Cambodian Economy News

Make Money Creating articles On the web

2012-02-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone can earn money writing and submitting articles on the internet. You simply need a pc using access to the Internet as well as a respectable control of your respective chosen terminology and you really are set. Regardless of whether you're planning to go out of your own boring 9-5 and hang upwards an Internet business or else you can be a new mother staying in the place to find take care of the children, you can make money writing and submitting articles online.

The right way to undertake it is always to supply suggest that men and women will take activity on and use to boost their particular predicament as well as resolve a problem. Anyone that searches on the web is wanting to remedy a problem of some type whether it's how you can improve their football sport or even how to drop extra fat. The secret is to present the information you have in the user-friendly format.

Listed here are 4 approaches to come up with your ideas:

One particular. Personal expertise. Write from your standpoint of your experience. Demonstrate how you overrode problems, sorted out a challenge or perhaps used a little understanding to boost your daily life or enterprise. That is the most effective approaches to sympathise using your reader and have them trust an individual as being a reputable resource.

2. Checklist. People respond effectively to listings when operating and also mastering. Building a list of careers to do with a certain morning is obviously advisable. The particular record is simply listing that is certainly developed just before a particular task actually starts to make sure their easy procedure.

Three. FAQs. Once you go to a internet site there's a segment with regard to FAQs. Should you wide open any products / services brochure or perhaps pamphlet there are FAQs. That shows that generally speaking men and women question exactly the same concerns, a minimum of in the first place. Solution individuals questions about some topic to make money writing articles on-line. Then men and women come your way for more info.

Four. Spend less. People have a general wish to save money operational and privately. Let you know that they can pay out significantly less for one thing or perhaps get more effectiveness beyond the things they buy right now.

The best way to earn money writing and submitting articles on the web is to offer wonderful benefit inside a functional format. Please click here to find more information.

Is there a Wage of an Dental office?

2012-02-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

A dentist is somebody who is conditioned to help the teeth and automobile on their behalf also. These are in charge of analyzing the teeth and also deciding what are the tooth problem can be and repair any kind of harm that could be essential. They additionally assistance with methods for brushing properly along with maintaining orally as wholesome as possible. They're going to look at the the teeth as well as consider x-rays to think about the actual beginnings of your enamel. They normally use a variety of tools along with devices too.

A dentist travels to college for coaching and learns the way to treatment and take care of certain dentistry as well as periodontal difficulties. Dental practices are certified through the point out they are within and some dental practitioners went into standard dental treatment while others went right into a specialty including periodontics as well as orthodontics. Every discipline regarding the field of dentistry includes a diverse wage, along with total, dental care is really a lucrative and also rewarding job to get linked to.

There are several things that can affect how much any dentist generates annually. Your all time substantial average had been documented In Alaska and also had been $203,1000. In Delaware, it absolutely was $187,Six-hundred, North Dakota and Maine provide an regular involving $180,1000 and also Nc has an average of $182,Five hundred. Necessities such as locations in which dental offices have got earned the most. It goes to exhibit what sort of place your home is throughout can impact your twelve-monthly profits.

The quantity e encounter you've additionally plays a huge role in your income. Regarding dental practices which have only a calendar year of experience, earned about $81,000 to be able to $110,1000 over a annual basis. For those that have more compared to Ten years of experience, you can expect to gain among $96,1000 up to $175,1000. Encounter levels enjoy a huge role and also the much more encounter there is a more you can generate.

The you're employed throughout influences the income at the same time. If you are going to become building dentist office, you will probably make regarding $156,930 whilst working in a specialised healthcare facility earns a person about $143.560. If you are going being doing work for their state, you can expect to make with regards to $140,830 so if you're likely to be employed in the outpatient sort of center, your current income may regular with with regards to $139,Thousand.

The region you determine to are employed in in addition performs to your earnings. For instance, the common wage to get a standard dentist is actually $65,143 : $202,814, while a salary to have an orthodontist can be $80,112 - $245,768. The common earnings with regard to as well as endodontist is actually $63,023 * $390823.

As a dental office is sold with big salaries and may be considered a occupation substitute for contemplate. An expert may be tedious at times particularly if get into a unique industry associated with dentistry, but tend to end up being exciting. Lots of people get pleasure from dealing with your jaws and also studying teeth, which is the perfect placement to suit your needs. There's considerable schooling and also training that you'll be dealing with, along with the conclusion is all worth the cost. You can find more about Dentist Salary.

The way to Accumulate A Funds Common sense

2012-01-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

Likelihood is, if you have been awarded a city common sense in the court, you are additionally certainly one of a large number of frustrated view slots who have yet to see a penny. You might be definitely not by yourself... roughly 80% involving view members haven't recently been paid out.

The majority of feel that when they've gained a judgment legal court will make sure the view pays -- but the surprising simple truth is: the court is not going to enforce your own wisdom. The duty to generate the actual borrower pay is located directly on your shoulder blades.

The courtroom system supplies numerous powerful treatments to gather decision from reluctant borrowers... Sadly, until you realize where the debtor's property is placed and the way to utilize the courtroom technique to initiate those methods, you are in a hopeless situation.

Fortunately how the common sense is valid as well as enforceable for an regular of A decade, and it's really replenishable generally in most states. Better yet is the fact that curiosity accrues on judgment making, therefore its a few years old it really is well worth far more right now pc ended up being the afternoon it turned out granted.

Ahead of you are able to increase the risk for view borrower repay, you'll want to locate him/her along with his/her property. This really is known inside the common sense healing market because "skip doing a trace for.In .

The first step in the act is constructing a profile of your debtor. You will want to make certain that all of your details are appropriate from the very start; such as the spelling of the debtor's brand, the very last identified handle, the actual ss # and date of birth in the subject matter (in the event that offered). Using this method you'll have exact information if it's time for it to take action with the court system. I really could compose an entire report upon omit doing a trace for * and I probably will, shortly -- until then I'll merely claim that as a way to grab anything at all, you should know what and also wherever it's.

A number of simple asset info may possibly already be known to you... such as the location where the borrower must be used, or if perhaps the consumer has a property or even organization. If your borrower features ever written a check mark to you, the data concerning the debtor's bank account will probably be readily available through the lender in which you lodged the check. If this information is not available, it's also possible to use outsourcing for the project with an property study company for any moderate charge.

There are additional legitimate breakthrough discovery methods in your toolbox, as well. Like a judgment holder it is possible to lawfully make the actual person: or perhaps anyone else along with knowledge of the debtor's possessions - to appear problem to respond to the questions you have regarding finances and resources. In addition to the borrower assessment, use a subpoena for you to requirement distinct types of files like bank assertions, employer verify slips, deeds, and so on. You can also question the particular determine to teach your person to turn out there his/her pouches as well as submit virtually any money or even valuable items they could be transporting. This is a powerful, but regularly underneath employed enforcement device!

As soon as the assets have been situated there are many authorized methods for your use. In most claims resource seizures are generally begun by simply giving the writ regarding delivery (or writ regarding garnishment or perhaps fieri facias) from the courtroom, as well as providing in which writ along with certain instructions towards the county sheriff's municipal office, that operates as the levying police officer and carries out your own guidelines.

If you've established where the person operates, for most says it is possible to trigger a garnishment associated with wages. Any income garnishment order placed the particular debtor's employer for you to keep generally 25% of their throw away income whenever your person gets their wage, as well as deliver this to you personally.

Yet another frequent selection method is the bank account garnishment. If you know where the consumer financial institutions, you'll have a garnishment served generally there. When the garnishment is received, the money inside the bank account is frozen -- nothing at all gets into, without withdrawals are permitted. Any situation that is at the particular accounts back then your garnishment was supported is turned over to you personally.

Additional potential assets contain company income as well as equipment, rental property earnings, beneath the kitchen table cash flow, real estate (properties, plenty, and so forth.), personal property (vehicles, heirlooms, recreational vehicles, watercraft -- also livestock!). If you locate that someone owes money for a borrower, you may also indentify that in order to meet your judgment. Its smart * practically * to check after dark tradition when it comes to what assets you'll be able to seize to fulfill your current common sense. Visit this site to get more about physical therapy assistant programs in textas.

Searching for a Chiller Service Company

2012-01-05T00:07:00.000-08:00

Picking out a fridge business that provides refrigerator services are crucial that you forget about the if you are hunting for a company to provide brand new products or perhaps looking for an organization for you to support your existing fridge gear. You will need to look for a refrigerator service provider that's dependable and offers prepared and preventative support plans. The details under should allow you to decide on a firm which provides things you need.

The Chiller Organization has to be Service-Led

If you are purchasing brand new products, locate a company that is certainly service-led. Coolers need frequent upkeep to prolong the life span of the products and provide you with the utmost roi, businesses that do not priorities refrigerator providing will never be the business to work with in the long run.

Choose a business which usually not just carries coolers however knows all about their particular installing, routine maintenance and the way you wish to utilize them.

Make use of a refrigerator company that delivers a finish to absolve option, so you can pick complete chiller program assist if you'd like this approach. Service stage deals ought to be provided on the versatile foundation as buyers change in the way that they work and also have diverse wants.

Get a company that provides protective upkeep plans without any match or even progress payments. Your refrigerator business you decide on needs to have an excellent services team that is organization centered as well as technology pushed to support the after-sales specifications.

H2o along with glycol maintenance alternatives needs to be provided to ensure that the sleek along with risk-free functioning of the air conditioning and also access to drinking water therapy professionals who will provide a total drinking water therapy package, safeguarding your organization along with workers from the results of Legionnaires illness.

Become Knowledgeable and rehearse a business that Offers True Value for Money

The company you choose need to offer translucent and expense houses, without undetectable expenses as well as large improve obligations.

A few of the very large fridge program companies possess large overheads. Scaled-down companies have the ability to provide products, installment and also fridge program in a more moderate price, while they possess lower expenses.

Fridge firms that have got lower do it again contact percentages by providing high quality service along with much less phone backs preserve his or her fees competing and also help save your aggravation regarding waiting around for another phone back again.

Selecting a company that delivers technical authorities to clarify alternative ideas obviously will allow you to go with a sensible solution that delivers true affordability knowing that delivers the final results you seek out.

Make certain you will end up provided all the correct technological paperwork along with records as soon as the handover in the event that acquiring gear as well as a proper handover, with workers education.

Pick a Refrigerator Firm That is certainly Client Oriented

Be skeptical regarding companies that hide expenses or even need improve installments. Respected organizations will probably be ready to let you know what is included, without any horrible shock.

Inquire any kind of chiller service provider you are thinking about making use of should they have a 24 hour per day, seven days every week program support staff, and located in the British Isles. You will not need to encounter lengthy queues awaiting assist by way of a overseas contact middle or even awaiting any office to start for those who have a problem with your current refrigerator. Consumer focus should be a new central value. Finding about 3-day diet.

Banks to obtain Your Loan

2012-01-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

In the world we all reside in today it's not as fast to find the mortgage loan you will need. Loans was once as typically given as at cards, but a new declining economic system banking institutions are usually shying from financing income to those in the middle minimizing courses. Midst men, known as lenders, are built to support people that are able a whole new mortgage loan, but are staying refused through their town finance institutions. By letting home financing agent to find the perfect bank for you personally, you can be positive to find the specific loan you are hoping with regard to.

Who are these kinds of banks getting in touch with will not give you the mortgage immediately? Of course you can effortlessly transport yourself via standard bank to be able to lender proposing the loan as well as dreaming about your current wish to be given. Choosing this path would likely acquire many nights to travel to each border lender looking for the very best costs. The truth is, most of the finest delivers will not also be within the state you reside within. Mortgage brokers contain the connection you'll want to communicate right together with loan companies, preventing you from going into banking institutions having a track good reputation for smacking upon ridiculously large charges for your loan. You will prevent dropping considerable time as well as losing income allowing the broker agents find the banks in your case.

When searching for your brand-new bank loan lenders will not likely permit you to get in too deep. You don't have to use each and every final nickel that you simply create inside a month in order to sustain your installments in good standing. They are going to advise so that you can think of a good down payment to aid reduced the money you happen to be seeking. By providing all of them with your own monthly installments saying your current month to month revenue they can figure out what an excellent dimension settlement have been around in buy that you should are living the best of life you want. They are able to eliminate so many loan providers simply by computing your numbers you've granted these.

Banks will highlight all of the selections you have to take into account at the same time. Interest is a thing you'll have to recognize, on the other hand are very different forms of financial products to consider in relation to the problem. They're able to set down the variety of an individual of needing a hard and fast or an adaptable fee on your loan. Next start with possibly locating you the greatest fixed interest rate or even searching for a suited adaptable one. Obviously together with adjustable charges arrives the chance of these raising, but you are also due to the chance of these people decreasing that may assist you to. They are fully aware just about all you need to know concerning mortgages along with finding these people. Just inquire and they're going to support. reading more about 3-day diet.

what exactly is a new Passivhaus Specifically?

2012-01-04T22:27:00.001-08:00

Passivhaus is really a time period we're all more likely to hear more frequently many of us grow to be ever more focused on vitality efficiency. As you may get got from the transliteration Passivehaus have their roots throughout Philippines being part of the particular nations around the world constructing requirements. Any property assembly the conventional could have recently been created to make use of the sun's heat as well as any additional freely obtainable origin * including people, family home appliances and also normal fresh-air. One of many aspects that help to lessen the requirement for traditional heat is super higher examples of insulation along with oxygen small doors and windows. The complete cloth of the house, which include floors along with walls, perform simply by storing warmth to help sustain warmth during winter. The addition of Solar power systems and heat pumping systems may also play a role in offering effective types of warmth.

The principle goal of a Passive Residence is to possess minimal effect on the surroundings and as such will often demand around 75% much less home heating than the usual typical home. Despite the fact that create charges can be as much as 8% greater than a normal develop the important gain is usually the actual savings the particular home owner may make on energy charges. Besides this the dog owner can even be pretty smug about their co2 productivity. reading more about physician assistant salary.

Customized Identify Badges: You get one for the Staff

2011-12-30T03:13:00.000-08:00

An identity banner is a tag donned about the clothing as a method involving showing the wearer's brand in for other individuals to realize them. Brand badges come in a few kinds: papers, plastic and also metal. Papers badges could be created generating in the home whilst metal as well as plastic-type material badges must be tailor made obtained. Numerous place of work supply firms have a very producing split that will deals with brand label engraving and also producing. You must take a look at well selection and logo patterns just before buying tailor made identify badges. You will have to fill a loan application form although placing your order customized badges. You are able to choose your current font type, size, and shade along with qualifications design too. Every little thing must be written properly even though filling the proper execution because once the buy can be printed then one has to understand it published from his / her expense.

Papers badges can be made and imprinted in your house. There are 2 choices whilst producing document tailor made title badges. You may make usage of a name marker kit or build badges from scratch. When using the package, all you need to carry out will be sort through your templates with your word processor that will selection the actual kit you might have decided on. If you purchase a basic title marker package, then you certainly must see the container to evaluate exactly what product they are attributes right after. You can then utilize the matching format in Term to development the custom made title badges.

Credit card printers can be used to art print plastic-type tailor made identify badges. These types of models have become cost-effective with regard to business places of work. The appliance has to have a lot of mechanized components for example rollers along with hands to turn over the card about pertaining to dual on the sides publishing. To style customized plastic-type title badges, all you should use is an electronic digital photographic camera to look at photographs in the Identity card holder, custom thing software to development the graphics of the plastic material badge as well as to incorporate the particular image on top of the minute card, a plastic card printer plus a logo holder. A professional dig cam is a good substitute for find top quality pictures.

Typically credit card laser printers possess the Plastic-type material ID card manufacturing software stuck into these. There should be communication outcomes of the picture code readers with the printer in order to right publish it for the printer's. The software needs to have to be able to auto appropriate the picture quality. The software program needs to have business office vast hitting the ground with the particular every one of the sources to store completes information. It should have additional features for you to suite the publishing machine for example double sided producing, computer programming of magnetic lines, RFID and smart potato chips. One particular on the side’s plastic-type material printer can be purchased with minimal costs, only a thousand bucks in reality. More money is necessary for additional features for example increase sided printing, holographic overlays designed for included protection, in addition to sensible charge cards along with internal RFID poker chips. Incorporating electromagnetic nick towards the tailor made title badges offers enhanced safety measures. Read more about high fiber diet.

Pure whey protein Powder: Do you know the Advantages?

2011-12-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

All of us have look at diet labels and understand how critical macro nutrients are to our life. In fact, with no sugars, protein, and fatty acids many of us would not be capable to possess vitality. However, there is certainly one macro nutrient that assists a larger objective than to be harnessed for energy, and that's health proteins.

Proteins are different because they are consisting of chains associated with nitrogen. This can be further split up into tiny devices known as aminos -- and the will be the standard foundations regarding muscles. Amino acids furthermore work as an essential source of diet nitrogen, which is a necessary aspect for your health.

These types of proteins would be the building blocks associated with lean body mass. That's where whey protein concentrate goes in the photo. Whey supplies all of the crucial amino acids along with processes quickly: normally within Half an hour. Whey protein isolate can be highly affordable as well as, specifically chocolate whey protein, can taste wonderful.

One of the better instances to take whey protein concentrate is proper when you exercise routine. The reason for this can be that your muscle tissue is generally used up with their glycogen stores plus your muscle tissue is separated. As soon as you exercise, you happen to be very sensitive to the hormone insulin * that shuttles muscles to your muscle tissues rather than extra fat.

While insulin shots will be introduced, brought on by a simple crabs consume or even meal, you should then drink whey protein concentrate. Whey protein is certain to get in your muscle tissues very quickly as well as right away start to restore damages. Because of this you can recover faster, and obtain benefits more rapidly.

Whey protein is additionally safe in your case. There is absolutely no evidence that says which whey protein concentrate has just about any dangerous unwanted side effects. Together with moderateness, it is rather safe and sound. In reality, it may improve your defense mechanisms and also boost muscularity. Pure whey protein can be natural which is seen in daily food like milk.

When was that most important to consume necessary protein and how much when you take in? Well that's completely your responsibility, though the greatest times to make use of whey protein is actually publish workout as well as immediately after a person awaken. Your body is actually nearly all sensitive and can greatly make use of its rapid intake.

Throughout the afternoon, merely stick to your sensible food. Ensure as well as take in plenty of nuts, dairy products, hardworking liver, vegetables and fruits. Most of these provide an objective which whey protein isolate won't accomplish, as well as without proper diet regime you will not ever notice final results. Keep in mind that diet regime and training will be greater than nutritional supplements.

Whey protein is any kind of bodybuilder's, or perhaps individual that really wants to come up with a beneficial alteration of the look of them, closest friend. Their advantages are usually astounding and you ought to always price the health of your system. Create self-confidence through an impressive shape plus a better life by way of experience great about yourself.

Refinancing student loan

2011-12-28T06:31:00.000-08:00

One method to make sure you are getting the most beneficial deal achievable when you start paying back has given, is by student loan re-financing. That's where you successfully take out a fresh loan to settle your own multiple education loans so you just have a single repayment a month to make underneath new conditions and terms, such as a long run to repay these people or possibly a far better rate of interest.

The main reason you can get far better terminology by simply mortgage refinancing has given, is that you typically cannot try this form of debt consolidation and soon you learn to spend the money for financial products back again. By this time, you might be more prone to have a great credit score than at the position once you took out the borrowed funds, when you is going to be more mature, work, and also have several credit score monthly payments under your belt. Because the very best prices to get a refinancing visit people with the most effective credit score, this really is one thing you are going to consider it's worthy of buying your credit score and also doing it to be able to rectify any kind of undesirable regions into it before the next phase of taking a look at refinance packages.

Think about remember when it comes to mortgage refinancing is basically that you may wish to remortgage virtually any national financial loans separately through the exclusive lending options. The real reason for this is how the government loans simply by their character come with a drastically preferential price. Which means in case you consolidate national loans like Stafford financial loans along with Perkins lending options using higher rate private loans you will get rid of the bottom interest rates in your federal loans and end up paying a lot more for the children.

This means you should consider a couple of separate deals regarding student loan re-finance Body to your exclusive financial products and one on your government financial products. This will likely naturally mean an individual shed in with the benefits of education loan re-finance which can be simply needing to help to make one particular settlement each month, but that is a small investment to save money.

There's two ways any refinancing can assist you. A single choice is to obtain a decrease monthly interest general on the repackaged financial debt, meaning you pay less to your mortgage ultimately. The particular cost savings can be really substantial if you manage to get a good deal. The opposite is always to lessen your regular monthly costs if you take out and about education loan re-finance more than a longer timeframe as compared to your own original repayment schedule.

This will likely suggest you end up shelling out more on your loan total, concerning will be more interest rates, nonetheless it does mean how the volume you must spend monthly might be considerably reduced and much easier to boss.

Speak with your suppliers regarding replacing to your federal government financial loans, and shop around for several discounts coming from banking institutions on your exclusive financial products. You're likely to be astonished simply how much best you may be inside short or long phrase simply by using a education loan refinance deal.

Getting Your Student Loan Refinanced

2011-12-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

A great way to be sure you increasingly becoming the most effective offer probable once you begin paying back has given, is by student loan mortgage refinancing. This is how you properly get a fresh mortgage to settle your current multiple student education loans and that means you just have 1 pay back per month to make underneath new conditions and terms, such as a long run to these people or a far better interest.

The reason why you can get greater terms by re-financing your student loans, is that you simply typically are unable to try this form of consolidation before you learn to pay for the loans back again. By this time, you are very likely to have a very good credit score compared to at the stage once you got the money, when you will be old, be working, and still have a number of credit rating repayments under your buckle. Since the very best charges for a re-finance visit people with the best credit standing, this really is something you are likely to consider it is really worth buying your credit track record and also following through for you to fix virtually any negative regions into it before the next step associated with looking at remortgage packages.

Think about bear in mind when considering bank loan remortgage is that you may wish to refinancing any federal financial loans on their own on the non-public loans. The explanation for this can be that the federal financial products by simply their particular character feature a drastically low interest charge. Which means that in the event you combine federal government financial products such as Stafford financial loans and Perkins lending options along with greater charge exclusive lending options you may shed the reduced interest rate on the federal government financial products and also end up having to pay much more for them.

Which means you may want to consider two independent packages involving student loan re-finance Body for the non-public financial loans and something for the government lending options. This may obviously mean a person drop upon of the advantages of education loan remortgage that's just the need to create a single settlement each month, that is a tiny price to pay to save money.

There's 2 ways in which any re-finance will help you. A single choice is to obtain a reduce monthly interest general in your repackaged debt, this means you pay a smaller amount to your loan ultimately. The particular savings can be very substantial if you manage to obtain a good deal. One other is usually to decrease your regular monthly bills by taking away education loan refinance more than a longer period compared to your current authentic repayment schedule.

This can suggest you wind up spending read more about the loan all round, concerning may well be more interest payments, nevertheless it entails how the volume you must fork out on a monthly basis may be considerably decrease and much easier in order to manager.

Confer with your providers with regards to re-financing on your federal government financial products, as well as look around for various bargains coming from finance institutions to your private lending options. You may be astonished the amount best you will be within the long or short time period with a student loan refinance cope.

Lack of e-trade law an issue for CSX

2011-09-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

THE Cambodia Securities Exchange could begin trading later this year without the Kingdom having passed its long-awaited e-commerce law, insiders said yesterday.

An e-commerce law is necessary to protect investor data in the event of a system error or crash, among other things, and therefore lends secur-ity to investors and firms hoping to trade on the exchange.

“All the transactions are processed electronically. If we don’t have an e-commerce law, how can we operate the stock exchange?” Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh told a meeting of the US-ASEAN Business Council in Phnom Penh last week.

“That’s why I want to have the law in place before real stock operat-ions begin.”

The CSX was launched officially in July, although stock trading wasn’t expected until the end of this year.

Three state-owned companies – Telecom Cambodia, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority and the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port – plan to be its first initial public offerings.

