Cambodia Morning News For June 12

Cambodia’s society is changing fast, and its parties slowly
On 4 June, Cambodia held its 4th commune elections. According to the National Election Committee (NEC), 7,040,594 people or 89.52% of registered voters—Cambodia’s highest-ever voter turnout rate—cast their votes in the country’s 1,646 local government areas, known as communes.
— New Mandala

CNRP Win Would Mean Switch From Dollar to Riel, Official Says
An opposition spokesman said on Sunday that if the CNRP won next year’s national elections, all transactions in the country would be in Khmer riel within one year—a huge reversal of the current situation, in which 84 percent of transactions use the U.S. dollar, according to National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) statistics.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Bakery chain Au Bon Pain set to open locally
Mudman Plc, the authorised franchisee of the Au Bon Pain bakery chain in Thailand, unveiled a plan to open the first Au Bon Pain branch in Cambodia by next year, saying it was awarded franchise rights for the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) market by the US brand’s parent company
— The Phnom Penh Post

Sihanoukville zone prospers on China links
The Post’s Cam McGrath sat down with Cao Jianjiang, general manager of SSEZ, to discuss the economic zone’s development.
— The Phnom Penh Post

BAY tests Cambodian waters
Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), Thailand’s fifth-largest lender by assets, is exploring business opportunities for its unsecured car and motorcycle loans in Cambodia.
— Bangkok Post

Free pass to Thailand gets political in Poipet town
Local authorities in Poipet are grappling with a dilemma of their own making after the ruling party for months footed the bill to make day passes to enter Thailand free for Cambodian vendors – a populist move now complicated by the CPP’s apparent electoral loss in the border town.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Ex-RCAF commander Nhek Bun Chhay accused of disloyalty, stripped of role
Nhek Bun Chhay, president of the Khmer National United Party and former commander of Cambodia’s military under the royalist-led government of the 1990s, was stripped of his role as an adviser to the government and forced to surrender his firearms because he was “no longer loyal”, Defence Minister Tea Banh said yesterday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

National Election Body To Start Vote Recount Today
The national election body will today start recounting votes for communes across the country where the winners in June 4’s commune elections were decided by the narrowest of margins.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Garment Factory Suspensions Lifted; Strikers Return to Work
A weeklong garment factory strike over paid leave to vote in local elections came to an end on Saturday, with workers ceding pay for all but one day of the protest period after the government intervened to have 11 workers who were suspended during the dispute reinstated, officials said.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Government still mum over arrested Australian filmmaker
Cambodian officials yesterday remained tight-lipped on the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, who was charged with gathering information prejudicial to national defence on Friday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo Phalinn Ooi
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Cambodia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Cambodia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Cambodia Morning News For June 12 added by Leakhena Khat on June 12, 2017
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.