Cambodia Morning News For May 19

New Voter Registration Procedure Could Disenfranchise 300,000 Cambodians: Analysts
More than 300,000 Cambodians may not be able to vote in next month’s commune elections because they do not possess identification cards required for casting a ballot under a new legal procedure put in place by the country’s election commission, election observers and analysts said on Thursday.
– RFA

ANZ distances itself from Cambodian partner
Australian financial institution ANZ has distanced itself from the Royal Group, its local partner in a Cambodian joint venture bank, following police reports linking the group to illegal logging activities.
– The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia Rejects Report Detailing Timber Smuggling to Vietnam
Cambodia’s government on Thursday rejected a report by a U.K.-based watchdog that warned of largescale deforestation and illegal sales of timber across the border to buyers in Vietnam, saying its findings do not present an accurate portrayal of the situation.
– RFA

China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Policy Benefits Cambodia, Analysts Say
Prime Minister Hun Sen was in Beijing this week for a meeting on China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, which analysts said could bring significant benefits to Cambodia.
– VOA

MFI slowdown: real or illusory?
After several years of rapid growth, the expansion of credit provided by the Kingdom’s myriad microfinance institutions (MFIs) stalled abruptly last year, raising concerns poorer Cambodians could be pushed toward loan sharks to obtain credit or cover their debts, the World Bank said in its latest economic update on Cambodia.
– The Phnom Penh Post

Kompong Speu Police Stop Petitioners From Reaching Capital
Authorities in Kompong Speu province yesterday stopped about 200 local residents from driving to Phnom Penh to petition Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet over sugarcane plantations they say stole their land, telling the petitioners they were increasing security because the premier was traveling in the area.
– The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

A bustling Cambodian market in Saigon
It is no wonder tourists when taking a leisure walk around Ho Thi Ky flower market in HCMC’s District 10 can easily find a special market which is the gathering place for Vietnamese people of Cambodian descent and dedicated to sell mainly Cambodian specialties.
– VIETNAMNET Bridge

Commune Vote Pits CPP Roots Against CNRP Momentum
As the country enters its first campaign period since the CNRP nearly upset the ruling party in 2013, the opposition party believes momentum is on its side.
– The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Cambodia serves 1.5 million foreign tourists in Q1
Cambodia welcomed 1.5 million foreign tourists in the first quarter of 2017, up 12 percent year-on-year.
VietnamPlus/ VNA

Disgraced education official is given raise
A disgraced Education Ministry official, arrested last year in South Korea for sexual assault, has been promoted into a higher pay bracket after a period of demotion, documents show.
– The Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo bvi4092
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).

Introducing The AEC News Today Mobile App

In an era of hectic schedules where time is precious, the AEC News Today mobile app enables you to stay up to date with the latest Asean news on governance and policy issues affecting the Asean Community while you are on the move and whenever you have a few minutes to spare.

See full details, including our AEC News Today Mobile App Privacy Statement here: Stay up to Date With The AEC News Today Mobile App.

Download the AEC News Today mobile app from Google play or the App stores by clicking the icons below.

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 May 19 added by John Le Fevre on May 19, 2017
View all posts by John Le Fevre →

Bio
Latest Posts

John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.