But whether the e-commerce law is in place by then remains to be seen. Nguon Meng Tech, director- general of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday aims to enact the law before the end of 2011 were remote.

“I don’t think the law will be finalised by the end of this year because it is time-consuming, technical and complicated. It’s not easy,” he said.

At the same time, Tong Yang Securities (Cambodia) managing director Han Kyung Tae disagreed, saying that work on the law was ongoing and he was confident that the legislation would be introduced before year’s end.

Han, whose firm will underwrite the IPOs for Telecom Cambodia and Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, stressed the importance of getting the law online so that trading could begin.

“It is crucial for us to have the relevant regulations in place, because electronic trading will happen very soon,” he said yesterday.

Cham Prasidh called on the US-ASEAN Business Council to provide the technical assistance necessary to implement the law, which must be in compliance with World Trade Organisation rules.

Although the law’s drafting pro-cess began in 2008, enacting the legislation has proved to require additional expertise.

Even so, one insider has said trading may not be contingent on the law being passed.

Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia director-general Ming Bankosal said yesterday that contracts could be drawn up between investors, securities firms and stakeholders in order to avoid loss in the event of a system crash.

“Even if our e-commerce law has not materialised, we are going to set a clear mechanism to deal with [problems with the electronic system],” Ming Bankosal said. Source: the Phnom Penh Post

Maruhan inks a deal with microfinance firm

2011-08-29T01:19:00.001-07:00

MARUHAN Japan Bank and the Seilanithih Microfinance Institution have signed an agreement to work together, according to a statement yesterday. Maruhan general manager Onishi Shizuo said the agreement would benefit both parties.

“By joining for-ces with us, Seilanithih will be able to expand the size of its loan portfolio and customer base,” he said. “In turn, we will be able to tap into the national networks and infrastructure that Seilanithih and our other MFI partners have already built to service hard-to-reach rural areas and this will make Maruhan Japan Bank even more attractive to regional partners.” source: the phnom penh post

Chinese mobiles dial up big sales

2011-08-29T01:13:00.001-07:00

Cambodian consumers have noted a preference for Chin-ese-made, imitation mobile handsets, as they offer cheap yet viable alternatives to name-brand cell phones.

The demand is coming largely from low- and middle-income Cambodians seeking functional handsets at affordable prices. As a result, these consumers have said they are choosing established brands less and less.

Chea Bun Leang, 25, working at a shop near Boeung Trabek market in Chamkarmon district, touted Chinese phones for being both inexpensive and up-to-date.

“The programes on these phones are not that different from what you get on an original Nokia. And they’re not so expensive that I can’t afford them,’’ he said.

Some Chinese-made phones sell for as little as US$10 and offer dual-SIM capability. Even the more expensive models, which imitate Apple’s popular iPhone, are significantly cheaper than their branded counterparts.

High-priced phones were simply not necessary for many Cambodians, Lin, a clothes seller at the Boeung Trabek market who asked to be identified by her first name only, said.

“The phones are usable, whether they’re expensive or not. I don’t need much because I’m either at home or selling at the market,’’ she said, adding that Cambodia’s upper classes might not share her sentiments.

Keo Tharith, general manager of TR Mobile, a cell-phone shop also near the Boeung Trabek market, noted the growing market share of Chin-ese phones thanks to their low price. That has brought mostly middle-class customers and students to his store.

“I think Chinese phones are getting more and more popular because they are so competitive with name-brand handsets,’’ he said, adding that those handsets ranged between $18 and $20 at his shop.

Nokia, however, pushed back against the idea that it was losing ground to competitors in Cambodia.

“Competition is not new for Nokia. We welcome competition from legitimate vendors who have legitimate [intellectual property] and follow the law,’’ Nokia communications manager in Cambodia Y Sokun said. “We are confident that we can tackle our competitors, as we have done in the past, by concentrating on our strengths. We have a wide range of handsets, including entry-level handsets at very competitive prices.”

Y Sokun also pointed to something Nokia can offer that the Chinese phones cannot.

“In today’s world, it’s not just about devices but services and solutions. We see ourselves as a strong challenger in mobile solutions, which is the combination of a specific service along with a device.

“Many of our competitors can’t copy this solutions focus.”

Other shop owners also said Chinese phones might prove to be only a fad.

Still, cost seems to be the primary factor for some. Porn Soeun, a 61-year-old motorbike taxi driver working at Boeung Keng Kong market, said Chinese phones were his only option.

“I cannot afford a high-priced phone because I can make only 10,000 riel per day.” Source: the Phnom Penh post

Fashion retail enters the online era

2011-08-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

SOURSDEY Fashion occupies a small shopfront near the Russian Market. It looks similar to many of the small boutiques sprouting up across Phnom Penh, packed with the latest in fashion aimed at young, trendy consumers.

But the shop’s business plan differs from that of many similar-looking retail outlets. Soursdey Fashion is part of a small but growing number of shops that sell their products almost exclusively online.

Soursdey Fashion Shop manager Khun Keomoly says widespread use of the internet has made online retailing a viable proposition in the past few months.

“We have modern technology, and people are beginn-ing to learn more about new technology,” she says.

“The number of people who shop online is increasing, as people have more knowledge and understanding.”

Although there were fewer than 200,000 internet subscribers among the 14 million Cambodians at the end of last year, according to Ministry of Posts and Telecommunicat-ions statistics, some retailers say online buying is quickly catching on in the Kingdom.

Most customers purchase items displayed in picture albums on Soursdey Fashion’s Facebook page, and “friends” of the page can place orders by messaging the shop over the social network.

The shop then places an order with its suppliers in Hong Kong and China, and the new item arrives between a week and 10 days later.

Customers can either pick up the item at Soursdey’s shop, on Street 123, or have it delivered to their door. They generally pay in cash.

Khun Keomoly says cust-omers can also order over the phone, or by chatting online to the shop’s staff, but Facebook messaging is the most popular method of ordering.

The shop averages four to five customers a day who purchase as many as 10 items at a time. When it opened, it sold to one or two customers who bought one or two items each.

Soursdey is one of the largest of these shops springing up around Phnom Penh, boasting a separate dedicated website and storefront, as well as more than 5,000 “friends” of its Facebook shop.

A number of smaller retailers are also going online in Cambodia.

Huat Sok Eng, manager of the H & E Collection Fashion Shop, says she began runn-ing the business about five months ago after becoming a devotee of ordering fashion items online.

“I used to shop online before I opened my business,” she says. “I think it’s conven-ient – that’s why I began running my own business.”

Even so, the young and trendy who are targeted by retailers express mixed opinions about online shopping.

Sok Samphorsphalyka, a media student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, says she likes to shop online when there’s no time to head to the stores.

“It’s quite convenient. I just stay in one place, and click on the items I want to order.”

But other members of her generation say they prefer the old-fashioned method of purchasing fashion.

Lim Leangkung, a student at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia, says he doesn’t trust items that are offered online.

“I don’t trust shopping online because I don’t think it’s safe, and I want to buy something I can see with my own eyes,” Lim Leangkung says.

He worries that the quality of the products may be infer-ior to what was advertised.

H & E Collection’s Huat Sok Eng says it is true that sometimes the product is different from the advertisement, and this is a constant challenge for the business.

An online retailer’s credibility rests on making sure the product matches what was ordered, Soursdey’s Khun Keomoly says.

The shop also has problems with customers ordering from the website, but not coming in to pick up the items.

“Sometimes, customers order items, but they don’t come to pick them up,” Khun Keomoly says, adding that her only recourse in this situation is Facebook messaging.

Her suppliers also require constant payments, given the low volumes of items each provides, she says.

“Running an online shop is not an easy job. It’s easy to come under pressure from the customers, the bank and the suppliers.” source: the phnom penh post

Current accounts in control

2011-08-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

CAMBODIA’S current accounts deficit has increased in recent years, but is not yet a cause for concern, according to experts.

The Asian Development Bank’s July update showed Cambodia’s current accounts deficit stood at 11 percent of GDP in 2010, and statistics show the trade gap grew further in the first six months of the year.

Cambodia’s imports and exports both increased by 48 percent in the first half of 2011 compared year-on-year, hitting $3.245 billion and $2.228 billion respectively, according to Ministry of Commerce figures.

ADB Economics Officer Poullang Doung wrote that higher fuel and food prices increase import costs, but Cambodia had been increasing exports as it recovered from the financial crisis.

“[Increased exports] will gradually help narrow down the current accounts deficit slowly but surely,” he said.
Cambodia’s imports and exports both increased by 48 percent in the first half of 2011 compared year-on-year, hitting $3.245 billion and $2.228 billion, according to Ministry of Commerce figures.

National Bank of Cambodia Spokeswoman and Director General Nguon Sokha said Cambodia need to import inputs such as construction materials to support future economic development.

“This is a normal situation for a developing country [such as Cambodia] that has potential to grow,” she said.

“The point is how the country finances this current account deficit. And so far, the government is doing well in this regard. We do not have a debt problem, and we enjoy macroeconomic stability and also financial stability.” Source: the phnom penh post

Petrol prices squeeze domestic consumers

2011-08-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Soaring prices for gasoline and goods have hurt some Cambodian consumers, causing what economists have said was a drop in the living standard of the Kingdom’s lower-income population.

“People need to spend more money to make ends meet if prices keep increasing,” said economist Chan Sophal.

The rising costs of gasoline and other goods are weighing on low-income Cambodians, subtracting from their ability to buy the products they need, he said.

Gasoline traded at 5,300 riel per litre in Phnom Penh yesterday, an increase of about 12 percent so far this year, according to the Commerce Ministry’s daily statistics. Oil prices have increased globally, with Brent Crude trading at US$116.35 a barrel on the London-based ICE exchange yesterday, from less than $80 a year ago.

Thorn Sarum, 18, a security guard working in Phnom Penh, said he has struggled with those issues since arriving in the city two months ago.

“I earn $90 per month, but I have never sent my salary to my parents back home because everything here is really expensive. I need to pay for rent, water and some food,” he said.

Others in Phnom Penh are trying to stretch their wages in order to support their families here.

Chhay Samrithy, a 42-year-old primary school teacher at Chak Angrey Phum 3, said she earns 340,000 riel a month, or about $85, which isn’t enough to meet her family’s needs.

“I have five children whose studies I spend a lot of money on, and everything is more and more expensive, especially the price of rice, food and gasoline. That makes my family face many challenges,” she said.

Businesses have also felt the effects of inflation.

Thol Sokny, a gasoline vendor in Kampong Cham’s Memot district, said the pressure on consumers from higher costs has resulted in declining customer traffic. As a result, she is now considering a salaried job instead.

“I want to quit my business to work as a staff for one company because being a seller cannot improve my family conditions,” she said.

Still, increased prices for some goods benefit Cambodia’s producers, particularly farmers.

Ministry of Economy and Finance Secretary of State Hang Chuon Naron pointed out that rising prices for agricultural products such as rice benefits farmers.

He added the government was taking steps to encourage farmers to plant in-demand crops such as palm oil, and was investing in electricity production to decrease costs.

The National Bank of Cambodia is considering a measure to rein in inflation by increasing reserve requirements for domestic banks.

NBC Director General and Spokeswoman Nguon Sokha has said inflation could hit up to 9 percent this year.

Experts at the Asian Development Bank have said inflation ought to hit about 5.5 percent this year, while the International Monetary Fund estimates Cambodia’s average inflation will be about 6.5 percent this year.

In July, Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon raised Cambodia’s inflation target to 5.5 percent for 2011, from a 5 percent target set previously for the year. Source: the Phnom Penh Post

The dangers of the day trade

2011-08-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

Day trading is the practice of buying and selling financial instruments within the same day with the expectation of making quick profits on rising and falling prices. Typically positions are exited before the markets close as to reduce the risk of holding a position overnight, as the open price may have significantly changed from the previous day’s closing price. The financial instruments popular amongst day traders are stocks, options, currencies and futures contracts.

Day trading can be extremely profitable, however it carries significant risk, and day traders can just as easily suffer severe losses, or worse. While some professional investors are able to making a living from day trading, studies have proven that 70 percent to 80 percent of day traders lose money. Unlike a buy and hold strategy, day trading is not considered investing, it has been described by some experts as compulsive gambling.

Among the factors that gave rise to day trading were the gradual reduction in commission rates, the contraction of settlement periods, and the evolution of electronic communication networks which bypass exchanges and tend to offer favourable prices, near-instantaneous trading, and more economical commissions. The technology bubble and series of bull markets over 25 years also contributed to the increase in day traders. However the burst bubble, severe market drop during the financial crisis, and more stringent regulatory oversight and rules has generally limited day trading to a larger percentage of experienced professionals.

Professional day traders are generally very knowledgeable and experienced in how the market works. They generally require a large amount of capital to benefit effectively on intra-day price movements.

Typically, day traders use financial leverage and trade on margin, borrowing monies from their broker to amplify their trading positions and potential profits. Margin interest is usually charged on overnight balances, thus the trader is able to use capital without cost. However there is a risk of a margin call should the position go against the trader.

A fundamental tenet in day trading is to use only risk capital, the amount that the trader can afford to lose. A strategy and rules with the discipline to follow them, especially under pressure situations, is a characteristic of professional day traders. “Plan the trade” and “trade the plan” is a well-known saying. There are several basic techniques used by day traders. Range trading is identifying stocks that have been rising off their support price and falling off their resistance price and buying when the stock hits support and selling when it hits resistance. Trend following assumes that financial instruments which have been rising steadily will continue to rise, and vice versa when falling. Financial instruments trending up are purchased and those trending down are sold short in expectation that the trend will continue.

On the flip-side contrarian investing, a market-timing strategy, assumes a trends will reverse and the trader will buy an instrument that is falling and short sell one that is rising. News playing involves buying stocks which have announced good news and selling short those that have announced bad news. Scalping is a trading style that exploits price gaps created by the bid-offer spread.

Day trading is an extremely stressful and expensive full time job. While it is easy to be seduced by the potential of high profits, the statistics are evidence that 80 percent will fail, and is best left to the professionals. Source: the phnom penh post

Topping up: Refresh inks Beeline deal

2011-08-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Refresh Mobile yesterday announced its newest partner, saying Beeline customers can now add credit to their mobile phones via Refresh’s electronic top-up terminals.

In addition to the Beeline deal, which went into effect August 8, Refresh has agreements with Mobitel and internet service provider Online. More deals will be announced in the near future, company officials said.

“We’ve seen sales continue to rise. More and more people are topping up at the terminals,” Ian Watson, Refresh Mobile’s founder and a major investor, said. He said Refresh operated 8500 top-up terminals in 19 provinces, with its presence in the remaining five provinces expected by early September.

“We’re the bridge to the digital age” in Cambodia, he said. source: the phnom penh post

Ministry plans halal food rules

2011-08-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

CAMBODIA was taking the first steps to regulate the processing of halal food in order to serve both domestic and regional markets, Ministry of Commerce Secretary of State Mao Thora said.

The ministry was establishing a task force in conjunction with the Cambodia Islamic Association to discuss the requirements for a potential law regarding halal food, or food prepared according to Islamic law, he said.

“We’ve had one meeting to discuss the task force prior to submitting our report to the Council of Ministers for official approval as to how big it should be and how it should function,” Mao Thora said.

“Now we are preparing the legislation and organising the task force to conduct the necessary research.”

Even though Cambodia has not produced government-certified halal food in the past, Mao Thora said some manufacturers described their products as halal.

Although he doubted that Cambodian halal products would be exported to the Middle East, he said nearby countries with big Muslim populat-ions, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, were target markets.

Cambodian Islamic Community Development Foundation president Othsman Hassan said the goal was to set up only one institution to deal with the legal aspects of managing halal food production in Cambodia. It is needed to attract halal-related business to the Kingdom.

“Once we have that legitimacy, outside investors will come,” he said.

Othsman Hassan pointed to other countries with small Muslim populations, such as Australia and Brazil, that produce halal food, often for export. Source: the phnom penh post

FPT talks operating telcoms in Cambodia

2011-08-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Vietnamese company FPT Telecom aims to extend operations to the Kingdom, after its attempted acquisition of Vietnam’s EVN Telecom fell through.

FPT Telecom “has plans to expand business in Cambodia, but all is in discussion”, a spokesperson said late on Monday, declining to comment further.

The firm had been in talks to buy a stake in internet service provider MekongNet, though its CEO Sok Channda said this week the talks stalled last year when FPT turned its attention to its planned deal with Vietnamese fixed and mobile operator EVN Telecom. The deal between FPT and EVN fell through earlier in 2011.

FPT has made no attempt to restart talks with MekongNet since the EVN deal failed, she said.

“Until now they have not come to talk with us yet,” Sok Channda said. “I don’t have a plan to sell to anybody yet.”

When asked about FPT’s intentions, a number of other Cambodian ISP and telecom CEOs also claimed they knew of no attempts by FPT to purchase companies in the Kingdom.

In addition to providing ISP networking services to Cambodia and Laos, FTP has been granted a licence to test LTE, so-called fourth-generation wireless in Vietnam, according to VietNamNet. The company told the news agency that because the costs of LTE are far greater than 3G, widespread adoption of 4G is still some ways off. As a result, FPT will focus on foreign acquisitions for the time being.

FPT Information System, a separate branch of FPT, already operates in the Kingdom. Source: the phnom penh post

Angkor Wat visits up on Asia tourist arrivals

2011-08-22T04:03:00.000-07:00

THE number of international tourists visiting Siem Reap’s Angkor Wat temples increased 23 percent year-on-year through July, with statistics showing notable growth in travellers from Vietnam, South Korea, China and Japan.

Some 907,463 tourists arrived at Angkor Wat in the first seven months of 2011, up from 736,371 during the same period last year, according to the Siem Reap Tourism Department’s latest figures.

Nearly 5,000 people per day visit the attraction for its internationally recognised temples and cultural and historic resorts, Department Director Ngov Seng Kak said last week.

“Angkor Wat has the potential to attract increased numbers of tourists each year,” he said. “I hope it will continue to increase by a lot this year.”

Vietnam continues to play a role in Cambodia’s growing tourism industry.

Khuy Kry, chief of Immigration Police at Bavet International Checkpoint, said yesterday that more than 1,000 Vietnamese enter Cambodia everyday. Many of them travel to Angkor Wat, as well as Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville.

Bavet, Cambodia’s largest land border crossing with Vietnam, saw 378,549 foreigners enter the Kingdom between January and July, according to statistics provided by the checkpoint. That was an increase of 15 percent compared to the same period in 2010.

“We are seeing visitors increase because we have good-quality infrastructure, good services and good security for them,” Khuy Kry said.

Ministry statistics showed 2.5 million foreign tourists visited the Kingdom in 2010. Source: the phnom penh post

Central bank mulls its inflation response

2011-08-05T00:05:00.001-07:00

CAMBODIA’S central bank is looking to tighten monetary policy to slow an inflation rate that could hit 8 to 9 percent this year, National Bank of Cambodia Director General and Spokeswoman Nguon Sokha said yesterday.

Increases in commodity prices and petroleum has led to rising prices around the globe, and may cause further price inflation in Cambodia this year. The NBC is committed to maintaining price stability and Cambodia is not alone in the region in considering a tightened monetary policy, she said.

“The NBC may need to take action given current price inflation,” she said. “At the moment, we are making efforts to maintain stability in the value of the riel, and we are pleased with the current performance of the exchange rate.”

Given Cambodia’s high degree of dollarisation – by most estimates more than 90 percent of the Kingdom’s currency – the central bank has relatively few policy instruments to use and the effectiveness of some its monetary policy options are limited.

The NBC will hold a meeting this month to consider whether to raise the reserve requirement rate for commercial banks from 12 per cent on deposits in foreign currencies to 16 per cent or higher, she said.

A reserve requirement is the amount of money a commercial bank must hold, rather than lending out.

“I don’t know for sure if we’re going to implement the policy. We’re considering final approval from the monetary policy committee meeting set for the middle of this month,” Nguon Sokha said.

“If we do nothing, the press-ure of inflation will become worse and worse, destabilising our exchange rate.”

The NBC’s prediction of eight to nine per cent inflation this year is higher than many other observers’ forecasts.

Last month, Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon upped his prediction to 5.5 per cent inflation for 2011, while the World Bank has predicted five per cent.

The International Monetary Fund currently predicted inflation of about 6.5 per cent for Cambodia in 2011, IMF resident representative Faisal Ahmed wrote yesterday.

“A tighter monetary policy, sooner rather than later, can help reduce the inflationary pressure,'' Ahmed said.

“In fact, as observed in many countries, price stability is one of the key ingredients for fin-ancial development.”

Vietnam’s consumer prices increased 22.16 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared with a growth of 20.82 per cent in June, according to statistics released from Hanoi’s General Statistics Office last week.

Business Research Insitute for Cambodia chief executive Suzuki Hiroshi wrote that Cambodia’s inflation rates were not particularly high compared with those of countries such as Vietnam, adding that he supposed it was too early to talk about monetary tightening in Cambodia.

“It is very difficult for the NBC to take policy measures for fine tuning because of the highly dollarised economy,” Hiroshi wrote yesterday.

Diversifying and improving exports was the most important step the Cambodian economy could take to mitigate external shocks, he said.

“The government has to diversify the industry by inviting other manufacturing indust-ries to Cambodia. Strengthening competitiveness is also a big challenge.”

The Ministry of Commerce’s daily statistics show prices for foodstuffs and petroleum in particular have risen this year.

Paddy is up by about two per cent since the start of the year, though pork has increased by 35 per cent and fish is up by 26 per cent, the statistics show.

Nguon Sokha downplayed concerns that an increase to reserve requirement rate would negatively impact the domestic financial industry, as the NBC had maintained a rate of 16 per cent in 2008, before the financial crisis.

“In our banking system, there’s a lot of liquidity – the increase to the reserve requirement will not have a big impact,” she said.

ACLEDA Bank vice-president So Phonnary said she had not received concrete information of an increase, but added the NBC’s measures would make the industry stronger.

“We don’t have any problem with our bank [to meet an increase to the reserve requirement ratio]. But I think it will impact on smaller banks by limiting their liquidity for daily operations,” she said. Source: the Phnom penh post

FPT talks operating telcoms in Cambodia

2011-08-05T00:03:00.001-07:00

Block A oil partner inks finance deal

2011-08-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

KRISENERGY Holding Company, a partner with Chevron in Cambodia’s offshore petroleum Block A, has secured US$115 million in bond and credit facility to fund its projects, a statement on Friday said.

The funding comes through a five-year, $85 million bond issue and three-year $30 million credit facility, would repay its existing $58.5 million facility, and “fund development of its asset portfolio, including near-term oil development projects offshore Cambodia and Thailand”, it said.

Singapore-based KrisEnergy holds a 25 percent stake in Cambodia’s Block A. Chevron Overseas Petroleum Cambodia Limited is the operator of Block A and holds a 30 percent interest, while a subsidiary of Mitsui Oil Exploration Company holds 30 percent, and GS Caltex the remaining 15 percent, according to the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority's website.

Block A is thought to be the most advanced area undergoing oil exploration in Cambodia, and government officials have said they hope extraction will begin by December 2012.

KrisEnergy Chief Financial Officer Stephen Clifford said the partners in Block A continue working toward realising development of the oil discoveries and reaching production. “The plan of development is currently with the Cambodian authorities awaiting appropriate approvals,” he said on Friday.

“In Cambodia, we believe there is excellent potential for hydrocarbon reserves and we would welcome bringing our technical and operational expertise to other projects and areas,” said Clifford, who directed further Block A operational inquires to Chevron.

Chevron’s Singapore-based spokesman Gareth Johnstone confirmed Friday that the firm aimed to make an investment decision on Block A this year.

KrisEnergy is involved in ten contract areas, all in Southeast Asia. Its latest financing arrangement comes through a five-year U$85 million bond, with Pareto Securities as Lead Manager. Standard Bank Plc and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp were lead arrangers for the three-year $30 million revolving credit facility, it said Source: the phnompenhpost

Sokha inks BIDC loan

2011-05-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

Three Sokha Hotels now under construction in the Kingdom were financed by a loan from Vietnam-owned BIDC bank, Sohka Hotel Company Chief Executive Officer Sok Vanna said yesterday.

