Cambodia Morning News For May 17

PM Hun Sen’s Hopeful for the Upcoming Election
Prime Minister Hun Sen, on Wednesday, expressed his positive hope for the upcoming election despite ill-intended people’s appeals for people not to vote.
— Fresh News

The collapse of Cambodia’s free press
The Cambodian free press has entered the darkest days in recent memory. The Phnom Penh Post was the last sanctuary of free reporting in Cambodia. A Malaysian PR company with links to Prime Minister Hun Sen bought the newspaper in early May. Its sale signals a death blow to the free press in Cambodia.
— Asean Today

Government issues new bank note to mark King’s birthday
On the occasion of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni’s birthday, who turned 66 years old on May 14, the National Bank of Cambodia yesterday issued a new 20,000 riel note.
— Khmer Times

Chinese firm buys five plots in Chroy Changvar
Chinese real estate developer Jiayuan International Group has purchased five plots of adjoining land along National Highway 6, in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar district, at a cost of $35.6 million.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia Higher Education Association to Send 2,000 Members to Observe July’s Elections
Cambodia Higher Education Association (CHEA) announced on Wednesday to send 2,000 of its members to participate in electoral observation to be held on July 29, 2018.
— Fresh News

Exports to UK up 5 percent
With the United Kingdom and the European Union still working out the kinks of how to proceed with Brexit, imports from the UK to Cambodia exploded last year, growing by as much as 112 percent.
— Khmer Times

Baania set sights on Cambodian market
Property technology startup Baania is considering Cambodian for expansion as part of plans to boost company revenue and attract more visitors to its website.
— Khmer Times

Farmers remain sceptical even as local prices for pigs double
The outlook of local farmer’s remained dismal even as the price of pigs doubled during the second quarter, with many of them pointing to a lack of government regulation as a factor that is sowing market unreliability.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Former GE vice chairman vows to help Cambodia’s health sector
Former vice chairman of General Electric John G. Rice, who is a government advisor, has pledged to help build the capacity of Cambodia’s human resources, especially in the health sector.
— Khmer Times

Smart Axiata lauded for tax contribution
Smart Axiata, a mobile operator, was recently recognised by the General Department of Taxation as one of the best taxpayers in the country due to its enormous contribution to the national coffers.
— Khmer Times

Laos, Cambodia vow to jointly resolve border dispute
Laos and Cambodia have agreed to work together to resolve the issue of their disputed border area as the two countries’ foreign ministers met for talks in Vientiane yesterday.
— Vientiane Times

Absences of NECFEC and COMFREL Not Affect the Election Process, Says NEC’s Spokesman
National Election Committee (NEC)’s spokesman Dim Sovannarom told Fresh News on Wednesday that the absences of NECFEC and COMFREL as observers will not affect the upcoming election process.
— Fresh News

Leaked report warns Cambodia’s biggest dam could ‘literally kill’ Mekong river
Government-commissioned report says proposed site at Sambor reach is the ‘worst possible place’ for hydropower due to impact on wildlife.
— The Guardian

Garment protest continues
Workers at a South Korean-owned garment factory are contining to protest for their March salary after the company abruptly shut down operations last month.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Yale scholar of Cambodia uncovers rare 19th-century Khmer-language documents
April 2018 marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Pol Pot, the leader of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, the regime that is responsible for the genocide that in four years took the lives of over 1.5 million people.
— Yale News

Feature photo Enrico Strocchi

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.