegates have also provided some recommendations to cope with risks, vulnerabilities and challenges that the [country] has faced,” the statement pointed out, adding that AMRO’ delegates presented the progress of AMRO on Cambodia’s economic and financial sector with strong support from NBC’s Cambodia’s central bank and monetary authority.
Source: Khmer Times
15 September 2023
Trade through BRI project in Cambodia up 27.3 pct to $2.22 billion in Jan-Aug
The value of imports and exports passing through the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia reached $2.22 billion in the first eight months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 27.3 percent, said an operator’s press statement on Thursday. The statement said the SSEZ’s high trade growth is eye-catching in the context of Cambodia’s total international trade falling by 14.5 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of this year. SSEZ’s president Chen Jiangang said the economic zone has become an engine of Cambodia’s economic development. The 11-square-km economic zone has so far accommodated some 175 companies from China, the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions, creating nearly 30,000 jobs. “The SSEZ, along with other BRI projects, have been playing a crucial role in helping Cambodia achieve its ambitious goals of becoming an upper-middle income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050,” Neak Chandarith, director of the Cambodia 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center told Xinhua.
Source: Khmer Times
15 September 2023
PM Hun Manet meets prominent Chinese investors
Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday met prominent Chinese businesspeople and discussed possibilities of investments in potential sectors, said a senior government official in charge of communications. A statement pointed out that yesterday Mr. Hun Manet discussed the investment opportunities in the energy sector with Wen Shugang, Chairman of China Huaneng Group, which is one of the five largest state-owned electricity generation enterprises in China, administrated by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. After meeting Shugang on energy, Prime Minister Hun Manet also discussed business development or investment expansion in Cambodia with Liang Hua, Chairman of Huawei Technology Co., Ltd, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
Source: Khmer Times