The firm has received the capital, and is using it to finance Sokha’s Bokor resort in Kampot province, as well as the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel on the Chruoy Changvar peninsula and a beachside hotel in Preah Sihanouk province, he said.

“We had already received the agreed-upon loan, and begun implementing our projects, but we waited to sign the official agreement during the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister to the Kingdom,” he said.

The loan agreement was signed by BIDC CEO Nguyen Van Hien and Sok Vanna on Sunday, during a visit by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Phnom Penh. Sok Vanna declined to reveal the size of the loan yesterday.

The three projects are at different stages of development. Five stories of the 16-storey, 799-room Sokha Hotel Phnom Penh are built, and is set for a 2014 completion, he said.

Work on the 700-room, 18-storey Sokha Bokor Hotel located on Bokor Mountain next to a historic casino is continuing, though no completion date has been set.

The 9-storey, 600-room Sokha O’Chheuteal Hotel is expected to be completed in 2012 in Sihanoukville.

“Cambodia has lots of areas that will attract international tourists to come,” he said.

The firm currently operates three Sokha hotels in Cambodia.

Ministry of Tourism Industry Department Director Prak Chan Dara said yesterday that the Kingdom has seen many hotels being built in recent years.

“We will have a lot of five star hotels in our country and we think that it is a good sign for the tourism sector,” he said. Source: the phnom penh post

Banks claim growth in lending and deposits

2011-05-01T23:44:00.001-07:00

Increased lending from the Kingdom’s 30 commercial banks during the first quarter was largely due to increased demand from the domestic agriculture sector, according to National Bank of Cambodia Director General and Spokeswoman Nguon Sokha.

Lending at the end of March totalled US$3.467 billion, a 4.33 percent increase on $3.323 billion extended by Cambodia’s banks on December 31, 2010, she said.

“We see that our commercial banks are increasing loans and deposits after the crisis,” said Ngoun Sokha, adding new lending “is mainly focusing on the agricultural sector, which has greatly increased compared to other [sectors] and business activities.

“The banking sector has improved in line with the whole economy, resulting in more loan accessibility,” she said.

Lending to the construction and real estate sector has languished behind other sectors, she noted.

Nguon Sokha also pointed to an increase in deposits, which totalled $4.001 billion at the end of March, a 3.23 percent rise from $3.876 billion at the end of December last year.

Canadia Bank Vice President Dieter Billmeier wrote that the bank’s total lending increase 37.74 percent during the first quarter to $562 million by the end of March, while deposits increase 41.12 percent to $948 million.

“The economy and business in Cambodia is growing again with a remarkable pace,” he said.

“As far as our loan portfolio is concerned we have a special focus on agriculture and food processing activities nation-wide. But in general we are serving all other sectors and industries.”

He predicted Canadia Bank and the rest of the banking sector would have a strong 2011.

Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia saw its total deposits grow by 29 percent during the quarter to $296 million, and gross loans and advances increase by 38 percent during the quarter to $145 million at March 31, according to its unaudited figures.

“Our loans are mainly granted to service industry, agriculture and micro-finance institutions,” said Gui Anvanith, general manager and board member.

“We have increased our exposure to the agribusiness sector since we believe that this sector will continue to experience sustainable growth in light of better access to international markets as well as stronger government support,” he said.

Kookmin Bank Cambodia President and Chief Executive Officer Jang Ki-sung said the number and amount of its loans increased by 100 percent and 112.6 percent respectively during the quarter. Kookmin launched its first branch in the Kingdom in 2009.

South Korea-based Hwang DBS Commercial Bank, which began operation in July 2009, has seen number of deposits grow to 1,191 and 154 loans customers as of 31 March 2011.

“This growth was complimented by our ability to reach out to more customers in the housing loan and SME sectors ...,” wrote Hwang DBS General Manger Han Peng Kwang. He added the bank had expanded its domestic reach by adding two more branches last year.

Ngoun Sokha said she expects the domestic banking sector to have a strong 2011.

“Relying on our surveys as well as the economic climate in the region and the world, we are in a very favourable environment to make our whole economy better.”

“It will require more loans, to meet the economy’s needs,” she said. Source: the phnom penh post

Private sector still to wait for telecom law

2011-05-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

Officials yesterday said they aim to pass a long-awaited law governing the telecommunications sector by the close of 2011, a year and a half after domestic telecom companies last provided input for the law.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun said there was an inter-ministry meeting on Monday at the Council of Ministers that discussed the law, and that negotiations were ongoing.

He declined to provide an exact timeline for the passing of the law, but said he hoped it would be soon.

“Maybe it will be finished at the end of this year,” he said.

If the deadline was met, it would mark two years since Cambodia’s telecom industry suggested changes to the law, according to industry insiders.

According to a copy of those changes obtained by The Post, the industry largely demanded more clarity regarding licensing and foreign ownership.
Companies were also concerned about a potential government mandate forbidding them from owning both network infrastructure and consumer services businesses, among other issues.

The revisions were submitted in September 2009, the documents showed.

Officials from Mobitel declined to comment yesterday on the law, as an Indonesian firm claimed to be working at acquiring a majority stake in the provider.

Yesterday, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia President Rinaldi Firmansyah said it will complete its purchase of 51 percent of Mobitel in the first half of this year. Mobitel CEO David Spriggs declined comment.

Simon Perkins, Chief Executive Officer of Hello, said that while he understood the telecom law was being discussed at the Council of Ministries level, “It is not clear to us if these comments are being considered.”

When asked if the government was reviewing the industry’s proposals yesterday, Minister So Khun said he had no knowledge of them.

Opinion about whether the lack of a telecommunications law hurts the sector has varied.

“Uncertainty about the law does cause some concern for overseas investors, as it is not clear if there will be foreign ownership restrictions for example,” said Hello’s Perkins.

Some CEOs pointed to the regulatory framework already in place, saying the sector grew steadily without a formal law.

“It is not affecting our business because this law is not changing things so drastically,” said Smart Mobile CEO Thomas Hundt. “We started without a law and we continue to maintain status quo – so there is no major difference,” he said.

Minister So Khun also agreed that investment in the domestic telecoms sector has been largely unaffected, and said it will be “even easier” to invest in Cambodia once the law is passed.

The Cambodian government has been trying to pass a telecom law in some form since 1998, according to one industry observer requesting anonymity. Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Border casinos claim recent custom drop

2011-05-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

Casino owners along the Cambodia-Thailand border yesterday noted a sharp drop in business since clashes again broke out between the two countries near Oddar Meanchey province.

Chea Kea, owner of the Mongkodpich casino in the border province of Pailin, said that customer traffic had fallen significantly since the fighting began in February and restarted on April 22.

“Since early February I have lost more than $100,000 per month, and visitors to the casino are down 40 percent since the most recent fighting,” he said.

Most of Mongkodpich’s customers are Thai citizens, he said.

Officials at the O’Smach international border gate in Oddar Meanchey said that the area’s two main gambling centres – Royal Hill Casino and O’Smach Resort Casino – also had suffered declines for the same reasons.

“Since Thailand closed their border [at O’Smach] on April 22, there aren’t many customers coming to the casinos because 99 percent of those who come to play are Thai,” said Nguy Cheang, deputy director at the O’Smach gate.

He said he expects business to return to normal once the gate is reopened and the conflict subsides.

Loem Heng, owner of Royal Hill Casino Loem Heng agreed, saying that Thai customers will cross the border once the fighting has stopped.

“It is normal when there is a problem like this,” he said. “We know that when the gate is opened there will be business again.”

He declined to discuss the size of the casino’s loss.

Sources at O’Smach Resort reiterated that operations had slowed since the fighting began.

The casino could close if the conflict grows any worse, said a company official requesting anonymity.

Officials at the Choam and O’Smach border points yesterday confirmed the two gates remained closed since the restart of fighting in April. Source: the phnom penh post

Talking Finance: Understanding bank lending

2011-05-01T23:02:00.001-07:00

Firms around the world depend on several sources of capital to finance their businesses. The stock market provides long-term equity financing, the bond markets provides debt financing, and the bank market provides loans. Cambodia will soon have an equity and bond market, but historically, businesses have been financed through owner’s equity and bank borrowing.

Thus banks play an extremely vital role given the absence of alternatives. Understanding how banks evaluate loans and their decision-making process is extremely helpful for potential borrowers. Banks strongly prefer companies with an operating history and with several years of profitability. Therefore obtaining financing as a start-up company may be difficult. The bank will have lending policies based on the local market regulations and the bank’s own rules and procedures.

Lending to certain industries may be restricted for reasons such as the impact to the environment or for moral reasons. Banks will also diversify their lending portfolio by applying lending limits per industry. Local regulations must be adhered to. For example, a bank may only lend 20 percent of its capital to a single borrower, this being known as the single borrower lending limit.

Cambodia’s lending rates have improved over the last decade, yet interest rates are still perceived as higher than international market rates. How a bank prices a loan is based on several factors. The “cost of funds” is generally what a bank has to pay its depositors. This is greatly influenced by supply and demand. If the market is flush with deposits, interest rates on deposits will be lower. They will also be lower if banks restrict lending as there is less need for deposits.

If banks are actively lending and require deposits, then rates on deposits will be higher. Lending costs are also influenced by the banks’ own operating costs and the risk on the borrower. Longer tenors are priced higher as the risk on long-term loans is greater than short-term loans.

An unprepared borrower is normally its greatest enemy. There must be a clear purpose for the loan, and the uses of the requested borrowing amount must be coherently explained and verified if possible.

How the loan will be repaid and in what timeframe must be substantiated. The character of the borrower is a very important aspect of the lending decision. The history of the owners and management will weigh heavily. The competitive position of the borrower in its industry is another key determinant.

Cambodian banks, almost without exception, lend on a secured basis. Thus the value and quality of collateral pledged influences the amount the bank will lend.

Policies of banks vary. Occupied land may be given a collateral value of 50 percent of its market, building 40 percent, and vacant land less. Land and building are immovable collateral and strongly preferred.

The loan documents will include covenants. Affirmative covenants require the borrower to take certain actions, such as filing of financial statements and maintaining insurance. Negative covenants restrict the borrower from doing certain things such as taking on additional debt. These should be reviewed with scrutiny as they can lead to events of default which allow lenders to demand repayment in advance of the due date of the loan.

The complexities of obtaining a loan and satisfying the bank’s requirements are demanding. A well prepared borrower will be in a much better position. Source: the phnom penh post

Inflation fueled by rising global oil prices

2011-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Prices in the first quarter increased an average of 3.6 percent on the same quarter last year, driven largely by increases in international fuel prices, according to experts.

Price inflation in Cambodia bottomed out in late 2010, and has gradually been increasing since, according to Olaf Unterroberdoerster, a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund.

“However, at 3.6 percent on average in the first quarter of 2011, inflation has been moderate compared to Cambodia’s neighbours,” he wrote.

Vietnam’s consumer prices climbed 17.51 percent in April from a year earlier, according to figures released Sunday by the Hanoi-based General Statistics Office – the highest increase since December 2008.

The IMF forecasts Cambodia’s inflation to increase to an average of 5 percent in 2011 – from an average 4 percent in 2010 – mainly on the back of rising fuel prices, according to Olaf Unterroberdoerster.

“With inflation pressures on the rise it will be important that policy makers remain vigilant and maintain a prudent monetary and fiscal policy stance.”

Brent crude traded yesterday above US$124.30 on international markets, from below $87 one year ago.

NIS Deputy Director General Khin Song said fuel prices were a main reason behind the overall increase, though most prices remained relatively stable. The NIS-compiled Consumer Price Index shows fuel prices were a large factor in the price rise, increasing 3.08 percent on average in the first quarter compared year on year, while prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased 3.87 percent in the same period.

Other large gains were the price of transport – up an annualised 5.04 percent on the first quarter – and restaurants and hotels costs up 5.66 percent.

“This quarter, the speed of inflation increased a bit, but it is not noticeable – we are on track to keep inflation under 5 percent,” said Khin Song.

Business Research Institute for Cambodia Chief Economist Suzuki Hiroshi wrote that the Consumer Price Index has been stable, though he added domestic prices would likely continue increasing in the coming months.

“I notice that prices increase a little bit [in the second quarter] – that’s seasonal,” he said. “However, I don’t think it will be higher than five percent.” Source: the phnom penh post

Early rains hit salt production

2011-05-01T22:59:00.001-07:00

Domestic salt production halted earlier than normal this year due to the early rainy season, causing lower than expected yields, according to Ly Seng, President of the Cambodian Salt Producers Association.

The association’s members have produced 70,000 tonnes for 2010 to 2011 season, a decline on its forecast of 80,000 tonnes set in January, he said.

Salt production normally mirrors the dry season in Cambodia, by beginning in November and ending in May, Ly Seng said.

He added production had been hit by an early start to the rainy season this year – causing most production to finish by April.

The association’s members produce salt on 4,500 hectares largely in Kampot and Kep provinces.

Cambodia’s domestic salt demand generally sits at between 80,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes a year, he said,

However, excess production last year meant there was plenty of leftover stock.

“We produced 170,000 tonnes of salt [last year], of which 70,000 tonnes are left,” he said.

Production varies year to year – declining to 30,000 tonnes in 2009, which led Cambodia to import from China to make up for the shortfall, officials said at the time.

Kampot Province Department of Industry Director Som Vichet pointed to heavy rains during April as forcing many salt production sites to halt.

Yet he claimed the Kingdom ought to be able to dip into its stockpiles to meet domestic demand in 2011.

“We will not lack salt this year,” he said.

Kampot province salt producer Man Hay claimed he had halted production in early April due to the heavy rains.

“I am afraid, as my output this year dropped,” he said. “I am waiting for the price, to see how high it is – it may be the case that I talk a loss.”

He pointed to the 1,400 tonnes of salt his 30 hectares produced last year, which fell to 700 tonnes this year.

Granulated salt traded at between 1200 and 1400 riel per kilogramme on Phnom Penh’s markets yesterday, with prices largely unchanged from a year ago, according to daily Ministry of Commerce statistics.

Late last year, government officials cracked down on the sale of non-iodised salt, claiming iodised salt helped prevent disease. Source: the phnom penh post

Garment exports rise as trade gap widens

2011-05-01T22:57:00.001-07:00

Global economic growth boosted Cambodia’s exports nearly 50 percent in the first quarter compared year on year, though the trade deficit expanded during the period, Ministry of Commerce officials said.

Exports increased 49.6 percent to US$1.13 billion between January and March, up from $756.6 million the year before, according to the figures.

The growth was driven by an increase in garments and textiles, but also agricultural products, according to Ministry of Commerce Secretary of State Ok Boung.

“The world economy is recovering. So our exports increase as demand goes up,” he said. He added the Kingdom had improved its business environment since the period of the financial downturn.

Garments and textiles, Cambodia’s main export, rose 45.5 percent in the first quarter to a total of $976 million from $670.9 million.

Agricultural products, including milled and unmilled rice, corn, cassava, rubber and processed timber, climbed to $112.8 million, a rise of more than 238 percent from the same period in 2010, ministry statistics show.

Meanwhile, total imports for the first quarter increased 71 percent to $1.55 billion from $908.5 million in the first quarter of 2010. Imports included raw materials for garments, food, petroleum, vehicles, construction materials and medicine.

Huot Pum, an economics professor at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, called the figures a sign that Cambodia is increasingly capable of producing goods that other countries want.

That means “we can increase our share in the global market,” he said.

Growth in importing raw materials for the garment industry was one reason behind the increasing trade deficit, he said.

“That’s why we see that when exports grow, imports follow. Because we don’t yet have the ability to produce those materials [for the garment industry],” he said.

An official at the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce credited the country’s business-friendly regulations for the jump in commerce.

“Right now a lot of foreign businessmen are contacting us because our government has proved to them they are serious about attracting outside investors, and that makes them want to do business here,” said Nguon Meng Tech, Director General at the CCC. Source: the phnom penh post

Camera capture: Distributor for Canon opens outlet

2011-05-01T22:55:00.001-07:00

PHOTOGRAPHY firm i-Qlick Cambodia opened an outlet in Phnom Penh on Saturday, with the Prime Minister’s son in attendance.

The three-storey outlet on Sihanouk Boulevard distributes Canon cameras, as well as other imported electronics for sale.

Andy Lee, Country Director for i-Qlick, said his company was attempting to capitalise on a rising demand for photography products, as well as bring consumers the latest in technology.

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet, said at the launch the country’s political stability and business-friendly environment make it attractive for investors.Source: the phnom penh post

Thai trade breakdown to hit Cambodia most

2011-05-01T22:52:00.001-07:00

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s threat on Wednesday to cease all imports from Thailand may have helped further stoke nationalistic fervour as clashes continued on the border, but in reality Cambodia stands to lose out much more than its neighbour should bilateral trade collapse.

While Thailand represents Cambodia’s biggest trade partner worth some US$2.54 billion last year, the other way round Cambodia is but a drop in Thailand’s economic ocean making up a paltry 0.68 percent of the country’s total trade in 2010. To put things into perspective, Thailand’s food exports at a projected $28.5 billion for this year, according to the country’s National Food Institute this week, will be more than two times larger than Cambodia’s entire GDP in 2011 at just under $13 billion.

Although Cambodia continues to register a huge trade deficit with its neighbour – more than $2.1 billion last year – at the two border crossings that closed this week at O’smach and Choam Cambodia is the net exporter, according to reports from officials in the area.

Much of this trade from the Cambodian side is in perishable agricultural goods, and in most cases farmers do not have the necessary infrastructure to store or preserve their products, meaning they have few other avenues to sell outside of trade across the Thai border.

At other busier checkpoints such as Poipet, Thai exports far outweigh those from Cambodia, no doubt a reason why Thailand instead targeted O’smach and Choam for closure this week. So Hun Sen’s threat to cease all Thai imports would undoubtedly hurt companies across the border at the likes of Poipet and Koh Kong, while Cambodia could no doubt find other suppliers from the likes of Vietnam and China, as the Prime Minister suggested. But the reality is much more complicated with negative implications for Cambodia as well.

In terms of logistics, importing goods from everywhere but Thailand makes little economic sense, especially in the west of Cambodia given the geography and heavy cost of transportation. Also, many Thai imports are raw materials that fuel Cambodia’s economy, therefore ceasing imports in these products would cause huge disruption, adversely affecting domestic economic activity.

For example Siam Cement Group, a major investor in Cambodia, imports most of its products through Poipet, including building materials and fertilisers which are sourced by many builders and farmers here. So although closure of the border would hurt this Thai company it would also be detrimental to Cambodia’s economy. Simply replacing these products with those from Vietnam or China is not that straightforward – distribution networks take years to generate and expand, quality can differ and so too can the products available. The free market exists for a reason.

The net result is that while a decision to bar Thailand’s imports would hurt businesses there, overall Thailand’s economy would barely register a blip. In Cambodia, however, the impact of a bilateral trade meltdown would be severe, and not just confined to the border.

Given this reality, Hun Sen’s threat this week will almost certainly amount to very little. Cambodia simply cannot afford to close its borders to Thai trade. Source: the phnom penh post

Microfinance grows on agriculture loans

2011-05-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

The microfinance sector saw increased demand for loans particularly from small and medium enterprises and the agricultural sector during the first quarter of the year, according to industry insiders.

Domestic microfinance lending, excluding ACLEDA Bank, totalled US$473.4 million at the end of the first quarter, a 51.4-percent increase from the end of the fourth quarter last year, according to statistics from the Cambodian Microfinance Association obtained yesterday. The number of borrowers climbed 14.4 percent to 988,428.

“We are improving because the economy is as well, especially with the increase of new businesses in the provinces and the strength in agriculture,” said Chea Phalarin, Chairman of the CMA and President of Amret Microfinance.

Chea Phalarin said the country’s microfinance institutions have grown their operations at the grassroots level by offering competitive services and products to customers, such as the attractive interest rate on deposits given by five MFIs recently licenced by the National Bank of Cambodia.

“Our interest rate is higher compared to commercial banks. It’s a better service that helps to bring in more customers,” he said.

Deposits at the licenced MFIs climbed 26.8 percent during the quarter to total $52 million on March 31, the report said, while the number of depositors rose 9 percent to 207,137. The CMA also noted a decrease in the overall non-performing loan (NPL) rate during the period.

Amret’s loans and deposits both rose by 30 percent quarter on quarter, reaching $70.9 million and $19.9 million respectively, while its non-performing-loan rate improved to 0.3 percent, according to its president.

“We attained our loan-growth plan in [the first quarter] of this year, and we expect it will keep growing in [the second quarter],” said Chea Phalarin.

Sim Senacheert, Chief Executive Officer of Prasac MFI, said that his portfolio of loans outstanding rose 11 percent by the end of March, reaching $117.9 million, thanks to a demand bump in business loans and more large loans for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Prasac’s NPL rate fell to 0.9 percent from 1.02 percent quarter on quarter, down from 1.63 percent in Q1 of 2010.

“It improved because the clients have money to back their loans,” Sim Senacheert said. “And most of the lenders were cautious in their lending activities, which reduced clients’ debt loads.”

He said he expected Prasac’s loan portfolio to grow 40 percent to 50 percent in 2011, a figure that CMA Chairman Chea Phalarin cited for the entire MFI industry.

“I think that the whole industry performed very well in the first quarter of 2011, and this good performance will continue for the whole year,” he said.

Hiroshi Suzuki, an economist at the Business Research Institute for Cambodia, said the Prime Minister’s goal of exporting 1 million tonnes of rice by 2015 has had a positive effect on the Kingdom’s agriculture industry.

“It is good for the private sector to follow the government policy,” he said, adding that the demand for financing would continue to be strong at this initial stage of development for Cambodia’s economy.

He said he is optimistic about the growth of Cambodia’s financial sector over the next few years, as loan terms get longer and interest rates drop. Source: the Phnom Penh Post

Mobile markets: Vimpelcom expands in Vietnam

2011-05-01T22:41:00.001-07:00

THE parent company of mobile operator Beeline announced yesterday it would provide as much as US$500 million in financing for its Vietnamese joint venture, GTEL-Mobile Stock Co, through 2013.

Vimpelcom has already paid $196 million of the $500 million for newly issued shares from GTEL-Mobile, which is a partnership between Vimpelcom and Vietnam’s GTEL. At the close of financing, Vimpelcom will own 65 percent of GTEL-Mobile though the additional $304 million and the equity increase depend on conditions, according to a company statement.

“We look forward to relaunching our operations in Vietnam and to strengthening our position in the high-potential Southeast Asia cluster,” said Alexey Blyumin, General Director of GTEL-Mobile.

Vimpelcom is majority owner of Cambodia’s Beeline, and completed its acquisition of 78 percent of Millicom Lao Company last month. Source: the phnom penh post

Scam serves as currency warning

2011-03-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

Cambodian banks need not dwell on the fallout from the recent Vietnamese currency scam. Although ATMs in the Kingdom were in some cases cleaned out by Vietnamese taking advantage of the huge gap between the official and black-market rates for the dong, it was Techombank across the border that bore the financial brunt losing an estimated US$1.5 million.

The main lesson Cambodia should take from this experience is that rushed, ill-advised efforts to dedollarise often lead to problems that can ripple through the financial industry and the wider economy.

The ATM scam was a minor symptom of much larger problems in Vietnam. By implementing severe foreign currency restrictions in a bid to force use of the dong, demand for the currency has become increasingly artificial. The 8-percent gap between the official dong rate and the black-market rate represents the extent to which Vietnamese still lack confidence in their own currency. In turn, this monetary weakness has led to problems analysts argue must be addressed to safeguard future economic growth.

