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Welcome to the Cambodia morning news roundup by AEC News Today, your one stop for Cambodia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

Cambodia Senate Approves Tough Political Party Law Amid Rising Threats to Opposition
Cambodia’s Senate on Tuesday voted to approve the controversial Political Parties Law giving Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government vast new powers over political parties as the nation heads into elections this year and in 2018.
— Radio Free Asia

A few hurdles still block path to joining global value chains
The government needs to urgently amend its industrial development policy to spur the inclusive growth of small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and develop a national logistics platform to cut onerous shipping costs if Cambodia is to find a place in global value chains, panellists at a macroeconomic conference said yesterday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

BRED bank to carve out a niche in the market
Bred Banque Populaire – part of the second-largest banking group in France – officially launched operations in Cambodia yesterday after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its headquarters, marking the first venture of a European bank in the Kingdom since the late 1990s.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Hun Sen Pledges to Keep Cambodia’s Elections on Schedule
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday said the country’s commune elections that will decide a host of local offices across the nation will be conducted as scheduled.
— Radio Free Asia

Love affair with Thai products
Products from neighboring Thailand are still considered the best for many Cambodian consumers, and this is an incentive for Thai companies to set up branches in the country – taking advantage of the positive investment climate prevailing in the kingdom.
— Khmer Times

SVI lays groundwork on new electronics factory
SVI (AEC), a subsidiary of Thai-listed electronics manufacturing services company SVI Plc, held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for the construction of its new factory in the Phnom Penh SEZ.
— The Phnom Penh Post

$30 million timeshare project readies to kick off construction
A luxury condominium project in Sihanoukville that will operate on a timeshare basis – a first in Cambodia – is set to begin construction this month in time for completion in 2018.
— The Phnom Penh Post

PM: Move up the value chain
It is high time that Cambodia moved up in the global value chain by embracing high technology in its manufacturing processes in an era of increasing digitization and interconnection of products and business models, said Prime Minister Hun Sen.
— Khmer Times

Boeung Kak Protesters Continue to Demand Compensation From World Bank
People displaced from the Boeung Kak neighborhood of Phnom Penh more than a decade ago are still seeking redress from the World Bank, which they claim failed to implement a settlement in the case.
— VOA

Gov’t to Create State-Funded Positions for Losing Electoral Candidates
Ruling party council candidates who lose the vote at the forthcoming local elections in June will receive a state salary as assistants to the winners.
— VOA

Green Light for Transfer of Two Nauru Refugees
The government has approved the transfer of two more refugees to Cambodia from the Pacific island of Nauru, where they are being held by Australia after failing to reach its shores by sea, an Interior Ministry official said on Thursday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Kem Ley Murder Video Raises More Suspicions
From the moment political analyst Kem Ley was murdered in cold blood while drinking his morning coffee inside a Star Mart convenience store in July, calls have rung out from his friends, family and legion of fans for the CCTV footage of the shooting to be made public.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Lagging market absorption of boreys could persist
A report released this week by property and asset valuation company, VTrust Appraisal, focused specifically on the state of Phnom Penh’s borey market for 2016, revealing a mixed bag of results in terms of how the industry was faring.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo: John Le Fevre

The Cambodia morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

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