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.
Hun Sen loses his right-hand man
The death of deputy premier Sok An leaves a substantial void in the Cambodian People’s Party-led government with crucial elections on the horizon
– Asia Times
Fears Hover Over Plan to Collect Data on All Cambodians
Every Cambodian will be assigned a 10-digit identification number under which information from various government departments, as well as the private sector, will be collected in a central database, Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced on Thursday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)
Thai-Cambodia rail link stalled by compensation claims
Settlement of compensation claims for 50 families living alongside a kilometre of rail track in the border town of Poipet threatens to delay the opening of a new rail service between Cambodia and Thailand.
— Bangkok Post
Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand subsea cable launches
A new subsea cable connecting Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand has been launched in Cambodia, adding at least 30Tbps of regional capacity.
— Telecom Asia
Air cargo service takes flight
Cambodia Angkor Air launched what it claimed to be the country’s first domestic air cargo service yesterday, using the existing capacity of its commercial passenger flights to fill the growing demand for air shipments.
— The Phnom Penh Post
NBC to make 40B riel available to bidders
The National Bank of Cambodia will hold its sixth liquidity-providing collateralised operation (LPCO) on March 21 with 40 billion riel ($9.89 million) available to Cambodian financial institutions in need of liquidity, it said in a press release.
— The Phnom Penh Post
12 reasons why you should invest in Cambodia now
If Thailand is old story, and Myanmar is too young a market, then Cambodia is, economically and literally, just in between.
— Property Report
Not all is lost, says one of Cambodia’s real estate’s most prominent moguls
While the property bubble in Cambodia has been wavering and showing signs of bursting, Sear Rithy, founder and chairman of WorldBridge Land, remains bullish, pointing out how the flow of real estate purchasers have not been cut off completely.
— The Phnom Penh Post
Environmental Experts Voice Concern About Effects of Dam Projects in Cambodia
Cambodian environmental experts have expressed concern that the country’s various hydropower dams will harm the livelihoods of people who live in the Lower Mekong Basin, especially since the government is permitting investment projects to be built along the country’s rivers despite expected negative impacts.
— Radio Free Asia
US sends Cambodia $500m Bill for Genocide Services Rendered
Wage slavery is very chic in the western world, but imagine if you were a Cambodian who was forced to “pay back” the U.S. for bombing your country and killing 500,000 of your own people nearly fifty years ago.
— Mina
Blood Donations Climb, But Still Lag Far Behind Neighbors
Blood donations ticked up 22 percent last year, but still lagged behind other countries in the region, Health Ministry officials said on Wednesday, faulting provincial health officials for the lack of donations outside of Phnom Penh.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)
Cambodia’s Brown Coffee brews up entrepreneurial success
Brown Coffee is the most popular coffee shop among Phnom Penh’s younger crowd. Managing partner Chang Bunleang, 30, cofounded the chain in 2009 with three cousins, including an architect and a software engineer.
— Nikkei Asian Review
IFC to boost corporate governance
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched a corporate governance initiative yesterday aimed at enhancing the efficiency of Cambodia’s private sector to strengthen the business climate and spur foreign investment and job creation, it said in a release.
— The Phnom Penh Post
Cambodia Rights Official Calls for Minister of Justice to Resign
The president of an influential human rights group in Cambodia called on the country’s minister of justice to resign Wednesday for “turning a blind eye” to what he said was the “arbitrary detention” of his staff members, held amid an investigation into an alleged political sex scandal.
— Radio Free Asia
The ‘Chinazation’ of Cambodia
Just a few blocks from the Royal Palace, in the traditional heart of downtown Phnom Penh, sits one of Cambodia’s most renowned Chinese schools. Over the past century, the Tuan Hoa School has witnessed the many ups and downs of the capital. Today, it has front-row seats to an unprecedented boom.
— Nikkei Asian Review
Cambodia reluctant to repay US war debt
Cambodia is insisting that the United States should drop a nearly 50-year-old war debt.
— Aljazeera
Cambodian Officials Unaware of Thai Rhino Horn Smuggler
Authorities in Cambodia yesterday said they had no knowledge of a Thai woman who reportedly flew through Phnom Penh last week with millions of dollars in contraband rhinoceros horns that were eventually seized in Bangkok.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)
Smart adds support to startup incubator
Cambodian telecom Smart Axiata announced a new partnership yesterday with the Asia Foundation to support their Tekhub initiative and help develop the country’s startup ecosystem.
— The Phnom Penh Post
Explore the wonders of Cambodia
More than one million Britons visited Thailand in 2016, but only a comparatively meagre 150,000 went to its neighbour Cambodia. The country dubbed the ‘Kingdom of Wonder’ is still a relative mystery for British tourists – but perhaps not for much longer. TripAdvisor users recently rated Siem Reap, in the north-west of the country, their number one destination in Asia.
— Director
Cambodia: towards single party dictatorship?
Cambodia’s ruling party is seeking to shore up its chances of electoral success with recent changes to the rules governing political parties, Sorpong Peou writes.
— Policy Forum
Feature photo John Le Fevre
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Cambodia morning news is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

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

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