In a note titled Time to Act, Standard Chartered Bank at the end of last week joined a growing chorus calling on Hanoi to raise interest rates as inflation threatens to further push ordinary citizens away from dong deposits and instead further towards refuge in gold and the greenback, which would in turn further threaten the value of the dong. The base interest rate is already at 9 percent but Standard Chartered said 12 percent would be more appropriate by mid-year.

So although Vietnam is light years ahead of Cambodia in terms of reducing dependence on the dollar – the dong represents about 80 percent of all money in domestic circulation compared to just 10 percent in the case of the riel here – this has come at a heavy price. Inflationary pressure and monetary instability are of growing concern.

Cambodia is facing difficult questions of its own on whether to further enshrine use of the riel, notably at the forthcoming stock exchange.

But to rush use of the riel for the sake of reasons such as national pride rather than prudent monetary policy would be a mistake.

Laos was able to launch its first bourse earlier this month with listings in kip because its currency has enjoyed greater stability in recent years than the riel.

Cambodia by comparison therefore has a long way to go when it comes to increasing local currency use – a major long-term aim – but that means it can learn from mistakes made in other countries. With this in mind, the Kingdom need look no further than its eastern neighbour.

Original article from the Phnom Penh Post

Social Media Here More Social Than Political: Researcher

2011-02-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

Cambodia’s low number of Internet users make a social-media fueled revolution here unlikely, an Internet researcher says.

Cambodia’s more than 200,000 Facebook users mostly use the website to connect with friends and maintain professional social networks, said Saray Samadee, who recently co-authored a report for the Cambodia Communication review.

“The possibility of creating the same unrest here as in other countries in not very likely,” she said, referring to recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled ruling governments with the help of sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“Compared with Tunisia, they have nearly 2 million Facebook users, which is almost equal to the population of Phnom Penh,” she said. “But we have just over 200,000 users. So I do not think that can cause powerful unrest.”

Cambodia has seen its Internet users swiftly climb in recent years, though the figure of 244,000 Facebook users the company counts can be misleading, as it includes foreigners in Cambodia and Cambodians abroad.

No matter the number, the majority are online for recreation, Saray Samadee said.

“The main motivations of Facebook users here are just for seeking fun or friendship or maintaining networks,” she said.

Most of her 3,000-some friends don’t seem to pay attention to politics, she added.

SME close-up: Competition heats up for bakers

2011-02-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

COMPETITION between the Kingdom’s bakers is heating up, confectionaires have said, leading the Kingdom’s Apsara Bakery chain to put US$200,000 toward enlarging its factory in Russei Keo district in Phnom Penh.

The factory expansion, set to be finished next year, would allow the bakery chain – which owns five branches in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap – to hire more workers to add to its 70 employees, who are trained to produce 30 different types of cake.

On public holidays, its employees rise to up to 300 to cope with demand.

“We have growing local demand,” said Apsara’s Production Manager Peng Chhorn.

He said his firm intend to export its own cakes to international markets in the future, but initially it was looking to produce standardised quality goods for the international stage.

Meng Saktheara, general director at the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Energy, said that growing bakery production had reduced imports from neighbouring countries and lowered prices.

While fellow baked goods manufacturer Keo Mom, director of LYLY Company, which makes crackers, said that high raw material costs and a lack of skills were challenges for the sector.

See the original post from the Phnom Penh Post:

Hello’s profits fall 58 percent

2011-02-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

An employee of Hello waits on a customer at the company’s service centre in Chamkarmon district in December last year. Photo by: Will Baxter

MOBILE operator Hello saw its profit after tax fall by 58 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with the previous three months, according to a presentation from parent firm Axiata Group released yesterday.

Subscribers climbed 16 percent while revenues declined 3 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with the quarter before, the results showed.

While Axiata did not detail specific dollar amounts for Cambodia, the group echoed comments by many in claiming the service provider market is overcrowded. Hello continues “to face competitive challenges in an over-crowded market”, Axiata stated yesterday.

In November, the most recent month for which statistics gathered by the government are available, Hello claimed 870,000 subscribers, placing it as the third largest provider before the merger between Smart and Star-Cell.

Meanwhile, the firm also unveiled a new pricing scheme yesterday, termed “Hello Laor”, offering unlimited on-net calls for either a daily or a monthly fee.

Chief Executive Officer Simon Perkins was quoted as saying in the release that the pricing plans would lower costs for customers. Perkins could not be reached for further comment yesterday.

Axiata Group as a whole also fell into the red for the latest quarter after booking a 1.1-billion-ringgit (US$356-million) impairment stemming from its investment in India’s India Cellular Ltd yesterday, reflecting the intense competition from new operators, it said in a statement.

The impairment contributed to a 367-million-ringgit group loss at Axiata for the three months ending December 31, compared with a 558.3-million-ringgit profit a year earlier, the Kuala Lumpur-based company said.

Axiata had also previously announced an impairment on the goodwill of Hello Axiata of 49 million ringgit. Axiata fell 1.2 percent to 4.98 ringgit at 4:17pm in Kuala Lumpur trading yesterday. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BLOOMBERG

See the original post from the Phnom Penh Post

Smart set to offer WiMAX internet

2011-01-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

SMART Mobile is in the testing phase to launch WiMAX at “practically 4G” speeds on its network, its chief executive officer Thomas Hundt said.

WiMAX is a method of “last mile” internet delivery, where the internet is accessed using wireless technology. The technology – to be accessed by computers only – is likely to be the first of its kind launched in Cambodia, said Hundt.

He declined to reveal a pricing plan yesterday, but said that the service would be available from a USB dongle as well as a portable modem.

Speeds will reach 40 megabits per second.

The service could be used at home, but also can be operated from a computer from places such as cafes – provided it is within range of the WiMAX signal.

“At the end of the day for the users, what matters is the user experience.

“And what the users want is internet,” he said yesterday.

The firm – which had its merger with Star-Cell approved earlier this month - intends to launch the service in Phnom Penh at the end of the first or beginning of the second quarter.

It will also be available in Siem Reap and Battambang..

The same type of WiMAX is currently operated in Malaysia by Packet One Networks, and had proven successful, he said.

Smart held its first live test of the system during the ASEAN Tourism Forum on Koh Pich last week, with “excellent” results, according to Hundt. source: the phnom Penh post

Strong year for insurance firms

2011-01-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

THE Kingdom’s leading insurers said premium revenues increased by 24 percent in 2010, with officials saying the concept of insurance is "catching on" in Cambodia.

Figures released from the General Insurance Association of Cambodia show premiums grew by 24 percent to US$24.9 million in 2010, from $20.08 million during the year previously.

“In 2010, the insurance sector stood in a very good position because of economic growth – especially as I saw people beginning to understand the benefits of having insurance,” said GIAC chairman Chhay Rattanak.

The industry was likely to grow by a further 25 percent in 2011, he said.

Fire insurance made up 25 percent of total premium revenues, motor insurance constituted 20 percent, miscellaneous was 17 percent, and 15 percent came from engineering premiums, according to the statistics.

Claims values fell by some 4 percent last year.

The decline was seen after garment factory fires hit the sector in 2009, according to Chhay Rattanak, one of which cost the sector about $10 million.

Floods rather than fire were responsible for some large claims in 2010.

About 10 garment factories as well as a number of hotels applied for claims relating to water, receiving total payments of about $3 million.

Infinity Insurance chief executive officer David Carter wrote yesterday that the firm’s premium revenue increased 50 percent in 2010, over the year previously, totaling $6 million, on the back of revenues generated from the construction, property, and health-care sectors.

Infinity – which claims some 25 percent domestic market share – has seen revenue growth increasing along with the domestic economy, he said.

“We predict the market will grow by another 10 to 15 percent, and we expect to maintain our market share,” he said.

Cambodia Vietnam Insurance saw premiums total $945,000 last year, after launching in Cambodia in early in 2010. CVI chief executive Cao Minh Son said the revenue was largely from aviation, engineering, health care, motor and property, adding that the sector was trending positively.

The firm – which insures Cambodia Angkor Air and Sokha Helicopters – intends to focus on the aviation sector for its growth.

“We want to be the best in this sector. We estimate aviation premiums could total $760,000 for this year." But Chhay Rattank said a growing number of traffic accidents continued to be a concern for the industry.
“Even though we have traffic laws, people don’t respect them," he said.

"The insurance industry hopes the Ministry of Interior will strengthen traffic laws and slow down accident rates."

Cambodia has six insurance companies and one reinsurance company. source: the phnom penh post

Hope alive despite poor construction data

2011-01-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Analysts yesterday remained hopeful of a construction revival in 2011, despite new government data which revealed the value of approved building projects plummeted nearly 58 percent last year.

Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction data showed that 2,149 construction projects worth a combined US$840 million were approved last year. That compared to 2,230 projects worth $1.988 billion approved in 2009.

Ministry spokeswoman Nun Pheany said yesterday that the fall was due to the lack of large investment projects, such as skyscrapers, which reached their peak in 2007 to 2008.

“If we get small projects, we also get a small value. That is why construction value was down in 2010,” she said.

The number of residential projects was increasing, she added, stating that government policies to strengthen the sector – such as foreign co–ownership law – could make for a better 2011.

Sung Bonna, president of the National Valuers' Association of Cambodia and president of Bonna Realty Group, said yesterday that "approved" values may not illustrate a project’s funding in the real economy.

“I think that it’s much more of a downturn than the figures stated. It [the data] only has statistics on paper,” he said.

He claimed some foreign developers inflated potential capital investments, but were actually waiting for domestic investors before moving forward.

“In fact in 2010, we had only Khmer investors investing in our country - such as in the Borey Peng Hout and New World City developments,” he said.

He said that since the last quarter of 2010 there had been some signs of recovery in the sector, which he hoped would improve and attract additional foreign investment in 2011.

Daniel Parkes, country manager of CB Richard Ellis (Cambodia), added that the high levels of investment in Cambodia during 2008 had reflected a real estate boom in the period before the financial crisis.

“This is a natural reaction which has been repeated around the world due to a global crisis,” he said.

He remained “encouraged” about future growth, adding that this year will see the completion of the Phnom Penh Tower in May.

But Douglas Clayton, managing partner of Leopard Capital, warned that Phnom Penh still has to absorb a wave of high-end residential and office projects that are partially completed but remain unsold.

“Of course there are still a few niché opportunities for developers, but these require creative thinking,” he said. source: the phnom penh post

NPL rates improve as MFIs prosper

2011-01-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Total lending from the Kingdom’s 23 microfinance institutions increased by 33 percent in 2010, while the average non-performing loan (NPL) rate edged downwards, according to data from the Cambodia Microfinance Association.

Some US$647 million was extended by the MFIs – including ACELDA Bank’s small loans – up from $485 million the year previously. CMA chairman Chea Phalarin said an improving domestic economy meant lending had increased dramatically, adding the financial sector suffered a severe setback during the height of the crisis in 2009.

“Business activities came back strong in mid-2010,” he said.

Chea Phalarin is also president Amret, the Kingdom’s largest MFI. Amret saw lending increase more than 25 percent, with some 238,535 total borrowers in Cambodia. Its non-performing loan rate declined to 0.63 percent, from 3.7 percent.

Sathapana – the third largest MFI – saw lending increase by 45 percent last year, to $57.88 million, according to its chairman, Bun Mony.

Its NPL rate declined from 2 percent in 2009, to 0.93 percent during last year. Bun Mony targeted 50 percent growth in lending during 2011.

Hattha Kakeskar general director Hout Ieng Tong also claimed lending had surged, and NPL rates had improved.

“We had complete success with our business,” he said.

Lending increased 45 percent in 2010 over the year previous, while its NPL rate dropped from 2.5 percent to 0.9 percent. It had extended about $44 million to some 50,000 borrowers at the end of last year.
MFIs holding deposit licences saw increased deposits.

Amret claimed $15 million from 21,600 depositors – up from $3.5 million in 2009. Hattha Kakeskar topped $5 million from 30,000 depositors, and Sathapana, which began receiving deposits early last year, reached $15 million. source; the phnom penh post

Property-related tax revenues rocket

2011-01-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

Government tax revenue from transferring, leasing and selling property increased 60 percent in 2010 over the previous year, according to figures from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction.

An increase in activity in the property sector had generated growing revenues, Ministry spokeswoman Nun Pheany claimed yesterday.

“We hope tax revenue will gradually increase in 2011 due to people’s confidence in today’s economic stability, which will allow them to expand their property businesses such as transferring, leasing, and selling property,” she said.

The figures show that US$19.51 million, or 78 billion riel, was collected in 2010, an increase on $12.16 million in 2009.

Sung Bonna, president of the National Valuers Association of Cambodia, said he agreed with the ministry that property transactions were on the upswing.

Further agricultural development would likely create more activity in the property sector through increased buying and selling in 2011, he said.

“We are seeing growth in property business actively starting from January, and this is a positive sign indicating that our property business is recovering,” said Sung Bonna.

Many claim the Cambodian property sector has been slow to recover from the global financial crisis.

Cheng Keng, director of Phnom Penh-based property company CPL, said lingering declines in values of property offered opportunities for Cambodians to purchase and lease property – as prices had hit bottom.

“Now is a good time for Cambodian people to invest in the property business,” he said, adding this may increase property prices.

Property prices have not returned to pre-crisis levels, according to the National Valuers Association. source: the phnom penh post

Mobile numbers don’t add up

2011-01-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

How many mobile phone users are there in Cambodia?
According to Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun this week there are now some 9.8 million subscribers, a figure that is publicly supported by the majority of the Kingdom’s eight operators. After all, they provided the numbers.

But privately, every mobile phone executive in Cambodia knows there is nowhere near this level of penetration.

If Cambodia does indeed have 9.8 million mobile users, or 66 percent penetration, then the Kingdom would currently rank above China (64 percent) and India (60 percent).

There is no doubt Cambodia’s level of mobile penetration is growing but the reality is clearly a lot more sober than the government and private sector would lead us to believe.

Based on reported active user numbers supplied by each mobile phone company, the official calculation becomes hugely distorted as operators continue to try to convince everyone including themselves they have an elevated level of user growth and market share.

Calculations are usually based on there being one activity on any given SIM in a given timeframe, and usually this is defined as a paid-for rather than a free promotional call.

The problem is that some companies set this time frame at one month and others at up to three months, meaning the definition of an active mobile user in Cambodia is often anything but.

In reality, of course, Cambodians are simply switching out multiple SIMs to get the best deals.

Last year, Vimplecom Ltd reported significantly different numbers for the second quarter to its shareholders, when compared to those submitted to the government by its Cambodian operation Beeline.

When asked yesterday: How many mobile users are there in Cambodia? Beeline, qb, Viettel and Smart Mobile all failed to respond.

Based on the definition of one revenue-generating event on any one SIM in the last 30 days, Hello Chief Executive Officer Simon Perkins estimated there are currently between 4.5 million and 5 million “active users” in Cambodia.

But this definition hardly represents mobile penetration in terms of the total number of people actually using a mobile phone in Cambodia today.

In reality, an average mobile user makes multiple calls on a daily basis.

A calculation that can capture this truth – however difficult – would represent the real level of mobile penetration in Cambodia.

In the meantime, Vietnamese-run operator Viettel claimed it had some 2.84 million active users in November making it number one in Cambodia.

When you cut through the PR, this figure is probably closer to the total number

of mobile phone users in the whole of the country on all networks. Source: the phnom penh post

Net users on the increase

2011-01-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Cambodian are increasingly using the internet, but pricing and penetration levels lag behind much of ASEAN, according to experts.

The Kingdom had some 173,675 internet subscribers in 2010, compared to 29,589 in 2009, according to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

“Cambodian citizens have been receiving more chances to obtain fast internet access,” said Minister So Khun on Wednesday.

Still, internet costs are expensive compared with the average price in ASEAN nations, although prices are dropping year by year, Pily Wong, president of the Information and Communication Technology Business Association wrote yesterday.

But Cambodian officials are linking up with their regional colleagues to talk over the future of the internet.

So Khun and other Cambodian delegates travelled to Kuala Lumpur last week to attend a meeting of ASEAN telecommunications ministers.

The meeting formally adopted the ASEAN ICT Masterplan 2015, which aims to better ICT among ASEAN member nations – largely through increasing broadband access.

“Much has been said about the correlation between higher broadband penetration rates and the increase in GDP. ASEAN very much subscribes to this,” the text of the plan said.

It added that for every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration, GDP grows by 1.3 percent.

The plan pledged lowered intra-ASEAN mobile roaming charges and increases in the level of peering among ASEAN internet service providers, among a number of other initiatives.

However, Pily Wong said he would like to see more pragmatic details explaining how the plan was to be implemented.

“What is the real action plan? What are the real measures? That’s what the ICT businesses really want to know,” he wrote.

“Let’s note that the private sector is the source of jobs and innovations.”

According to a Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications presentation dated earlier this month, Cambodia has 37 licensed internet Service Providers, of which 16 are in operation. source: the phnom penh psot

Chevron set for new gas extraction in Gulf

2011-01-25T09:01:00.000-08:00

Chevron Corp, the second-biggest United States oil company and operator of Cambodia’s off-shore Block A, may start producing natural gas at a new project in the Gulf of Thailand by the year-end, said Jim Blackwell, president for Asia-Pacific exploration and production.

The US$3.1 billion Platong Gas II will produce about 330 million cubic feet of gas a day, said Joseph Geagea, managing director for Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh and China.

That will boost Thailand’s gas output by more than 10 percent, he said at an event in Indonesia, to announce the completion of a gas-processing platform.

In 2009, Chevron produced 794 million cubic feet of gas a day in Thailand, about 27 percent of the country’s output, according to the company’s annual report.

The Platong Gas II project has an output capacity of 420 million cubic feet a day.

“The Platong gas project will significantly increase Thailand’s gas production to meet demand in the coming years,” said Norkun Sitthiphong, permanent secretary at Thailand’s Ministry of Energy. Cambodia’s Chevron-operated block in the Gulf is generally thought to be the Kingdom’s first chance at producing oil, with the government aiming for production to begin in 2012.

Last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to take away Chevron’s licence if the 2012 production deadline was not met.

Financial training deal inked

2011-01-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

A representative from a Hong Kong-based financial industry body and training school inked an agreement with a Cambodian institute today to improve human resources for the Kingdom’s planned stock exchange.

The memorandum of understanding will see the Hong Kong Securities Institute assist the Kingdom-based Financial Institute of Cambodia by providing advice on training curriculums.

The deal also paves the way for an exchange of professors between the two institutions.

Cambodia’s FIC was established last July and aims to prepare students for a future in securities trading, according to its chairman Sorn Sokna.

Some 300 students have been attracted to the organisation so far.

“Today’s MoU is to build human resources for Cambodia, especially for the establishment and development of a stock market in Cambodia, consistent with transparency, accountability, safety, effectiveness, fairness and investor protection,” said Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon at the signing ceremony in Phnom Penh today.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia was also a signatory to today’s agreement.

Huot Pum, economics specialist at the Royal University of Law and Economics, said the exchange would benefit from more human resources training, as the securities sector was new for Cambodia.

“What we want to do is try our best to educate more and more people – as many as we can,” he said.

HKSI chairman Anthony Muh said the agreement would allow both professional bodies to improve continuous training in the finance and investment field.

“This has marked the beginning of a new phase to promote sharing of market experiences and best practices among professionals from two sides,” he said. HKSI was founded in 1998 and aims to assist students with pursing careers in the financial services industry, according to its website.

“To successfully perform our important mission, we need strong cooperation from two critical organisations [the SECC and Hong Kong Securities Institute],” said FIC’s Sorn Sokna.

Meanwhile, the SECC is also slated to hold a public consultation today to discuss what currency will be used on the stock exchange when it launches in July.

Experts have voiced support for several options, including the riel, the United States dollar, or allowing listings in both currencies.

OSK Indochina Bank country head Lim Loong Seng said he supported choosing just one currency – either the dollar or the riel.

OSK has been approved to act as an underwriter on the exchange.

In Channy, chief executive officer of ACLEDA Bank, one of four approved brokers for the exchange, has previously told The Post that he supported use of the riel.

Economic Institute of Cambodia senior researcher Neou Sieha said he supported listings in both currencies, adding the dollar would initially be the most widely used under that scheme, but would gradually be overtaken by the riel.

SECC Director General Ming Bankosal said no decision had yet been reached on the issue.

“We have not decided on a currency because we want to receive input from stakeholders first, before submitting our plans to the government for final approval,” he said today. source: the phnom Penh post

ANZ takes ‘opportunistic’ view towards Royal Tower

2011-01-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

The chief executive officer of ANZ Banking Group said yesterday the bank would take an “opportunistic” approach towards the 36-storey Royal Tower, following reports that the Cambodian conglomerate behind it was still raising capital for the project.

The Royal Group-backed tower is set to be located in Phnom Penh, at the corners of Monivong and Russian Federation Boulevards.

Artist impressions of the proposed tower on The Royal Group’s website prominently display the ANZ Royal logo on the building.

Construction was slated to be completed by mid-2013 with the tower set to be “Phnom Penh’s first Grade A office building by Hong Kong standards,” according to the Royal Group’s website yesterday.

However, media reports from October claimed the Royal Group was still in egotiations with investors in order to complete funding for the project.

ANZ Bank chief executive officer Mike Smith did not reveal any specific plans for building yesterday at a press conference announcing the ANZ Royal Bank’s new logo.

“We’re continuing to look at the opportunities that we have,” the Australia-based CEO Mike Smith. “Within the country, we will continue to build and grow – and if the opportunity arises I’ve no doubt something will happen.”

When asked about a timeline, he said “these things are opportunistic.”

Smith unveiled the new ANZ Royal Bank logo yesterday at the bank’s Cambodian headquarters, which he said brought it into line with the firm’s logos in its other markets.

ANZ Royal Bank is 55 percent owned by ANZ Bank, and 45 percent by the Kingdom’s conglomerate Royal Group.

“I think it’s important symbolic that it ties Cambodia into the group of regional presence that ANZ Group has in 32 countries around the region,” Smith said.

He added the new logo was meant to represent ANZ’s three main locations of businesses, including Australia, New Zealand, and Asia-Pacific.

The unveiling was also attended by Royal Group chairman Kith Meng and ANZ Royal Bank chief executive officer Stephen Higgins.

Telcos warned over prices

2011-01-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun warned telecommunications companies yesterday to respect government-imposed minimum pricing on calls or face action – including having their licences revoked.

“If companies charge below the minimum pricing prakas, the ministry will discipline them,” he said, according to a translation.

The Ministry imposed a prakas in late 2009 that set a pricing floor for calls within and between networks, though industry insiders say several of the Kingdom’s eight mobile operators routinely flout the directive.

Although several private-sector officials declined to discuss the situation yesterday, one industry insider has told The Post that many operators advertise a prakas-compliant tariff, but then send SMS messages to subscribers to “migrate them to a better tariff plan” which was non-compliant.

Under the terms of the prakas, certain temporary promotional pricing schemes are allowed, provided prior MPTC approval is granted. Otherwise, on-network calls are restricted to $0.045 per minute, while off-net calls are afforded a slightly higher rate.

Non-complaint mobile phone operators could even risk having their licences revoked if they do not adhere to the pricing rules, said So Khun, at a press conference held at the ministry to discuss an ASEAN Information and Communication Technology Masterplan

The minimum pricing kept some users from clogging the phone companies’ network by making long calls facilitated by low tariffs, he said.

So Khun added that further mergers in the mobile phone sector would prove beneficial to the sector.

Smart Mobile and Star-Cell merged this month to create what they claim is the Kingdom’s third largest provider.

Still, the Cambodian telecoms sector is generally considered to be overcrowded, with eight companies operating in a market than many say should hold at most four or five operators.

“I would be very happy if other mergers happen this year,” said So Khun, adding that merged companies would have an easier time turning a profit.

The minister also claimed that mobile penetration had reached more than 60 percent of the Cambodian population, with 9.8 million subscribers in the Kingdom.

A copy of the November’s active SIM card numbers revealed Metfone had become the largest mobile phone company with 2.84 million users, more than Mobitel’s 2.73 million.

Garment sector sews success

2011-01-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Kingdom’s garment exports increased 26 percent in 2010, over the year previous, according to figures received from the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia.

Garment exports were worth a total of US$2.99 billion in 2010, compared with $2.38 billion for 2009, the figures show.

The Kingdom was picking up business that had previously been sourced to China, as many workers in the China had pushed for higher wages, according to GMAC president Van Sou Ieng.

“This year garment exports will continue to increase, because many international buyers are interested in the quality and stable pricing of Cambodian garments,” he said.

Some two thirds of Cambodia’s total garment production, worth about $2 billion, was exported to the United States, while shipments to Europe consisted more than $750 million.

Van Sou Ieng said that labour actions in the garment sector were likely to decrease with the continuing global economic recovery, adding that increased stability would assist Cambodia in attracting orders from abroad this year.Japan was one market that was opening up to Cambodian garment exports, having placed orders worth as much as $200 million for the coming year.

“We are seeing growing demand for Cambodian garment products, so we hope that this year exports will increase from a year earlier,” Van Sou Ieng said.

Ministry of Commerce secretary of state Uk Boung said garment exports to the United States were likely to remain stable in 2011, but exports to nations such as Japan and ASEAN members may increase, as the government has increased business agreements made with these countries.

“I think Cambodian garment exports in 2011 will remain positive – however, it will require extra effort,” he said yesterday.

PM claims GDP saw 5.5pc rise last year

2011-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that Cambodia’s GDP grew by 5.5 percent in 2010, an 0.5 percent rise compared to a projection he made earlier last year.

The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Economic Institute of Cambodia, have projected the economy grew by 4.8 percent, 4.9 percent, 5 percent and 6.5 percent respectively last year.

“2010 was a good year for Cambodian economy, with a significant growth of approximately 5.5 percent, attributed to the growth in tourism, agriculture and garments,” said the premier, during the official opening of the ASEAN Tourism Forum, held in Phnom Penh on Tuesday night.

In March, the prime minister predicted 2010 GDP would rise by 5 percent.

At the ceremony on Tuesday, which saw fireworks light up Diamond Island, Hun Sen said that Cambodia achieved tourism growth of 16 percent year on year, with international tourist arrivals of around 2.5 million.

The Economic Institute of Cambodia, which released its projection this month, said that last year the garment sector grew 14.5 percent, the agro-industry grew 13.3 percent and tourism 9.3 percent.It hoped the sectors would continue to grow this year.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, ADB, and World Bank have projected GDP growth at 6 percent, with IMF predicting 6.8 percent and EIC at 7 percent, for 2011.

Mining pact: Cooperation forges united development

2011-01-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

Cambodia's minister of mines inked an agreement with representatives from the United Nations Development Programme yesterday, to help ensure sustainable development of the nascent mining sector.

Douglas Broderick, resident representative of UNDP Cambodia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the minister, Suy Sem.

Under the agreement, the two parties agreed to cooperate to ensure responsible development of the mining sector and support the development of policies and regulations needed to manage the industry in a sustainable way, as well as capacity building.

Suy Sem, according to a statement, said the government was "committed” to mitigating harmful economic impacts from mining and developing the sector "in a way that Cambodian people and communities realise the benefits”.

Competition bubbles for breweries

2011-01-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

Chip Mong Group’s US$60 million brewery is set to begin producing its brand of “Cambodia Beer” in July, according to chief executive officer Leang Meng.

“We hope that the new beer will gain a large market share in the country within a short period due to its international quality standard,” he said yesterday, while an ANZ Bank delegation lead by its Australia-based chief executive officer Mike Smith toured the construction site in Dangkor district, Phnom Penh.

The company has now completed 70 percent of its Khmer Brewery complex, aiming to have construction on the facility wrapped up in May, according a statement from the firm. The brewery is receiving technical assistance from Germany’s Ziemann Group.

In a previous release from the group, it said annual production at Khmer Brewery will begin at 500,000 hectolitres per year and could eventually expand to one or two million hectolitres as the Cambodian beer market grows.

Cambrew Ltd – the brewer of Angkor and Black Panther Stout – has an annual production capacity of 850,000 hectolitres, according to its part owner Carlsberg Group.

Leang Meng declined to reveal the eventual unit cost for “Cambodia Beer”, claiming that “we can’t reveal our product price now because we don’t want our competitors to know”.

The firm aims to have 70 percent of its products consumed domestically, and the rest exported, he said.

Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy department of industry director general Meng Saktheara said he welcomed the brewery, as it would assist Cambodia by producing competitive products for potential export.
Cambodia produces fewer products than many nations, he said.

“I think it is better if local companies can produce high-quality products for export,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kingdom Breweries, the latest beer-maker to set up shop in Cambodia, is claiming that sales are exceeding expectations.

When asked about its new competition, Peter Brongers, chief executive officer of Kingdom Breweries, said late last week that his firm targeted a different market than most Cambodian makers. “We are making a [type of] beer that until now has not been made in this country,” he said.

But Kingdom is looking to increasingly target Cambodian consumers, he said, and is set to launch television advertisements later this month.

OSK Indochina man gets top spot at bank

2011-01-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

A FINANCIER who helped oversee the Kingdom’s OSK Indochina Bank has been promoted to become chief executive officer of Malaysia’s OSK Investment Bank.

U Chen Hock was made its CEO and executive director yesterday, after serving as a director of banking on its senior management team. His previous responsibilities, according to a filing to Bursa Malaysia,
included “the business and operation of debt capital markets and corporate banking, as well as OSK Indochina Bank Limited in Cambodia”.

The 55-year-old former HSBC employee succeeds Ong Leong Huat, who led OSK Investment for more than 25 years and will remain on its board as a non-independent non-executive director.

“During his tenure, the bank had achieved many successes and milestones, transforming it from a stockbroker to a universal broker and to an investment bank presently,” the filing read.

It added that the board was confident U would “be able to lead and steer the bank towards achieving its long-term strategic goals and objectives”.

The Bank Negara Malaysia has approved U’s role for a three year period, according to a filing to the Bursa Malaysia. OSK Indochina Bank opened its first branch in Phnom Penh in 2008, and planned to extend to Battambang, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville by the end of last year.

Plug pulled on Mobitel money transfers

2010-10-21T03:58:00.000-07:00

An international association of mobile operators has suspended grant payments to fund Cambodia’s largest service provider Mobitel’s money transfer service following regulatory concerns.

In May, the GSM Association (GSMA) announced Mobitel’s parent firm CamGSM had been awarded a grant under its US$5 million Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) program largely backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mobitel launched its Cellcard Cash money transfer service in late September.

The amount of money awarded to the provider has yet to be disclosed.

Officials have since said service began without oversight from the National Bank of Cambodia, as mandated in an August prakas.

The central bank stated last week it would act to ensure its laws were followed.

GSMA has now suspended grant payments until the situation is resolved, according to a statement obtained by the Post.
The association said that CamGSM was working with the NBC to develop the appropriate regulatory framework and secure a formal licence.

“To this end, the two parties have agreed to suspend the payment of further grant monies until the GSMA MMU Fund Panel is satisfied that CamGSM has secured all necessary regulatory approvals,” it said.

“GSMA encourages dialogue between mobile money providers and regulators, however regulation is a matter for the government in each country in which such services are developed.”

Mobitel Chief Operations Officer Kay Lot and Chief Executive Officer David Spriggs declined to comment on the oversight issue. Kith Meng, chairman of CamGSM owner Royal Group, also declined comment.

NBC Director General Tal Nay Im said there were no developments following statements made last week.

Despite the controversy, GSMA remained enthusiastic about the future of banking via mobile phone in the Kingdom.

Cambodia was ideally positioned to benefit from mobile money transfers, as fewer than 4 percent of people have bank accounts, its statement said.

Cellcard Cash’s two competitors, money-transfer service Wing, and ACLEDA Bank’s Unity mobile banking service, both function with oversight by the National Bank of Cambodia.

Source; The Phnom Penh Post

MoU signed: Banks set to handle more public funds

2010-10-21T03:57:00.001-07:00

TWO of Cambodia’s largest commercial financial institutions will bank government revenues and expenditures in 11 provinces under a deal with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The agreement made late last week with ACLEDA and Canadia banks is part of the second phase of a plan to build a more accountable public financial-management system.

Under a plan, first launched in 2004, Cambodia aims to reach an international standard for government revenue management without the need for continuous external advice by 2015.

Finance Ministry Secretary of State Aun Porn Moniroth told the Post that increasing the involvement of commercial banks in handling government funds would make the process more accountable and effective.

ACLEDA will now expand its services to Kampong Cham, Mondulkkiri, Steung Treng, Preah Vihear, Koh Kong and Odday Meachney provinces, while Canadia is assuming responsibilities in Preah Sihanouk, Battambang, and Siem Reap provinces.

If the newly launched second phase proves successful, a third step would see commercial banks handling government revenues across all of the Kingdom’s provinces and cities.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Adding value to the garment sector

2010-10-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

CAMBODIA will hold its first ASEAN-standard certification test for the Kingdom’s pattern-makers next week, a move that insiders say will help improve the value of the domestic garment industry.

Pattern-making involves creating prototype garments for mass production, but much of the work is presently sourced outside of the Kingdom, according to Mona Tep, president of the Garment Industry Productivity Centre.

The garment industry could benefit from completing patterns domestically, as factories incur large costs shipping products back and forth between factories and overseas headquarters.

“We’ve found pattern-making is something very much needed in the domestic industry,” she said.

She said that Cambodia’s garment manufacturing industry currently consisted of “cut, make and trim”. Value-added production – and its ensuing larger profits and higher wages – required increased skill levels from domestic workers.

Some 28 to 30 percent of the cost of a garment purchased from a store presently comes from the preproduction phase, of which pattern-makers were a key component, she said.

Private sector officials said yesterday they would like to increase the number of certified Cambodian pattern makers, as it cuts down on costs.
“Of course we would like to see more [domestic pattern-makers],” said Lee Thai Khit of June Textile Company yesterday.

The certification test will take place on Tuesday, overseen by the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia and the ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries.

Under the umbrella of USAID-funded Cambodia Skills Development Centre, GIPC is also looking to introduce classes in pattern-making.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Outsourcing 'fair' tech trade

2010-10-21T03:54:00.000-07:00

FAIR trade coffee is increasingly sipped by globally conscious consumers. But the future may see fair trade certification for outsourcing in the software industry, according to the head of one domestic IT startup.

Dominik Stankowski, executive director at Phnom Penh-based technology firm Web Essentials, said fair trade software outsourcing was a prime motivation behind the creation of the company in April this year.

While tech outsourcing is becoming big business in places such as India, it often employs people who work for low salaries – suffering the pitfalls common to other profit-maximising industries such as long hours and poor working conditions.

But Web Essentials, which employs 22 Cambodian and four expatriates to help run websites built around content-management software called TYPO3, is based on a different business model.

International companies are increasingly concerned with their social relevance, according to Stankowski, providing a ready market for a ‘fair’ approach to unconventional industries such as software.

With about 80 percent of its contracts coming from companies based in countries such as Switzerland, Germany and the United States, the firm claims its services can demand better prices due to an emphasis on the social aspect of its business.

Stankowski said the company paid its employees better wages than most outsourcing firms in developing countries, a move coupled with shorter hours and extensive skills training.

The measure put the company in direct competition with Europe’s freelance software developers, he said.

“We try to provide high quality, with the additional value that we are a social business,” he said.

“My long term goal would be [to create] a certificate for fair trade software.” A large part of Web Essentials – which Stankowsi terms a “social business” – is the training and mentoring of its Cambodian staff.

The firm prides itself on developing its own employees.

“In IT, people are the main resource, as opposed to any other product,” he said.

“That’s why it’s very relevant to invest in staff from a business point of view.”

With a personal history working with overseas firms and in large Cambodian companies, Stankowski said he aimed to better target domestic small and medium enterprises.

“The only way to compete with others is a good ability to learn, and adopt new technology,” he said.

Source: The Phnom penh Post

WiMAX debacle must prove a wake-up call

2010-10-21T03:53:00.000-07:00

LAST year it all looked so promising and straightforward. Give internet service providers bandwidth and a licence to operate, creating stability for the likes of Chuan Wei and Mekong Net to feel confident to invest millions of dollars in WiMAX – a technology that could increase broadband coverage and lower connectivity costs in Cambodia.

But that confidence has evaporated. After nearly a year in which the government has failed to solve an overlapping licence issue, the Kingdom’s internet expansion looks to be stalled by years as investors hold back until the fiasco is resolved.

The country is set to lose out on the many benefits associated with spreading internet connectivity. In the words of one anonymous ISP executive whose company has been affected by the debacle: “This licensing problem has come along at the worst possible time for Cambodia.”

How and why did the government allow this to happen?

Just a few years ago analysts were predicting a rapid broadband rollout in Cambodia that would reduce some of the highest connection costs in the region. But with companies now reluctant to spend on costly WiMAX stations, which can transmit connectivity up to 50 kilometres where no cables exist, less comprehensive solutions such as enhanced WiFi are being deployed.

This cheaper technology can travel just 1 kilometre, at best. The result is that internet expansion to rural areas remains stalled. Where cables do exist, WiMAX has often not yet been deployed to compete and reduce costs.

Countless studies have shown that where you boost internet connectivity, you also spur economic activity. A 2009 World Bank study found that where you boost the number of internet users by 1 percent you in turn raise exports 4.3 percentage points. When new users go online they have access to a host of resources that point to potential markets, help advertise their products, increase communication and even secure payments outside of the confines of their town or village.

Rural connectivity also helps communities diversify economic activity away from agriculture, a major advantage when the economy remains extremely narrow. In cities, where you have confident ISPs investing in infrastructure and bringing down costs, the economic benefits are obvious – cheap, comprehensive internet coverage is an indispensable tool for GDP growth.

The government’s fumbling of the internet licensing issue is creating a serious setback for what would be guaranteed GDP growth. The solution is obvious. At the highest levels of government a clear decision needs to be made regarding the jurisdiction ministries have over licences. The problem is, of course, that licences provide lucrative revenue streams.

The debacle should serve as a wake-up call. If ever there was an instance when officials needed to sacrifice self-interest for the wider economic benefit, then surely this is it.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Bank's golden opportunity

2010-06-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

SACOMBANK’S gold- and gem-trading subsidiary Sacombank Jewelry Company (SBJ) opened its first office in Cambodia Thursday on the back of record global gold prices.

The company launched SBJ (Cambodia) with US$3 million funding from its parent firm after a “detailed” study of Cambodia’s market potential, officials told reporters at a press gathering in the Phnom Penh Hotel on Thursday.

The company plans to buy gold from vendors in Cambodia, then refine it to a higher quality for resale.

“We’ve invested $3 million directly from the parent bank in Vietnam to trade pure gold in Cambodian market in order to cut down the current poor-quality gold being traded by local vendors – that is our first objective,” SBJ Vietnam Chairman To Thanh Hoang said.

“Our second [objective] is that we want this market to trade pure gold made by our company, which we refine with a high-tech refinery system which comes from Australia and Germany,” he said.

The technology can refine gold to 99.9 percent purity and costs $1.5 million per unit, he added.

Sacombank Group chairman Dang Van Tanh said that Cambodia is ripe for expansion, based on research the group had undertaken for the past year.

“Before we decided to open SBJ in Cambodia, we conducted detailed research and set our strategy for the business in Cambodia.
“Although Cambodia has a small population, in the future the jewellery business will be very popular,” he said.

Director-elect of SBJ (Cambodia) Pham Anh Thai said while he could not predict how sales in Cambodia would pan out, the firm’s Vietnam business – which has been trading since March 2008 – had sold an average 10 tonnes of pure gold per year.

“I have no defined targets for this market,” he said.

Tal Nai Im, director general of National Bank of Cambodia, told the Post by phone Thursday that the new gold business would contribute to the economy’s growth.

“We welcome any kind of foreign investment to support our economic growth,” she said.

Dang Van Tanh said the group was also preparing to open a local stockbroking firm if the Cambodia stock exchange goes ahead, as planned, at the end of this year. Source: the Phnom Penh Post

Trade with Thailand surges

2010-06-29T22:46:00.001-07:00

TRADE between Cambodia and Thailand has surged more than 80 percent during the first four months of 2010 compared to the same period last year, statistics from the Thai Embassy’s Foreign Trade Promotion office (FTPO) show.

The neighbours exchanged goods worth US$914 million in the year to the end of April, up 84 percent from $497 million for the first four months in 2009, statistics obtained Wednesday state.

Bilateral trade during April 2010 was estimated to total $386 million alone, a major surge from a low base in the same month of 2009.

April is traditionally a strong month for trade due to economic spin-offs from agricultural harvests, including crops of rice, corn, cassava and beans, Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC) market manager Lang Seng Hort said Wednesday.

Tension between the two nations flared last year following deadly clashes over the disputed Preah Vihear temple, though FTPO officials said the conflict had little impact on trade.

“The decline in trade last year was not due to political issues,” FTPO director Jiranan Wongmongkol said Wednesday. “This year’s figures are just increasing to pre-crisis trading levels. Last year was simply a bad year.”

Total trade between the two countries fell 22.15 percent to an annualised $1.658 billion in 2009, from $2.130 billion in 2008, according to FTPO figures.

Cambodian officials believe that agricultural subsidies, which saw Thailand’s government temporarily extend loans to farmers, contributed to slowing trade in the first four months of last year.

Banteay Meanchey’s provincial Director of Commerce Thong Thyna said: “Thai businesspersons delayed imports of Cambodian agricultural products from April till June last year, as they didn’t want to negatively impact their produce.”

Thailand exported $883.57 million to Cambodia in the first four months of this year, up from $480.75 million last year, while Cambodia shipped $30.32 million to Thailand, up 83.4 percent from $16.53 million for the first four months 2009.

Thailand’s exports to Cambodia include petroleum, processed goods, consumer products, building materials, fruits, vegetables and cosmetics, while Cambodia primarily ships agricultural products, secondhand garments, recyclable metal and fish in the opposite direction.

Chip Mong Import-Export and Construction Company human resource manager Sieng Vibol said growing demand in the Kingdom for construction materials this year also contributed to the boost of imports from Thailand. source; the Phnom Penh Post

Banks' health is on the mend

2010-06-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

HEALTHIER growth in assets, lending and deposits has been reported in Kingdom’s commercial banking sector so far this year, according to the deputy governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), Neav Chanthana.

Although profits in Cambodia’s commercial banking sector fell nearly 50 percent in 2009, this year’s first quarter has shown the sector bouncing back with more confidence from local and foreign investors, Neav Chanthana said at the launch of Cambodia’s first Agribank branch Monday.

“It’s been healthier in terms of assets, lending and deposits,” she said, and cited statistics showing total asset growth in Cambodia’s banking system had increased 14 percent, lending rose by 9.8 percent and deposits surged by 15 percent between January and March this year.

A report released by NBC Friday showed that profits claimed by Cambodian banks declined to US$60.2 million in 2009, from $114.7 million in 2008, as non-performing loans increased and credit expansion dropped. By the end of 2009, the report noted, total assets in the banking system were $4.99 billion, around 48 percent of GDP. Loans to customers totalled $2.51 billion, and deposits were $3.3 billion.

Neav Chanthana’s comments came as Vietnam’s largest bank by assets, Agribank, became poised to cash in on Cambodia’s banking sector by officially opening its first outlet on Monivong Boulevard.

She said Agribank – Cambodia’s 28th commercial bank and Vietnam’s third to open in the Kingdom – would bring a variety of financial products and services to the banking system.

“Agribank’s presence reflects the confidence of foreign investors in Cambodia’s banking industry,” she said at the opening ceremony.

“I hope the bank complies well with the rules of the Central Bank in order to compete with other banks with quality and effectiveness.”

Nguyen Van Giau, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, noted during a speech that Vietnamese businesses and investments in Cambodia have increased considerably in recent years.

“The bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and Vietnam has increased by an average of 30 percent year-on-year and expected to reach up to $2 billion in 2010,” he said.

“On the investment side, 63 Vietnamese investment projects have been carrying out business in Cambodia nowadays with a total investment value of nearly $900 million.”

Agribank first opened a representative office in Phnom Penh in 2005, focusing on facilitating cross-border payment for imports and exports, according to a press release Monday.

However, the establishment of a branch in the capital means the bank can now also service the Cambodian market.

According to the release, Agribank, also known as the Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, is the biggest financial institution in Vietnam, with assets of almost $26 billion and outstanding loans of $19 billion.

It employs 40,000 people and has more than 2,300 branches and transaction offices connected online, as well as relationships with more than 1,000 foreign banks in 96 countries.

“The branch opening marks the expansion and increase of the outreach of Agribank network abroad,” said Nguyen The Binh, the chairman of Agribank. “It would bridge the financial and banking markets between the two countries.”

Agribank is the third Vietnamese bank to fully operate in Cambodia after Sacombank and BIDC. source: the phnom penh post

Microfinance lending sees growth

2010-04-16T03:28:00.000-07:00

LENDING by microfinance institutions showed signs of growth in the first quarter of the year, with non-performing loan rates remaining mostly steady, industry officials say.

However, companies saw net profits decline quarterly because of a decline in interest rates and the cost of operational expansion, said Hout Ieng Tong, president of the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA) and general director of microfinance firm Hattha Kaksekar Ltd.

“We saw small business activities gradually improving in the first quarter. People are starting to need loans for their businesses,” he said.

Hattha Kaksekar’s lending was US$33 million in the first quarter, up 7 percent from the previous quarter. The company’s non-performing loan (NPL) rate remained at 3 percent quarter on quarter.

In 2009, outstanding loans at the Kingdom’s 22 microfinance institutions (MFIs) rose 10.8 percent, to $485.1 million, compared to 2008. The overall NPL rate for 2009 was 2.86 percent, or $8.5 million, a jump from 0.67 percent recorded the previous year.

“This year, it’s expected we’ll see better lending as the economy begins to recover, but we do not expect the NPL rate to drop much,” Hout Ieng Tong predicted.

Lending is also on the up at other leading Cambodian companies, many of which have seen profits fall this quarter.

Samic Microfinance Ltd reported a quarterly rise of 9 percent, to $6 million, in lending at the end of March.

“We think that the economic situation is not better yet, and people’s earnings from their jobs and businesses are not good. Few new businesses have begun or applied for loans,” warned Samic General Manager King Kap Kalyan.

Samic saw its NPL rate drop just 7 points to 4.82 percent, for a total $270,892 in the first quarter of the year, but its profit margin fell nearly 40 percent quarter on quarter.

“We hope that it will become better in the second quarter of this year,” King Kap Kalyan added.

Sathapana Ltd saw lending grow 2.9 percent quarterly to $42.59 million. Net profits at the company fell by 2.5 percent, to $345,000. Its NPL rate dropped 6 points, to 1.97 percent.

“Despite the slight drop in the NPL rate, which showed a slight improvement in the economy, it can be interpreted as clients having made better incomes,” Chairman Bun Mony said.

Prasac MFI Ltd saw outstanding loans increase by 3 percent quarter-on-quarter, to $66 million.

“Portfolio growth during the first quarter is usually slow, because the first quarter is the peak repayment period for agriculture loans,” Prasac General Manager Sim Senacheert said.

Prasac’s quarterly NPL rate showed signs of improvement, dropping 3 points to 1.63 percent.

“After tightening our lending process in 2009, new loan disbursements have had no problems. Almost all of the problem loans were loans that were disbursed before 2009,” Sim Senacheert said.

Prasac’s before-tax profit fell 27 percent in the first quarter, to $633,000, due to a decrease in the interest rate last year.

Representatives of Thanea-kea Phum (Cambodia) Ltd declined to discuss the company’s first quarter figures, but said that it was slowing operations and lending.

CEO Chuon Sophal said: “We are managing loan problems.”

The company lent out $17.3 million in 2009, when it had an NPL rate of 4.9 percent, or $853,083, according to a CMA report. source: the phnom penh post

Govt axes Internet monopoly plan

2010-04-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

THE Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) has axed plans to create a state-run hub for all Internet connections in Cambodia, according to an attendee of a crunch meeting held late Monday.

Minster of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun told a dozen business representatives the ministry will not compel Cambodian companies to use a central Domestic Internet Exchange (DIX), the attendee said.

Instead, the source said, So Khun told the representatives and about 30 MPTC officials that Internet connections can be routed through any exchange that Internet service providers (ISPs) see fit.

“We are pleased and relieved,” said the source, a member of the private sector who requested anonymity late Monday. “It seems our worst fears are not going to happen.”

“This was coming from the minister himself,” the source said. “It is very good news.”

MPTC had wanted to charge private companies to route all domestic traffic through a monopoly managed by the state-run Telecom Cambodia (TC), a move that private interests worried had the potential to crush the burgeoning sector.

Leading businessmen have voiced fears over the last two months that centralising the Kingdom’s Web provision could put US$500 million worth of infrastructure at risk, hand control of connectivity pricing to the state, stymie international investment and effectively end the Kingdom’s open ICT market.

Private sector representatives have said the plan may have been suggested to shore up TC finances ahead of the opening of Cambodia’s securities exchange, a claim TC officials denied.

Instead, TC leaders said the hub plan was to give the ministry more control over Web content.

MPTC’s decision Monday is an apparent backtrack from a plan that the ministry’s director general, Moa Chakrya once detailed to the Post.

Moa Chakrya could not be reached for comment late Monday.

However, the attendee said Monday that ministry officials denied floating the plan as definitive and said the organisation had instead only been formulating ideas.

Private sector officials were also criticised for speaking to the media, the source said.

Moving forward, the attendee said, MPTC suggested that exchange providers would need licences to operate. It was not clear how these would be enforced or set out.

The government’s issue of overlapping frequency licences to ISPs was also discussed. But a resolution, the source said, had yet to be reached. source: the phnom penh post

Lending remains flat at FTB Cambodia

2010-04-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

THE FOREIGN Trade Bank of Cambodia saw a slight rise in its non-performing loans (NPL) in the first quarter of 2010, while lending was flat, according to official figures.

The bank’s NPL rate – counted as loans the borrower has defaulted on for three months – rose to 6 percent from 5.56 percent in the last quarter of 2009. Lending remained at US$105 million each quarter.

“We’re still cautious in evaluating clients for loans, and it’s currently hard to get a good client with a good business plan,” FTB General Manager Gui Anvanith said last week. “We’ll dare to lend as much as $50 million if it’s a good business project.”

The FTB has witnessed a huge turnaround in its non-performing loans from 2008, when it had the highest NPL rate in Cambodia at 32 percent. By the end of 2009, that rate had been cut to 5.56 percent, surprising bank managers themselves.

Like other banks in the Kingdom, FTB is maintaining high liquidity, with $168 million deposited in the central bank at the end of last year.

FTB is focusing on business ventures, small and medium-sized enterprises and agricultural businesses, rather than real estate developments, Gui Anvanith said.

“We have little appetite for hotel-development projects,” he said. “For those in [Phnom Penh], we might consider them, but those in Siem Reap, we say no, as the province is too crowded with hotels.”

The bank is avoiding other real estate projects, such as apartments, with tens of thousands of units built and many unable to find buyers, he said.

Deposits at the FTB rose 1.7 percent, to $230 million, quarter on quarter, and the bank posted a first-quarter net profit of $1.38 million.

Stephen Higgins, CEO of ANZ Royal Bank, said business conditions for banks have been improving so far this year.

“First-quarter performance has been strong at [ANZ Royal], with revenue more than 20 percent higher than for the first quarter last year,” he said.

Higgins expects his bank to comfortably surpass results for 2009, when the bank’s NPL rate nearly doubled to 5 percent.

Cambodian banks and lending institutions saw their NPL rates rise after the global economic downturn, as borrowers abandoned projects and payments.

The National Bank has said the rate of NPLs is not of great concern, as it has remained below 10 percent of all outstanding loans. source: the phnom penh post

Over 45,000 garment jobs lost

2010-02-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

AT Least 106 garment and shoe factories were closed last year, mostly because of a slump in Cambodia’s key export industry, forcing more than 45,000 workers out of employment, Ministry of Labour figures showed late Monday.

Oum Mean, secretary of state at the ministry, said that 66 additional factories had suspended operations over the same period, temporarily affecting an additional 38,124 workers.

“At the same time, we also saw 48 new established factories that employed 16,886 workers,” he said, adding that the government trained 40,000 unemployed garment workers in agriculture up to October.

It was unclear what percentage of closures were factories that had been hit by the global economic crisis – which prompted a 15.8 percent slide in Cambodian garment and apparel exports last year – and how many had closed and immediately reopened to benefit from tax breaks, reportedly a practice that happens frequently in the Kingdom.

The Ministry of Labour said at the end of September that 130 garment factories closed or suspended operations in Cambodia in the first three quarters, meaning an additional 42 factories had shut down from October to the end of December.

Just over 30,000 garment workers were made redundant last year up to the end of September.

Figures from the government showed a smaller closure rate than those by the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, a body that represents workers’ rights across different sectors.

President Chea Mony said late Monday that according to union data 135 garment and shoe factories had closed since the start of the global economic crisis in Cambodia, around August 2008, causing 78,000 workers to lose their jobs. Most redundancies had been in the garment industry, he added.

“I am concerned that workers have increasingly been losing their jobs … it is the government’s duty to address this,” said Chea Mony.

Oum Mean said the government inspects every factory in the Kingdom to calculate its employment data.

“We have not finalised the figures [for closures and job losses in January and February] yet,” said Oum Mean.

“But we have hope for 2010 because ... we see that the garment sector is stable.”

Evidence so far has suggested that openings and closures were about the same, he added.

A representative of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) told the Post last week, however, that the sector is far from recovery.

Speaking after the release of Ministry of Commerce figures that showed an annualised 0.2 percent drop in garment and apparel exports in December, GMAC Secretary General Ken Loo pointed out that shipments were still down after dismal figures for the last quarter of 2008.

He added that anecdotal evidence for January and this month suggested the situation has yet to improve.

The Ministry of Labour’s report of extensive job losses in the garment sector comes as unions have threatened strikes and put pressure on GMAC to consider a rise in the industry minimum wage of US$50 per month, a move factory owners say is unfeasible given the continued slump.

GMAC said last week that it would look into the issue of wages, which unions said last year should be raised to more than $90 per month based on living costs in the capital. source: the phnom penh post

ACLEDA cuts ad spend due to high deposits

2010-02-08T04:03:00.000-08:00

ACLEDA Bank has cut advertising budgets by one third this year due to excess liquidity, its president and CEO has said.

In Channy announced last week that the bank’s annual ad budget has decreased from US$1.5 million last year to $1 million this year. After successful promotions in the media, he said, the bank has deposits of $702 million and has lent out $550 million.

“We have enough deposits, so we don’t need to increase our ads,” he explained.

The news comes after representatives of marketing firm IMS Consulting Group told the Post via email last week that its digital monitoring system recorded bank and financial advertising spending on TV and print media declined by an annualised 18 percent in 2009.

But Peang Mann, managing director of IMS, added that by the fourth quarter of 2009 spending recovered significantly, with a number of banks launching new product and branding campaigns as they sought to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market.

He said that while banks and financial institutions have traditionally focused their marketing budgets on the print media, there is a growing trend towards television where the overall share of spending increased from 40 percent in 2008 to 45 percent in 2009.

“The Cambodian financial sector has previously been dominated by several larger banks and this used to be reflected in terms of advertising spending. Now we are seeing medium-sized banks successfully competing for share of voice in the market,” he said.

Some of Cambodia’s other banks have confirmed to the Post they plan to keep their expenses at a similar level or even raise their budgets.

Stephen Higgins, CEO of ANZ Royal bank, chose not to disclose the budgets it has spent on advertisements, but said the amount it spends on marketing is expected to be similar in 2010 to last year.

Han Peng Kwang, country head of Malaysia’s HwangDBS, launched in Phnom Penh last year, said that although his bank’s advertising budget has yet to be finalised, the annual spend may increase as they are new to Cambodia.

“The budget may be higher than that spent last year, but we will advertise only in newspapers,” he added.

Ramesh Chandra Baliarsingh, chief executive of Bank of India, said Thursday that the bank has yet to set its advertising budget for this year, as the financial year in India runs from April to March. Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Banks Forced to Reduce Interest Rates

2010-02-04T00:20:00.000-08:00

A high number of deposits followed by a low number of loans have created a cash flood for banks, forcing them to lower their interest rates.

Since mid-2009, major banks have sought to increase the number of loans they give and decrease the amount of cash deposits they receive, or at least the interest they must pay out.

The increased liquidity produced by high numbers of depositors and low numbers of borrowers means the banks have not been able to earn revenue on loans and face higher risks from increased costs.

Acleda Bank, for example, saw a 40 percent increase in deposits in 2009 compared to the year before, for a total of $688 million. But as of January, the bank has lowered its interest rates on deposits to 5.75 percent, down from 7.5 percent in mid-2009. At the same, the bank has lowered its lending rate for medium-sized loans (between $20,000 and $1.5 million) from 15 percent to somewhere between 10 percent and 13 percent. Rates for small loans dropped from 28 percent to 26 percent.

“If the deposit growth is too fast like this, we have to lower the deposit rate, in order to reduce the amount of deposits,” said In Channy, Acleda’s chief executive officer. “Now we’ve already reduced it to a reasonable rate, and we’ve also reduced our lending rate. This can partly help grow credit.”

In another example, Malaysian-owned Cambodia Public Bank recently reduced its annual deposit interest rates to 4.75 percent and its interest rate on loans to between 11 percent and 12 percent. At one time, the bank charged the highest loan rates, at 15 percent, and offered the highest deposit rates, nearly 8 percent.

“I think the trend is probably still down,” said Phan Ying Tong, country head of Cambodia Public. “We are still looking at it now.”

Cambodian banks began heavily competing with each other in 2008, offering high rates in efforts to bring in customers, prior to the global financial crisis that began in 2008. Even after the crisis, rates continued to rise until they created the current liquidity problem.

The nation’s 33 commercial and specialized banks brought in $3.3 billion in deposits in 2009, an increase of nearly 33 percent from the year before, according to National Bank figures. But they were barely able to increase the amount of money they loaned, dispersing only $2.45 billion in 2009, a 3.2 percent increase from the year before.

The four largest banks—Acleda, Canadia, ANZ Royal and Cambodia Public—account for 70 percent of deposits and loans, and all four are facing high liquidity and slow lending growth, officials said.

ANZ Royal has reduced its annual deposit rates from 7 percent to 3.75 percent and is in the process of reducing its lending rates within the year.

But the bank’s chief executive officer, Stephen Higgins, said the interest rate reduction may not be able to help balance deposits with loans, as deposits remain high and lending remains low.

“All you can do with [the deposits] is give them to the central bank and earn something close to 0 percent on them,” he said. “We probably have over $200 million with the central bank. There is nothing else we can do with it. We can withdraw them back only we’ve got something better to do with it.”

Charles Vann, deputy director general of Canadia Bank, said his bank faces a similar problem, but it hasn’t taken any measures to reduce liquidity.

Tay Nay Im, director general of the National Bank, said the central bank has no measures to help ease liquidity. But she encouraged banks to reduce their interest rates, which could help them have a sustainable growth in the midst of the economic downturn. source: VOA

BVB set to start building rice-milling plant

2010-02-02T04:40:00.000-08:00

CONSTRUCTION of a new US$10 million rice mill and paddy-drying facility in Kampong Thom province could start in just two weeks, BVB Investment Company said Monday.

Duong Vibol, BVB president, said the new plant will be able to process 30 tonnes of rice per hour for export.

The production centre is being built on 10 hectares of land in Srayeuv commune, Stueng Saen town, he added.

“We will turn Kampong Thom province into a place which can produce standardised rice for export from next year,” he said.

According to BVB’s plan, the firm will export its first shipments to Europe in 2011. It wants to export 10,000 tonnes of grain in the first year, rising to up to 100,000 tonnes three years later.

The company has already built a storehouse, a paddy-drying machine and a farmhouse beside a 2,000-hectare paddy field. It also intends to provide local farmers with seed to grow rice for export, according to Duong Vibol.

Sun Kunthor, chairman of the Rural Development Bank, which lent BVB $3 million last month, said Monday that the company will be able to export, but warned it must buy enough rice for processing.

“It needs to increase its capital to buy paddy. Its existing capital is not enough,” he added.

On Monday, BVB refused to give details of the amount of capital it has for acquiring paddy, citing confidentiality and competition in the market.

Since 2008, Cambodia has had a yearly paddy surplus of 3.2 million tonnes. But the Kingdom has been able to export only small quantities of rice because it lacks modern processing machines to produce quality product.

Battambang province’s Baitang Co has spent $7.8 million building an international-standard rice mill able to process 720 tonnes of rice per day. It will open Wednesday. Cambodia’s only other standardised rice mill belongs to Green Trade Co.

Last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the nation could have the potential to export more rice than Vietnam, but that at present it does not have the adequate irrigation systems and water supplies to produce enough rice. source: the phnom penh post

Cotton exports to China

2010-02-02T04:39:00.000-08:00

AROUND 100 tonnes of raw cotton is set to be exported to China later this month, according to the project manager of Seladamex cotton processing plant in Battambang province.

Seladamex has signed a deal to supply a Chinese factory with two-thirds of the plant’s raw cotton stock on February 28. Seladamex Project Manager Kong Chan declined Monday to name the other company involved.

Raw cotton is currently being sold for around US$2,000 per tonne on international markets, an increase of $500 on prices recorded late last year. In October last year, the plant planned to export 1,000 tonnes of cotton to Vietnam. That plan was put on hold due to cotton shortages. source: the phnom penh post

New rice mill to open

2010-02-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

A NEW US$7.8 million rice mill will open in Battambang Wednesday after 18 months of building work. The new mill, operated by Baitong Co, will use the latest technology to produce 720 tonnes of processed rice per day, adding up to 259,200 tonnes a year.

President Phou Puy explained that he expects the mill to standardise Cambodian rice to cater for the European market. At the moment, Cambodia exports only 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes of processed rice to European markets per annum due to the lack of hi-tech rice-milling equipment. source: the phnom penh post

MFI Prasac set to seek licence to take deposits

2010-02-02T04:35:00.000-08:00

MICROFINANCE institution (MFI) Prasac will apply to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) this week for a licence to take deposits from the public.

Prasac general manager Sim Senacheert told the Post Sunday that he intends to ask the NBC for permission to provide a deposits service. The move is part of the MFI’s plan to become a commercial bank in five years, he said.

“We hope to get a licence within two months and launch the deposit-taking service by late March or early April,” he said. “We want to encourage people to get into the habit of saving money in MFIs in the future.”

He said that gaining capital from the local population is more “stable” for the MFI. Money is currently offered by foreign lenders at rates of up to 10.5 percent per year.

Prasac, however, intends to offer the public interest rates of around 8 percent and 6.5 percent for one-year deposits in riels and US dollars respectively. Six-month savings deposits will be offered at 5.5 percent and 5 percent respectively, said Sim Senacheert.

Although this is higher than rates offered by commercial banks, it is cheaper than foreign loans.

To gain a licence, an MFI must prove that it has carried out operations for more than three years, is in a good financial condition, has capital of at least 10,000 million riels (US$2.4 million), operates an effective management system, uses NBC charts of accounts, and has sustainable profitability.

Only two of the Kingdom’s 20 MFIs, Amret and Sathapana, have been granted a licence. Two more MFIs have applied for a permit, but have yet to hear back from the NBC.

Paul Luchtenburg, chief executive officer of micro-lender AMK, said Sunday that the company applied for a deposit-taking licence a year and a half ago but still has not been given the green light.

Hout Ieng Tong, general manager at Hattha Kaksekar Limited, said that he applied in December last year, but has yet to be approved by the NBC. The NBC could not be reached for comment. Clients “always keep their money at home, where it’s not safe. If they keep savings at MFIs, it would be safe and increases revenues at the same time, helping to drive economic growth”, said Hout Ieng Tong.

ACLEDA Bank started as an NGO micro-lender. In 2003, it was licensed as a commercial bank after tripling capital to $13 million. source: the phnom penh post

Falling prices in December capped a year of deflationFalling prices in December capped a year of deflation

2010-01-20T03:33:00.000-08:00

CAMBODIA experienced full-year consumer price index (CPI) deflation of 0.7 percent in 2009, San Sy Than, director general of the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), said Tuesday.

December CPI capped an unusual year for price trends in the Kingdom, as the index fell 0.1 percent month-on-month but jumped 5.3 percent in December on prices a year earlier due to the low base at the end of 2008 – when the global economic crisis began to affect Cambodia, analysts said.

The rate matched a December projection by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which foresaw a 5 percent annual rise in prices year on year, “mainly as base effects from sharp declines in commodity prices fall out of the consumer price index”.

Still, overall inflation was sharply down on 2008, when prices rose in August and September at rates above 20 percent and the economy boomed, at least for the first three quarters.

Food prices – which dropped 1 percent – were again at the centre of the continued month-on-month fall in prices in December, the third month in a row that CPI declined, according to new NIS figures.

October was the only month last year in which month-on-month and year-on-year CPI moved in the same direction, falling 0.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, highlighting the shift in base prices and larger effect of the economic crisis upon the Kingdom over the past year and a half.

“A weak base in late 2008, when global commodity prices fell sharply owing to the financial crisis, partly explains December’s year-on-year rise in Cambodian consumer prices,” Nick Owen, a Beijing-based Cambodia specialist at Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), said by email Tuesday. “The continued month-on-month fall is more surprising, but we’re not talking about large movements here.”

Although Owen downplayed the trend, he said “it may be a sign that demand-side pressures are still weak”.

Market dealers and consumers in Phnom Penh told the Post last month that although they had barely noticed falling food prices, the lack of activity was more tangible as demand had been hit by falling purchasing power.

Food prices at the farmer-to-wholesaler level have remained fairly stable since the start of the harvest in November.

“We don’t see [the dealers’ purchase] price changing up to now,” Phou Phuy, president of Cambodia Rice Millers Association, told the Post on Tuesday, referring to the start of the harvest two months ago until this week.

Farmers sold normal rice to dealers at US$214 per tonne in November 2008, he said, which had risen 12 percent to $240 per tonne in November, reflecting the year-on-year CPI increase that continued to the beginning of 2008. But prices have remained static since November, he added.

This month, petrol stations have raised both petrol and diesel prices because of price rises on global markets compared with the crash a year ago. That trend was briefly halted Monday in New York as crude oil fell to its lowest level of the year – at just over $77 a barrel – but many analysts say the blip may be temporary.

“Higher oil prices will put upward pressure on the cost of goods and services in Cambodia,” Owen said. “This additional cost will inevitably be passed on to consumers.”

The EIU said Tuesday it was maintaining its projection of 5.9 percent inflation rate for 2010. This is on par with the IMF, which forecast “mid-single digits” in a report last month, “… although upside risk remains, possibly stemming from a more expansionary fiscal stance, a sharper depreciation of the US dollar vis-a-vis other major currencies, and/or higher oil prices than currently envisaged,” it said.

San Sy Than said the NIS was forecasting a much lower rate – about 1 percent.

“According to our forecasts, [there will be] some price increases in January and February,” he said. Source: the Phnom Penh Post

Bank assets rose 13.6pc in 2009 on new entries

2010-01-20T03:32:00.000-08:00

THE TOTAL assets of Cambodia’s commercial banks increased by an annualised 13.6 percent last year, according to the annual report of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), released Monday.

The study states that assets increased to $4.74 billion at the end of 2009, compared to $4.17 billion in 2008.

Central bank Governor Chea Chanto told the Post Tuesday that Cambodia’s banking industry had developed in both its scope and operational capacity.

In 2009, three new banks launched in the Kingdom. That move brought the total number of commercial banks in Cambodia to 27.

Tal Nay Im, NBC’s director general, added Tuesday that the new arrivals in the sector had pushed total assets up.

“When new banks come to the country, they normally bring in both current assets and fixed assets,” she said.

According to the report, the number of loans paid out last year increased by 3.2 percent to $2.42 billion from $2.34 billion in 2008. The number of borrowers recorded nationally increased by 15.7 percent to 266,299 from 230,114 in 2008.

Deposits rose by 32.7 percent to $3.28 billion from $2.47 billion in 2008, and the number of depositors rose by 38.4 percent to 968,472 from 699,987.

In Channy, president and CEO of ACLEDA, told the Post Tuesday that an increase in deposits had boosted his company’s assets. They increased by a third to $922 million last year, from only $692.8 million in 2008.

“We predict the same growth in assets at our bank this year,” he added. source: the phnom penh post

Stocks Roundup: Maybank steady on news of expansion

2010-01-11T00:33:00.000-08:00

SHARES in Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange remained stable last week after Chief Executive Officer Abdul Wahid Omar’s announcement on Tuesday that the bank plans to add five additional branches in Cambodia. Maybank closed on Friday at 6.92 ringgit (US$2.05) after opening at 6.92 ringgit and beginning the week at 6.85.

Shares in the Malaysian lender have hovered around 6.85 ringgit over the past few months, hitting a 52-week high of 7.08 in November.

On Tuesday, Maybank opened its seventh branch in the Kingdom in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district. Maybank international head Abdul Farid Alias said at the event that the firm is optimistic about prospects for growth in Cambodia, and plans to open at least one more branch here by the end of June.

Trading in property investment fund JSM Indochina resumed last week after it was suspended following the December 7 resignation of Numis, the fund’s nominated adviser. London’s AIM board had JSM listed at $0.66 before the suspension last month; it opened on Wednesday at $0.67 before closing down Friday at $0.595. Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited has been installed as the fund’s new nominated adviser and broker.

San Francisco-based hedge fund Passport Capital LLC, which controls about 13 percent of JSM’s capital, called for the December 7 investor meeting in London in which a new chairman, Scott Verges, was appointed along with two new non-executive directors.

Verges and his new colleagues, Paul Kaju and John Duggan, touched down in Cambodia last week to review JSM’s investment strategy in the region at the request of shareholders. New JSM investments are on hold pending a review of its investment strategy, the firm said last week, adding it was working with Panmure Gordon to return uninvested cash to shareholders.

France-based holding firm Electricite et Eaux de Madagascar (EEM) closed up 4.72 percent on Friday at the Paris Stock Exchange, finishing at €8.21 (US$11.83). EEM operates hotels in Cambodia and Vietnam, including the Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa in Siem Reap, under EEM subsidiaries EEM Victoria and Victoria Angkor.

The company hit a 52-week high of €9.10 in October before falling below €8 towards the end of the year.

Vimpelcom, owner of Cambodian mobile phone company Beeline, finished at $20.42 on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, up 3.50 percent from its December 1 price of $19.73. source: the phnom penh post

Central bank dismisses NPL threat despite recent warning

2010-01-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

AN estimated rise of 2.3 percentage points in nonperforming loans (NPLs) at Cambodia’s commercial banks during 2009 is “acceptable” and will have “no impact” on the health of the banking sector, according to National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Director General Tal Nay Im, despite recent warnings by the International Monetary Fund.

Central bank estimates show NPLs accounted for 6 percent of all outstanding loans at year’s end, up from 3.7 percent at the end of 2008 and 5.2 percent in June.

“There is no specific business sector pushing up the NPL rate; it’s due to the economic recession across the economy, which has made repayments late,” Tal Nay Im said. “There’s no problem with it. It’s an acceptable rate, and it will have no impact on the banking industry.”

Her confidence in the sector’s health was due to a 25 percent rise in deposits over the period and a 10 percent jump in loans, she said, admitting, however, that final figures were not yet available.

“In general, in 2009, there has been a bit of a slowdown in business activity, and loan growth has also slowed, so profits in the banking industry have dropped slightly,” she said.

NBC figures show that at the end of 2008, the Kingdom’s 24 commercial banks had US$2.52 billion in deposits and $2.38 billion in loan disbursements. Net profit across the sector was $116.6 million.

Cambodia now has 27 commercial banks.

Tal Nay Im said she expected 2010 to be a better year for banks, though admitted that the sector was heavily dependent on economic conditions abroad and the recovery of key export sectors, particularly garments.

The director general’s optimism comes following a warning by the IMF in a report last month that many banks in Cambodia were hiding the true extent of NPLs, which it said were likely to rise further.

“A number of banks continue to report few or no NPLs, suggesting incomplete adherence with the new loan classification and provisioning regulation,” the report stated. “Moreover, the evergreening of loans and capitalisation of interest still take place to avoid loan loss recognition and provisioning and possible capital writedowns. These practices appear particularly acute for overdraft loans used to finance land purchases during the recent property boom.”

The fund did not single out individual banks, in line with its standard procedures, though industry insiders say the practice is an open secret.
The fund also warned of falling profitability at banks as deposits continued to rise at a much faster rate than loans.

NBC Deputy Governor Neav Chanthana rejected the report last month.

ACLEDA Bank increased its loan portfolio 12 percent to $532 million in the year through to December, 31 percentage points lower than loan growth in 2008, according to In Channy, the bank’s president. Deposits increased 35 percent to $687 million.

“As a whole, banks would gain less profit in 2009 due to slow growth in loan disbursements, which are the most important source of revenues,” he said.

ACLEDA had not yet finalised its profits for 2009, but In Channy predicted it would be half last year’s figure at $19.4 million. He put bad loans at 1.05 percent, up from 0.23 percent at the end of 2008.

“There is no specific type of business that has alone pushed up the NPL rate, but all business sectors have a small slice of late repayments, so the NPL rate has gone up in 2009,” he said.

In Channy said he expected the passage of a law allowing foreigners to co-own buildings to lead to an increase in demand for credit, both through individual mortgages and through project financing as new construction picks up in expectation of fresh demand for residential properties.

The domestic property sector slumped in the lead-up to the national elections in 2008. It was expected at the time to be a temporary lull as the country waited for Prime Minister Hun Sen to consolidate his power, but a recovery never came after the global financial crisis undermined confidence further and buyers started waiting for record land prices to drop.

Ramesh Chandra Baliarsingh, chief executive of the Bank of India, which opened its first branch in the Kingdom last year, said Thursday that the strong economic growth in the past and absence of complex financial instruments helped the Cambodian banking sector withstand the global financial turmoil of 2009. He predicted there would be more lending opportunities in 2010 as the global economy began to recover.

“We strongly believe that 2010 will begin with a positive note because financial indicators in most countries have started showing signs of recovery,” he said. “I feel that credit uptake will increase by around 10 percent for the whole banking industry in 2010.”

Angkor Capital Bank General Manager Alex Ng said deposits had grown to $18 million since the bank launched in November 2008 and loans to $10 million. “We grew well in 2009 and also we expect to good growth in 2010,” he said. “Deposits are forecast to double and loans to increase about a third as the economic situation – here and around the world – has begun to recover gradually.” source: the phnom penh post

VN deal could draw $6bn investment

2009-12-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

VIETNAM and Cambodia have made progress on business deals that some say could attract more than US$6 billion worth of investment to the Kingdom.

Sok Chenda, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), the government’s key investment body, said a memorandum of understanding promoting investment and cooperation between the two nations was inked at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday to guide proposed investments from Cambodia’s eastern neighbour.

It was signed by Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc.

However, Sok Chenda warned Sunday that no deals were actually finalised at the investment forum, which was co-chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen and Vietnamese premier Nguyen Tan Dung and attended by 600 businessmen. However, it “did clearly promote potential opportunities in Cambodia”, he said.

Bauxite gold mine
One potential project identified at the forum could account for $6 billion in investment on its own, at least according to Vietnam’s commercial consular in Phnom Penh.

That project, a proposal by Alumina Cambodia Vietnam Co to explore bauxite mining in Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province, received support Saturday by the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and the Cambodian Minister for Industry, Mines and Energy Suy Sem.

Hun Sen told the conference that the energy ministry issued the firm an exploratory licence for the project on December 23, adding: “Cambodia is receptive to local and foreign investment in all sectors, including banking, insurance and telecommunications – where many countries around the world do not allow 100 percent investments without entering into a national joint-venture agreement.”

Vietnam’s commercial consular in Phnom Penh, Le Bien Cuong, said Sunday the bauxite investment alone could be worth up to $6 billion.

“If the investment materialises, the bauxite exploitation project alone will cost $2.5 billion in its first phase and $3.5 billion in the second phase,” he said. “I believe that this can be achieved in the next two or three years.”

The scale of the proposed investment could not be verified Sunday. For comparison, a Chinese consortium recently announced plans to invest $5 billion to $6 billion in a Bauxite mine and refinery near the city of Yaounde, Cameroon, according to industry Web site chinamining.org.

However, that investment, which is expected to produce between 4.5 million and 9 million tonnes of the aluminium ore per year, included an 860-kilometre railway to the nearest port.

Sok Chenda added that Cham Prasidh has this year granted licences to four Vietnamese investment projects in the Kingdom: a sugarcane plantation feeding the sugar and ethanol plant in Kratie, a project to buy milled rice to be processed and packed for export, a rubber plantation and a plywood project.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) also signed a deal at the forum to provide financial services to Vietnamese businesses investing in Cambodia.

This was followed by Hun Sen’s opening of Ho Chi Minh City’s first Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC) on Saturday. The Phnom Penh branch was inaugurated in July.

Pushing investment
BIDC, which is owned by BIDV, is intended to act as a conduit between the financial systems of Vietnam and Cambodia, promoting trade between the neighboring business communities.

Since it arrived in Cambodia, the bank has been central to a number of major investment proposals.

It has also extended a $40 million credit line to mobile phone operator Metfone, which is owned by Viettel, a subsidiary of the Vietnamese military, to finance expansion of its mobile-phone network.

Sok Chenda said that Vietnamese investors have to date poured $900 million into 63 projects in Cambodia, citing figures from the Vietnamese ministry of planning and investment.

These include a $100 million investment by Vietnam Airlines in Cambodia Angkor Air.

This makes Vietnam among the top three foreign investors in the Kingdom, behind China and South Korea, he said.

Vietnamese investments in Cambodia include agro-forestry; agro-industry, especially rubber and sugar plantations; agriculture; mining; telecommunications; banking; and insurance.

According to the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, two-way trade between the countries has increased significantly in recent years, reaching $1.7 billion in 2008, up 40 percent from 2007.

Bilateral trade, however, fell an estimated 29.7 percent to US$1.049 billion in the first 10 months of 2009, compared to 2008. source: the phnom penh post

Smart Mobile defiant on mobile-tariff rules

2009-12-28T00:40:00.000-08:00

PHONE operator Smart Mobile has left its tariffs unchanged despite a government edict setting minimum prices in the sector, saying it has “severe concerns and reservations” over the new pricing regulations.

Smart Mobile Chief Executive Officer Thomas Hundt also said the time frame for compliance with the government prakas, which was signed December 7 and took effect December 22, was unreasonable.

“Smart Mobile is currently conducting discussions with [the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications] in regard to the prakas; however, Smart Mobile’s WOW offer remains valid unchanged until further notice,” he said.

“Besides Smart Mobile’s general severe concerns and reservations in regard to this regulation, a potential revision of Smart Mobile’s tariff plan does require significantly more time than granted with the prakas.”

His comments followed a Post article last Thursday that mistakenly said the company had dropped its free minutes offering from its WOW Tariff, which gives customers up to 30 minutes of free calls a day within the Smart Mobile network when they top up with $5 or more of credit.

Those who top up with less also get free minutes, but not as many.

That article came after Smart Mobile dropped reference to the free minutes from the pricing schedule published on its Web site. “From now on, you can enjoy great calling rates within the network and across network calls are charged at only 2 cents per 15 seconds,” the Web site now states.

Mao Chakrya, director general at the telecoms ministry, said last week that operators which fail to comply with the edict by the deadline risk the suspension or cancellation of their operating licences.

Into line
Most of the Kingdom’s nine operators were already in line with the minimum tariffs or have since altered their pricing structures.

Only Smart Mobile, qb, which is owned by CADCOMMS, and Beeline appear to have pricing structures at odds with the new directive, which bans free minutes and sets minimum tariffs of $0.045 per minute, not including taxes, for calls within a network.

It also makes binding a long-standing agreement setting the cost for across-network calls at $0.0595 per minute.

Special call promotions of up to one month are possible in which within-network calls can drop to 50 percent of the minimum tariff, but these require prior approval. source: the phnom penh post

Insurance income on track for fall

2009-12-28T00:38:00.000-08:00

Amajor garment factory fire and a slump in building activity led to a bad year for Cambodia’s fledgling insurance sector, industry figures say.

Premium revenues in the first 10 months of the year decreased 11.5 percent to US$14.16 million compared with the same period in 2008, according to General Insurance Association of Cambodia figures, as claims paid out amounted to $11 million, more than three times the $3 million in compensation paid a year earlier.

Of that, $9 million was paid in one claim by Forte Insurance to Suntex Pte Ltd in compensation for a fire that destroyed its garment factory in Dangkor district in April.

Insurance association Chairman Chhay Rattanak said the decline, which follows years of double-digit growth, was due largely to a slump in construction projects. Premium revenues from the sector fell 70 percent as a large number of developers suspended projects or pulled out, he said.

Falling premium revenues from the garment sector – which saw exports fall more than 20 percent this year – also contributed, while storm damage to hotels in Siem Reap in the wake of Typhoon Ketsana resulted in a sharp increase in payouts.

Chhay Rattanak said he expected full-year premium revenue to be down 10 percent from last year, but anticipated a slow rebound next year.

Ministry of Economy and Finance figures show premium revenues grew 18 percent year on year in 2008 to $20.5 million.

Mey Vann, director of the Finance Ministry’s Department of Industrial Finance, disputed the figures from the industry association, saying revenues were on track to match last year’s, though official figures were not yet available.

“We have not seen any impact on the insurance industry; it’s stable,” he said. “And I do not see any major risk for the industry, except for one huge claim at Forte, so it is only bad for Forte this year.”

Forte Insurance Director Youk Chamroeunrith said revenues had stayed stable in 2009 after growing 20 percent annually in recent years, but declined to give figures. An increase in demand from banks and telecommunications companies had offset losses in premium income from the construction and garment sectors, he said.

It was not a bad year for all insurers. Agnes Chan Weng Yee, general manger at Campubank Lonpac Insurance, said her company’s premium income grew 40 percent this year to $3.5 million, and she expects to see a similar gain next year as the economy begins to recover.

“We are doing very well this year. Premiums grew about 40 percent, mostly in property insurance and project risk,” she said, adding that claims had increased just 5 percent. “We forecast that premiums in the insurance industry will bounce back next year, and we would expect the same growth as this year.”

Infinity Insurance Chief Executive Officer David Carter said premium revenues had increased around 20 percent this year due to new business growth and the retention of existing customers.

“We have secured more corporate customers this year, which reflects increased consumer confidence in our ability to insure and manage more complex risks,” he said.

The sector is likely to grow 10 percent next year, he added.

Cambodia today has six insurance companies: Forte Insurance, CAMINCO, Asia Insurance, Campubank Lonpac, Infinity Insurance and new arrival Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance. It also has one domestic reinsurance company. source: the phnom penh post

Cambodia Wants Tax-Free Exports to US: Minister

2009-12-07T00:19:00.000-08:00

[Editor’s note: Last month, the International Finance Corporation invited Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh to its offices in Washington, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of preferential trade agreements between Cambodia and the US. On his visit, Cham Prasidh testified before the Trade Subcommittee for the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means. He also sat with VOA Khmer for an interview at a hotel in Washington. What follows is an excerpt of that interview, in the first segment of an eight-part series.]

Q. What gains has Cambodia received from 10 years of trade agreements with the US?

A. The trade agreement in 1999 provided us with a big opportunity to export clothes for sale to American over other countries. As you know, countries usually export their products within a limited quota by the US. For some countries the US would increase this by 6 percent after the first export. But because Cambodia has this agreement, Cambodia had the 6 percent increased to 14 percent. We exported more than other countries, and around 20 garment factories in Cambodia grew quickly to almost 300 factories.

Q. What is the next strategy to improve Cambodian trade and people’s daily lives?

A. Overall, we need an open market. That means that if the US grants us duty-free and quota-free status, we will have the possibility of selling more products, and we also have the possibility of attracting investors to agriculture. So we’re trying very hard to get the US market. The US market is the biggest market for Cambodia.

Q. You requested that US Congress remove taxes on every product, including clothing. Do you believe this request will be fulfilled?

A. It is our request, but we’ve only come here to lobby them to draft a bill to submit to Congress. I came to lobby them in 2004, and there was a bill in 2005 submitted to Congress. But the bill hasn’t gone further. Among more than 200 Congressmen, 40 of them supported us, but hundreds more still have not yet looked at our bill. Now, in 2009, we started lobbying and submitted it again, but it has not progressed yet because of, as you know, the economic downturn in the US.

We’ve come here this time to reaffirm [our position] as America prepares to review its [generalized system of preferences]. And I’ve come here to express to them that Cambodia needs to have free taxes on our products exported to America, as America considers which countries should be provided the GSP and which countries should be cut back on the GSP. If the US market opens for us, then all the products that come to America will be tax free. Then we will also have to attract many investors to our country, and our people will have better living conditions.

Q. According to your report, Cambodia paid $407 million in tariffs to America on exports worth $2.4 billion. That’s a tariff of 16.7 percent, which is much higher than that for developed countries like the United Kingdom, Thailand, Russia or South America. Do you think it’s fair for Cambodia to pay such a large tax, when its sales are so small?

A. It is extremely unjust for us as an impoverished country. After we told them these tax statistics, they seemed to feel embarrassed. We are also a poor country, like Africa, but they have not allowed us free duty, while some poor countries in Africa can access America’s market with free duty. It is not fair when a small, poor country pays taxes greater than rich countries like France and the UK. They export more products to America but pay less tax. Cambodia exports a small amount of products, but pays a higher tax. So our struggle here is to lobby the US to lower the tax. Then we can export more. Source: VOA news

Once-Growing Insurance Market Faces Challenges

2009-12-07T00:17:00.002-08:00

Post-war Cambodia only saw its first insurance agency in 1990, when the state-owned Caminco opened. Nearly 20 years later, a number of private companies have established themselves, but experts say they still face challenges in a market where few understand the benefits and many can’t afford premiums.

“Compared with other countries, our market is very small, because many people have limited knowledge about this sector,” said Chhay Rattanak, president of the Association of Insurance Companies in Cambodia.

There are seven companies now in the country: the private companies Forte, Asia, Campubank Lonpac, Infinity and Vietnam; and the state-owned Caminco and Cambodia Re.

Each seeks to help people and businesses manage risk, which in turn promotes economic growth. And while the number of insurance customers is increasing—premium payments rose from $8 million in 2003 to $20 million in 2008—only about 1 percent of Cambodians have it.

“I don’t understand insurance, and I don’t know how they could compensate us,” said Phnom Penh car salesman Lem Meng Lim, who has not considered insurance in the four years he’s been running his business.

In Cambodia, companies offer insurance on motors, property, marine cargo, personal accident and healthcare, engineering and construction and other eventualities. (There is no life insurance.)

Even if they did understand it, with more than 30 percent of Cambodians living on less than a dollar a day, many can’t afford it.

“Because they have such a low income, what is important for them is their daily life,” said Youk Chamreoun Rith, director of Forte Insurance, the largest company here with nearly half the market.

Mey Vann, director of financial industry at the Ministry of Economics, said his ministry is working to educate people and reform some of the insurance law, including all vehicles have insurance.

Now may be a hard time to grow the industry, however. Premiums fell in 2009 for the first time, by about 10 percent, following growth of 20 percent to 30 percent in prior years.

The downturn caused many factories to close, “so that number of customers will decline and premium [numbers] will fall,” he said.

“We know that our customers are looking to save on their expenses,” said David Carter, CEO of Infinity Insurance. “In some cases, they are cutting back the level of insurance they buy.”

That kind of thinking can lead to increased business risk, he said.

“What can happen in a financially difficult time such as this is customers may not be careful in management of their business,” he said, “because they are looking to cut costs. Source: VOA news

Ministers OK foreign property purchases

2009-12-07T00:17:00.001-08:00

The Council of Ministers approved a long-awaited draft law Friday allowing foreign ownership of units in co-owned buildings to boost economic growth, council spokesman Phay Siphan said.

The draft law, approved in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen, was aimed at “attracting investors, facilitating the growth of real estate market, and pushing development”, according to a statement from the Council of Ministers on Friday.

Phay Siphan said the law would let foreigners buy units in buildings from the first floor up, but would not apply within 30 kilometres of international borders because of national security concerns.

Phay Siphan said a controversial clause limiting the percentage of any building that could be owned by foreigners had been dropped. Instead, the government would manage ownership by foreigners through sub-decrees, which could be issued on a case-by-case basis, he said.

The draft law is expected to be approved by Cambodia’s parliament and senate, and then will be promulgated by King Norodom Sihamoni.

Phay Siphan said he expected the law, which consists of 8 chapters and 24 articles, to be sent to the National Assembly for consideration within the week.

The move comes after the private sector in recent years urged the government to allow foreign ownership of properties such as apartments and factories, saying a liberalised real estate market would spur the economy. Under current rules, foreign property investments can be made only through the name of a Cambodian national.

National Valuers Association of Cambodia President Sung Bonna said the law would boost sales but was unlikely to increase prices of apartments, as there is still limited demand in the country. Source: the phnom Penh post

Trade with Korea fell more than 11pc in first 10 months

2009-12-04T01:17:00.001-08:00

BILATERAL trade between Cambodia and South Korea, fell 11.63 percent over the first 10 months of this year, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), a division of the country’s embassy in Phnom Penh.

Although not as severe as the decline experienced with bigger trading partners Thailand and Vietnam over the same period, trade with South Korea – the Kingdom’s second-largest foreign investor – fell to US$232.8 million up to the end of October from $263.4 million over the same period in 2008.

Lee Hyoung Seok, KOTRA’s deputy director in Cambodia, was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Cambodian exports, a tiny fraction of the trade between the two countries, increased 21.3 percent in the first 10 months to $14.48 million from $11.94 million last year as the Kingdom shipped 11.8 percent more garments and accessories to South Korea. Exports of rubber soared 42.2 percent, and metal products fell 27.4 percent, the data showed.

South Korea’s exports were down 13.2 percent over the same period to $218.3 million from $251.49 million.

“Korean products are very good in quality. However, the price is higher compared to other imported products from the likes of Vietnam or Thailand because of the high transportation costs involved,” said Mao Thora, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce.

Cambodia imported 4.2 percent fewer garments from South Korea up to the end of October compared with last year, and 44.4 percent fewer automobiles. Imports of fibre climbed 24 percent over the same period.

In 2008, total bilateral trade between the two countries hit $308.76 million from $290.12 million the previous year, an increase of 6.42 percent. source: the phnom penh post

Japan businessmen due

2009-12-04T01:16:00.000-08:00

A DELEGATION of 70 to 80 businesspeople representing about 50 companies from Japan is scheduled to arrive in Cambodia on December 13. Kith Pheara, chief of the Product Development Office at the Ministry of Commerce, said the purpose of the visit was to assess investment opportunities in the Kingdom. He said during the two-day visit the delegation would visit businesses and factories, including those at the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone. He added that his ministry would request the attendance of officials from the Council for the Development of Cambodia and the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia. source: the phnom penh post

October investment sees downward trend continue

2009-12-04T01:14:00.001-08:00

THE number of approved investment projects in Cambodia fell dramatically in October compared with the same month in 2008, according to figures from the Centre for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) released Thursday, as large projects failed to materialise following the economic downturn.

Only US$15.5 million in projects were approved in October, a 98 percent drop compared with the $869.8 million in projects given the green light during the same month in 2008.

According to the CDC’s statistics, four major “tourism” projects worth a total of $704 million provided the majority of last October’s approvals.

The first 10 months of the year has seen approvals totalling only $1.624 billion, a far cry from the $9.928 projects certified during the same period last year.

An official from the CDC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drop in investment projects resulted from a lack of capital flow from foreign countries.

“Most investors borrow money from banks, and the downfall of big banks around the world has systematically affected the flow of capital into Cambodia,” said the official.

During October the Cambodian government gave the go-ahead to only two projects: a shoe factory and a lightweight manufacturing development.

Kang Chandararoth, president of the Cambodian Centre for Study and Development, said October’s downturn in investment into Cambodia was not necessarily cause for alarm.

“We cannot evaluate investment each month because it is meaningless in evaluating change in the direction of an economic structure. We should make the comparison on a quarterly or yearly basis,” he said.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay said there were underlying problems in attracting capital to the Kingdom beyond the global financial crisis, namely high electricity prices, inadequate human resources and bureaucracy. source: the phnom penh post

Partial approval for draft budget

2009-12-01T20:02:00.002-08:00

The National Assembly approved four of the six chapters in the 2010 draft budget law on Monday, despite the objections of opposition lawmakers.

The National Assembly approved four of the six chapters in the 2010 draft budget law on Monday, despite the objections of opposition lawmakers.

Keat Chhon, minister of economy and finance, told the National Assembly that his ministry had “worked hard to generate revenue, and we hope to increase the level of revenue for next year”.

During the debate, the minister said the government would save money by limiting state employees with multiple positions to a single salary. “The government did not reduce the salaries of soldiers or civil servants. On the contrary, the government has increased their salaries from last year.
At the same time, public servants with multiple positions can only be paid for one of them,” Keat Chhon said.

To help shore up revenue sapped by effects of the global downturn, the budget contains provisions for new property and automobile taxes.

Under the draft, a tax of 0.1 percent would be levied on properties that are valued at more than 100 million riels (US$24,000) by a Property
Valuation Commission to be established by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Agricultural land, government property and religious, diplomatic and humanitarian organisations would be tax-exempt.

Automobiles would be subject to taxes varying by year of production and horsepower, with vehicles of 24 horsepower and above subject to a tax of 2 million riels ($480).

Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said the budget allocated too little to crucial development-related areas such as education, health and agriculture.

“In the health sector, people spend lots of money for care in private hospitals, but they cannot find quality treatment in public hospitals,” he said.

“The education sector receives very little money, even though far more spending is needed here. Agriculture also needs a greater allotment if we are to build up the sector to the point where we can compete with neighbouring countries.”

Civil society coalition NGO Forum echoed Yim Sovann’s concerns in an analysis of the 2010 budget issued on Saturday, which said that “there is concern that the relative low increase for education will affect the improvement of quality education,” citing the need for “qualified teachers and appropriate teaching materials, both financed from the current budget”.

The analysis also noted that “the increase for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is lower than expected, given, for instance, the need for investment in agriculture extension services.”

Yam Ponnarith, spokesman and lawmaker from the Human Rights Party, said: “The HRP did not adopt the budget because the government has included too many irregularities and ambiguities regarding how the money will be spent. The budget package must be divided and explained clearly.”

The National Assembly is due to resume debate on the draft budget law today, when parliamentarians are expected to pass the law’s final two chapters. Source: the phnom penh post

Bank accuses employee of $500k fraud

2009-12-01T20:02:00.001-08:00

A senior official with an ACLEDA Bank branch in Kampong Cham’s Srey Santhor district has been arrested after being accused of defrauding the company of nearly US$500,000, bank and police officials confirmed Monday.

Yan Seth, chief of the marketing section of ACLEDA in Srey Santhor district, was arrested after bank officials became suspicious of some “irregularities”, said the bank’s CEO and President In Channy.

“There were some irregularities in the audit system,” said In Channy, who alleged that Yan Seth conspired with his girlfriend, an employee at a competing bank, to steal the money.

“We have learned that he had cheated the bank by transferring nearly $500,000 to his girlfriend’s bank account. We want him to be prosecuted,” said In Channy, adding that he would not confirm when Yan Seth was arrested or elaborate further on the accusations, which have yet to be proved in court.

“It is an internal affair. Let the police complete their investigation, and then it will become public,” he said.

Calls to Ministry of Interior police officials, who are handling the case, were not returned Monday.

Sor Ros, head of the anti-drug trafficking bureau of the Kampong Cham provincial police, confirmed that the ACLEDA employee and his girlfriend had both been arrested, before referring questions to the ministry.

Meanwhile, another ACLEDA official in Kampong Cham province was breathing a sigh of relief Monday after a local newspaper erroneously reported that it was he who had been arrested.

“I was very surprised after reading the newspaper, which wrongly accused me of cheating a large amount of money,” said Heng Phalla, ACLEDA’s provincial director in Kampong Cham. source; the phnom penh post

Trade with Vietnam plummets by 39pc

2009-12-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

CAMBODIA’S bilateral trade with Vietnam saw a further decline in October, dropping 39 percent year on year, according to official figures released Monday by the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh.

Trade was down to US$103 million in October, down from $169 during the same month last year. The fall was greater than the aggregated year-to-date slide of 29.7 percent for the first 10 months, meaning a recovery in trade with one of the Kingdom’s most important economic partners has failed to materialise. Bilateral trade was down an annualised 22.8 percent in September.

“People [in the two countries] don’t earn well, meaning they have had to cut expenses,” Le Bien Cuong, Vietnam’s commercial counsellor in Phnom Penh, said Monday, also citing a drop in Cambodia’s imports of raw materials for the key construction and garment sectors.

Two-way trade stood at $1.049 billion this year to the end of October from $1.493 billion over the same period last year.

Still, Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said Monday that there had been flight from Thai products to those from Vietnam in the wake of the diplomatic dispute with Bangkok.

“The more problems that exist with Thailand, the more progress is made with Vietnam,” he said, although it remained difficult to back up this claim statistically given that trade data for November – when relations with Thailand reached a recent low – will not be available for another month.

Cuong predicted trade between Cambodia and Vietnam would be down about 20 percent overall for 2009 compared with last year. source: the phnom penh post

Royal Group completes full buyout of Mobitel

2009-11-29T23:57:00.000-08:00

THE Royal Group has completed the purchase of its joint-venture partners' 61.5 percent stake in mobile-phone company Mobitel, also known as CamGSM, through what advisers on the deal say is Cambodia’s largest-ever corporate acquisition and debt-leveraged buyout.

The purchase of Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular SA’s 58.4 percent stake in Cambodia’s leading mobile- service provider by users and an additional 3.1 percent owned by small shareholders was announced by the Nasdaq-listed global telecoms operator late Thursday.

The deal, which gives the Royal Group 100 percent control of Mobitel, the operator of the Cellcard network, was financed through a US$421 million senior debt facility arranged by Standard Bank Plc and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, according to Cambodia-based investment firm Cambodia Capital.

The firm, which is an affiliate of Indochina-focused financial services provider Lotus Capital, acted as financial adviser to Royal Group on the acquisition and associated financing.

The loan covers the $346 million cash purchase of the Millicom stake and refinances debt held by Mobitel, including a $100 million syndicated loan arranged by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in July 2008.

The loan, which was to upgrade and expand the company’s cellular network, had not been fully drawn.

Royal Group Chief Financial Officer Mark Hanna declined to comment on the deal Thursday.

Andrew Ranken, a founding partner in Cambodia Capital, described the deal as a landmark transaction for Cambodia.

“The acquisition and associated financing are the largest ever in Cambodia and demonstrate that Cambodia is now on the radar for international investors,” he said.

“The financing sets an important benchmark for the market and should help to improve access to capital for quality Cambodian issuers like CamGSM.”

An international group of investors including Cambodian fund Leopard Capital invested in the facility, a source involved in the deal said.

Leopard Capital, founded in 2007 by Douglas Clayton, manages almost $31 million in committed capital from global investors, according to the fund’s Web site.

Breakthrough
Standard Bank’s head of Asia telecoms and media, Tom Fuller, said it was a breakthrough transaction for Cambodia.

“Successfully arranging this facility for Cambodia’s number one telecom operator is evidence of Standard Bank’s continued commitment to being a leading financial institution in the emerging markets,” he said.

According to data provider Thomson Reuters, only eight syndicated loans had previously been completed in Cambodia, including the IFC loan to Mobitel.

The deal also includes Millicom’s stake in Royal Telecam International Co and Cambodia Broadcasting Service Co, which operates television network CTN.

It values the telecommunications and television broadcasting assets at an enterprise value of $605 million, or 7.1 times estimated 2009 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, Millicom said in announcing it had reached a deal to sell the stake to Royal Group in August.

Sources in the industry have said the sale price, which was agreed amid heavy interest from rival operators, including Japan’s cash-rich NTT DoCoMo, was a good deal for Royal Group.

Millicom has partnered with the investment and development firm in Cambodia for 14 years but announced in May that it planned to divest its Southeast Asian assets to concentrate on emerging markets in Africa and Latin America.

Millicom has also sold its Sri Lankan operations to UAE-based telecommunications company Emirates Telecommunications Corp, or Etisalat, for $155 million and has agreed the sale of its Laotian operations to Russia’s JSC VimpelCom for $65 million.

ANZ and Royal Group are partners in ANZ Royal Bank in Cambodia, which was not involved in the syndicated loan. source: the phnom penh post

Microsoft launches new OS locally

2009-11-24T18:49:00.001-08:00

American software giant Microsoft Corporation launched its new computer operating system, Windows 7, in the Kingdom on Saturday, but was cautious about the release’s potential domestic success.

Microsoft’s Cambodia country manager, Pily Wong, said he did not anticipate robust sales immediately, pointing to counterfeiting of computer programs as the company’s primary barrier to business.

“The counterfeiting problem is everywhere in the industry here, not just Microsoft,” he said. “Our concern is really about how we can continue to achieve payoff, how can we continue to innovate, with this problem.”

Wong said the company’s relatively minor presence domestically was a direct result of losses suffered from piracy.

As a result, instead of entering all guns blazing, the company intends to take a a longer-term view to its operations in the Kingdom, he said. “Cambodia is a small market, and we plan to help this market grow and develop, and our revenue will grow along with it.”

Though the company blames illegal copies for its slow domestic sales, Microsoft is also working to overcome criticism aimed at the poor quality of its previous operating system, Windows Vista, which Wong admitted had not met expectations.

He said the company’s mistake was adding too many features, making the software too complex to handle for both older computers and the less powerful but increasingly popular “netbook” computers.

Because Cambodians generally use older, slower computers compared with users in most international markets, the smoother-running, more efficient Windows 7 operating system is much better matched to local conditions, Wong said.

He anticipated that 60 to 70 percent of the market would make the switch to Windows 7 from earlier versions of the operating system.

A spokeswoman for PTC Computers, a major computer vendor in Cambodia, said the company planned to offer Windows 7 to customers on request, but that its popularity in the marketplace remained to be tested.

Sayon Chhoet, a sales representative at Anana Computer said it was difficult to predict potential sales in Cambodia. “It all depends if people make the switch from Vista,” he said.

Microsoft belongs to the Unicode Consortium, a group working to standardise encoding of characters, including alphabets such as Khmer.

Although the Khmer script has been finalised, Wong said Microsoft has no plans to incorporate Unicode into its products for local release unless it receives either government financing or assistance in preventing piracy. source: the phnom penh post

Stocks Roundup: Samart suffers on Thaksin tit for tat

2009-11-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

SAMART Corporation saw its stock slide on the Bangkok Stock Exchange on Friday following the news its Thai staff had been banned from the offices of its wholly owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services amid the continuing deterioration in relations between Phnom Penh and Bangkok.

The stock fell 1.64 percent to 6 baht (US$0.18) by the close of Bangkok trading Friday. The Cambodian government said Thursday it was temporarily suspending the activities of the firm’s staff in Phnom Penh over allegations an employee stole the flight schedule of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who visited the Kingdom earlier this month. The Cambodian government has stated publicly that the firm’s finances would not be affected.

Vimpelcom saw its recent strong rally come to an end last week despite recording a 0.54 percent increase in its stock price Friday in New York to finish at $20.66. The Nasdaq-listed stock fell 1.01 percent over the past five days after hitting a year-high the previous week.

The Moscow-based firm is due to announce group results for the third quarter Tuesday, including financial data for its mobile-phone operation in Cambodia for a period in which it has faced legal action from the Kingdom’s largest operator, Mobitel, over alleged price-dumping and illegal use of prefixes.

JSM stock still in decline
JSM Indochina continued its recent slump last week as it prepared to hold a meeting Thursday in London in a bid to solve an internal dispute over its investment strategy for Cambodia and Vietnam – a situation labelled a “distraction” by under-fire Chief Executive Craig Jones.

The stock lost a further 6.67 percent last week after closing down 1.56 percent Friday to £0.63 ($1.04) on the London Stock Exchange.

China-ASEAN Resources Co Ltd also continued to slide, losing 5.71 percent in the past five days trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange following a 5.04 percent fall Friday to HK$0.134 (US$0.017).

The company announced this month that its 10,000-hectare logging concession in Kratie province had lay dormant this year due to what it termed overzealous enforcement of logging legislation by the Cambodian authorities.

OZ Minerals, which was scheduled to restart drilling this month at its gold and minerals concessions in eastern Cambodia, recorded a 2.01 percent gain on the Australian Stock Exchange last week despite dropping 1.55 percent Friday to A$1.27 (US$1.16). source; the phnom penh post

ASEAN bankers focus on internal relations

2009-11-23T01:23:00.000-08:00

ASEAN bankers have said they should focus on building relationships within the bloc before reaching out to build ties with other countries in the region, notably China, India and South Korea.

In a document detailing discussions at a two-day ASEAN Banking Council meeting ending Friday in Phnom Penh, the first time the event has been held in the Kingdom, representatives agreed to draw up a timetable of visits between members that would include liaisons with banking regulatory authorities.

“The Committee agreed that there were lots to learn amongst ASEAN countries themselves, and it may be worthwhile to focus on activities such as more frequent dialogues,” said a report of the Permanent Committee on ASEAN Inter-Regional Relations following meetings conducted Thursday.

It added that the ASEAN Banking Council would make a decision on participation by ASEAN+3 – China, South Korea and India – at a future date.

Members also decided to postpone a group visit to Australia due to the recent A(H1N1) flu outbreak. ASEAN banking officials had originally planned to meet with Australian Banking Association members in Sydney in August, but that has since been pushed back, the report said. source: the phnom penh post

SECC session examines equities

2009-11-23T01:22:00.002-08:00

THE Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) continued Friday to work on the necessary legislation ahead of the launch of the stock exchange by holding a consultation session relating to a draft edict on public and private offerings.

Attended by the representatives of 130 companies from both the public and private sector, the session looked at the planned prakas on issuing equity securities.

The SECC draft said that private placements would relate to a small personal offering of no more than 30 investors. For companies with equity of less than 20 billion riels (US$4.8 million), the issue could not exceed 20 percent, the draft added, whereas those over this threshold would not be able to exceed 15 percent during any one 12-month period.

“These are the most important conditions for a company that wishes to issue equity securities,” said Chhun Sambath, director of the department of securities issuances at the SECC.

For public offerings, equity would be set at a minimum of 5 billion riels on the date the application is lodged, according to the draft. A required minimum net profit would be set at 500 million riels for the most recent full financial year, and the aggregate of profit should not be below 1 billion riels for the previous three financial years.

“For a company that wants to make a public offering, it takes an average period of eight months to prepare documents and to do an evaluation,” SECC Director General Ming Bankosal said Friday.

Last month the government passed two prakas related to the new exchange, which is expected to begin trading at the end of 2010 following a soft launch at the beginning of the year.

The first prakas covered the granting of approval to operators in the securities market and their requirements, whereas the second covered licensing of firms and representatives of firms operating in the industry. source: the phnom penh post

Trade with Indonesia suffering, govt says

2009-11-23T01:22:00.001-08:00

TRADE with ASEAN partner Indonesia plummeted last year, according to latest figures by the Ministry of Commerce.

Speaking at the launch of the Indonesia Trade and Tourism Promotion (ITTP) fair that started in Phnom Penh on Friday, Veng Sothy, undersecretary of state at the ministry, said bilateral trade in 2008 was just $176 million compared with $270 million the previous year. No data were available for this year, he added.

Of the total trade between the two countries last year, Cambodia’s exports accounted for just $2 million, said Veng Sothy, adding that he hoped the four-day event would help boost economic ties.

“It is … a good opportunity for the businesspeople of both countries to seek partners for trade and cooperation,” he said.
The ITTP, which was due to conclude today, was held at the Mondial Centre in Phnom Penh.

Indonesian Ambassador Ngurah Swajaya blamed the economic crisis and a subsequent drop in purchasing power on the fall in trade, adding that Cambodia’s relative lack of economic development was also a factor in bilateral trade.

“We do not import much … because Cambodia is not an industrialised country [but] based on agriculture,” he said, adding that farming products were the main Cambodian exports to Indonesia.

The Ngurah forecast that trade with Cambodia will remain at a level similar to 2008 as the regional economy starts to pick up. He said the recovery was expected to continue into 2010, when, he predicted, there will be a 20 percent year-on-year rise in bilateral trade. source: the phnom penh post

Govt calls for shared mobile towers

2009-11-23T00:28:00.001-08:00

MINISTER of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun called Thursday for Cambodia’s nine mobile-phone companies to share infrastructure, a measure that has already raised concerns within the private sector as to how exactly the requirement would be implemented following the future passage of a telecommunications law.

Speaking in Phnom Penh at a conference on the issue that included private-sector representatives, So Khun said the initiative would avoid duplication of infrastructure, thereby reducing the sector’s expenses and its potential impact on the Kingdom’s skyline.

“We do not want to see too many antennas dotted along roads in the future,” he said.

The government has given Tower Master Cambodia Co Ltd a 35-year licence to build shared mobile infrastructure across the country. The company is 80 percent owned by an unnamed Malaysian firm, with the remaining 20 percent taken by Ung Veasna, the president of the new firm.

“We hope that the participation and sharing of experiences in using these joint antennas will help boost growth of the economy and improve the country’s telecommunications service quality,” Ung Veasna said at Thursday’s meeting.

The first stage of the process would see the company invest US$20 million to build 100 joint antennas across the Kingdom.

In a bid to raise capacity from the current roughly 2.3 million mobile-phone users to 5.3 million, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) plans to build a total of 4,500 antennas, according to documents presented Thursday.

How this plan will be achieved remains hugely controversial within the mobile-phone sector, given that some companies have operated in the Kingdom for years and spent tens of millions of dollars on infrastructure to gain a competitive advantage, whereas others have entered only recently.

A draft of a proposed telecoms law states in Article 50(b) that “a licensee shall share the facilities with other licensees”, a clause that has raised concern in some firms in the sector.

In its recommendations to the ministry in response to the draft, the private sector said at the end of September that it agreed that sharing infrastructure was beneficial in reducing costs and environmental impact, but that, within Cambodia, market forces had not been given sufficient time to work.

“Mandatory facilities sharing will reduce the incentive on operators to build such infrastructure,” said the recommendations, which were refined before submission to the ministry.

“This may result in less than the optimal number of towers being constructed such that when the operators commence infilling their networks to improve coverage and provide better service, they are unable to do so as all tower capacity has been filled.”

The nine-page feedback document adds: “This will result in a delay in improvements to the network while additional towers are built.”

Mobitel, the country’s first mobile-phone operator and largest by market share, this year announced a $350 million three-year rural expansion programme after the signing of a $100 million loan secured through the International Finance Corporation.

Viettel, the Vietnamese military-run operator under the brand name Metphone, confirmed similarly ambitious plans to extend its infrastructure at the end of last month.

Managing Director Nguyen Duy Tho said the firm would activate an additional 3,000 base receiver stations by the end of this month as it targets coverage of nearly 95 percent of Cambodia’s population.

Neither Mobitel nor Viettel were available for comment on the new MPTC recommendations Thursday.

Smart Mobile supported the initiative in principal, said spokesman Rattana Um, adding that the Cyprus-based firm was awaiting further direction from the ministry, but expressing some concern about how infrastructure-sharing would be implemented in practice. source: the phnom penh post

Trade, Myanmar dominate summit

2009-11-16T00:41:00.000-08:00

REGIONAL trade and the fate of jailed Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi dominated talks between US president Barack Obama and regional leaders at the inaugural US-ASEAN summit in Singapore on Sunday, overshadowing the recent dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.

Kao Kim Hourn, secretary of state at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the diplomatic spat over Phnom Penh’s appointment of Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser was not raised during the official talks, but that Prime Minister Hun Sen and Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke about the issue in sideline talks on Sunday.

“Indonesia just wanted to know the current situation between Cambodia and Thailand,” Kao Kim Hourn told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport following his return from Singapore, adding the Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva did not have the time to meet for discussions on the issue, which has caused relations between the two nations to deteriote rapidly in recent weeks.

Kao Kim Hourn said much of the discussion centred on the importance of trade between ASEAN and the US in a time of global financial uncertainty.

“For the US, ASEAN is an important partner for trade and investment,” he said.

“The leaders of ASEAN and the US want to see trade and investment increase on both sides.”

Kao Kim Hourn said Prime Minister Hun Sen raised the issue of the global financial crisis and urged all ASEAN countries to work with the US to find a solution to strengthen trade and investment, including tourism.

During talks, US President Barack Obama also appealed to military-ruled Myanmar to release all of its political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and expressed hopes that an election scheduled for next year is conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.

“I reaffirmed the policy that I put forward yesterday in Tokyo with regard to Burma,” Obama told reporters, using the former name of the country that has kept Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for most of the past two decades.

Although the Cambodia-Thailand dispute was not raised at the summit, Foreign Ministry officials say the government remains conducive to a multilateral solution to the current impasse.

“We can accept any kind of solution – bilateral, multilateral, regional or international,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said on Sunday. “It’s up to the Thai side. We welcome any solution, so long as the Thais agree.”

Bangkok continues to oppose the prospect of third-party mediation, saying it has a “long-standing policy” of addressing the Cambodia issue bilaterally. Thani Thongphakdi, deputy spokesman of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Thailand saw “no need” to regionalise the issue because it poses no threat to the region.

“The issue is one which is evolving rather rapidly, and we are following the Cambodian side to see how they will proceed on the issue,” he said. source: the phnom penh post

Trade with Hong Kong dismal up to end of Q3

2009-11-16T00:33:00.000-08:00

BILATERAL trade between Cambodia and Hong Kong fell 24.6 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2009 to US$364 million, figures released Friday by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) show.

Cambodia’s exports to the Chinese special autonomous region grew 37.7 percent over the period, but accounted for just 2.9 percent of trade between the two countries at $10.7 million.

Although imports from Hong Kong fell 25.6 percent over the nine months, the Kingdom was still left with a $342.6 million trade deficit.

Most trade between the two countries consisted of re-exports. Around half of Cambodia’s exports to Hong Kong were re-exported, and just $16.1 million worth of goods imported from Hong Kong were actually produced there.

HKTDC Indochina Director Tina Phan said by email Friday that there was plenty of scope for Cambodian producers to use Hong Kong as an export base for their products.

“Cambodian companies can use the Hong Kong platform to further export their products to both Hong Kong and to other markets,” she said. “This we have not seen much" to date.

The downturn in trade volumes was largely a result of the “challenging” external environment since the fourth quarter of 2008, Phan added.
“Total trade with Cambodia slowed due to a downsizing of orders from overseas, mainly from the United States and European Union, both of which have been affected by the financial crash,” she said.

Aside from telecommunications parts and equipment, the bulk of Cambodia’s imports from Hong Kong are raw materials for its garment sector, which has been hit hard by falling consumer demand in the US and EU. Cambodia’s garment exports fell 21.66 percent over the first nine months of the year to $1.78 billion, Ministry of Commerce figures released last week show.

Cambodia’s imports of raw materials from Hong Kong have fallen in line with the downturn. Imports of knitted or crocheted fabrics, which account for almost a third of Hong Kong’s exports to the Kingdom, declined 36.6 percent over the period to $112.1 million. Woven cotton fabrics, representing 12.9 percent of exports, fell 30.8 percent, and textile yarn (7.3 percent of the total) fell 30.4 percent.

Cambodia’s imports of telecommunications parts and equipment from Hong Kong were down 16 percent over the period to $38 million, representing 10.8 percent of all imports. Tobacco imports were up 27.8 percent to $4.9 million.

Commerce Ministry Secretary of State Ok Boung said Cambodia’s exports to Hong Kong were dominated by exports of textiles and garment products from Hong Kong-owned factories.

More garments exported
Cambodia’s garment and textile exports to Hong Kong, which represent around 85 percent of the total, were up in all categories over the period.

Exports of processed crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates fell 10.2 percent to just over $1 million, representing 9.7 percent of total exports. Exports of fresh, chilled and frozen fish climbed 106.9 percent to $234,000.

From 1999 to 2008, Hong Kong’s exports of consumer goods to Cambodia grew at an average annual rate of 17.3 percent while its exports to ASEAN as a whole grew 6.7 percent, HKDTC figures show.

In 2008, Hong Kong exports of consumer goods to ASEAN totalled $5 billion, about 22 percent of Hong Kong’s total exports to the region. source: the phnom penh post

Stocks Roundu: Vimpelcom hits latest year high

2009-11-16T00:17:00.000-08:00

VIMPELCOM, the parent of Cambodian mobile operator Beeline, continued its strong run on the New York Stock Exchange last week as it reached another year high Friday.

The stock climbed 1.66 percent to close at US$20.87 in Friday trade, a 6.92 percent jump over a week earlier, after Vimplecom’s General Director Alexander Torbakhov said Thursday that a recent purchase of Golden Telecom, which operates Kyivstar, had boosted business. The Moscow-based operator announced an interim dividend the previous week.

Vimplecom, which last month entered the Laos mobile sector, remains locked in a legal dispute with Cambodia’s leading mobile operator Mobitel over accusations of price dumping and Beeline’s alleged illegal use of the latter’s prefixes as special investigators continue to look into the case.

China Asean Resources Ltd climbed 1.45 percent Friday to HK$0.14 (US$0.019) in Hong Kong to end unchanged for the week despite posting dismal results Tuesday on its Cambodia and China investments.

In the first ninth months, the company reported losses of $2.858 million, following a $3.645 million profit for the same period last year, after its 10,000-hectare concession in Kratie province lay idle. The company blamed the Cambodian government’s overzealous enforcement of illegal logging regulations for the shutdown.

Southern Gold shares surge
Australian miner Southern Gold, which holds mineral concessions in Kratie, Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri provinces, saw its stock climb 23.71 percent last week on the Australia Stock Exchange to A$0.12 (US$0.112) after an announcement Wednesday of a significant gold find in Blair North, Western Australia.

The stock made significant gains over the past five days trading despite closing down 4 percent on Friday.

OZ Minerals, which said last month it was moving towards a gold resource in Cambodia, climbed 5.96 percent last week to A$1.25 (US$1.16) after falling 1.58 percent in Friday trading.

Over-the-counter stock Elray Resources, which operates mineral concessions in the north of the Kingdom, was down 5.26 percent for the week to $0.18, and Chevron, which continues to discuss a production contract with the government for offshore Block A, climbed 0.67 percent Friday to close up 0.53 percent at $77.94 over the past five days trading in New York.

JSM Indochina Ltd, which will hold a meeting on November 26 in a bid to solve an internal dispute related to its Cambodia and Vietnam investments, fell 2.26 percent in London Friday to £0.65 ($1.08) to end down 5.8 percent for the week. source: the phnom penh post