Cambodia Morning News For November 8

CDC Grants License to Seven New Factories in Cambodia with an Investment of over US$80M
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) approved seven new factories in Cambodia with a total investment of over US$80 million, according to CDC’s Facebook on Wednesday.
— Fresh News

NBC aims to strengthen confidence in the riel
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) announced on Tuesday that it will continue to strengthen confidence in the riel by stabilising the currency exchange rate and boosting public awareness on the economic benefits of using the local currency.
— Phnom Penh Post

2018 Cambodia-US Trade in Goods: $3B in Total, Cambodia Exports US$2.8B to US
Cambodia and the United States trade in goods has reached $3.2 billion in the first nine months of 2019, up 39 per cent compared to the same period in 2017, according to the report on Cambodia-US Trade of Cambodian Commerce Ministry’s Statistics Department released on Wednesday.
— Fresh News

Cambodia to boost clean energy use – but coal plants planned too
Cambodia will push ahead with plans to use hydropower and coal to electrify the entire country by 2020, but solar energy will play some role, especially in remote areas, an energy ministry official said on Wednesday.
— Reuters

Cambodia PM Hun Sen Orders to Speed Up National Road No. 2 Construction (Video inside)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the Minister of Public Works and Transport and the Minister of Economy and Finance to speed up the construction of the National Road No. 2, addressing to over 23,000 workers from 20 factories in Takeo province.
— Fresh News

Cambodia’s Hun Sen eases pressure on unions, as EU sanctions threat looms
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told his ministers to ease pressure on labour union leaders on Wednesday, after threats by the European Union to remove the Southeast Asian country’s duty-free trading access.
— Channel News Asia

Promoting SMEs’ Exports of Agricultural Products to China
Competent government officials, farmer representatives, exporters have gathered to share information and procedure for Cambodian agricultural product exports to China among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
— Agence Kampuchea Press

Ministry explains budget
The Economy and Finance Ministry yesterday defended a proposed increase in next year’s national budget, saying that it is in line with the nation’s economic growth.
— Khmer Times

Impacts of EU-Funded Projects Appreciated
Cambodian competent officials and Ambassador of European Union in Cambodia H.E. George Edgar have appreciated the impacts of joint development projects.
— Agence Kampuchea Press

UAE extends $500 million credit line to Cambodia
The United Arab Emirates yesterday announced it will give Cambodia $500 million in credit to buy and import products from the emirates.
— Khmer Times

Security upped for Independence Day
The National Police yesterday laid out security plans to ensure safety during the 65th anniversary of Independence Day on Friday, noting that the event will be attended by about 25,000 officials and will be watched over by nearly 10,000 security forces.
— Khmer Times

China claims intent to buy more from Cambodia
China has stated it will endeavour to increase the volume of products it imports from Cambodia. In a meeting last week with Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, the vice-chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhang Chunxian, said Cambodian products have “great potential”.
— Fresh Plaza

UN experts legitimize Hun Sen’s rights violations
United Nations Special Rapporteur Rhonda Smith is in Cambodia, but officials there are denying her access to Kem Sokha, leader of the banned opposition, who was released on bail a year after his arrest on treason charges in September 2017. This is a good time to look at how the UN’s experts’ actions legitimize Hun Sen’s authoritarian regime.
— Asia Times

Medicines We Can Trust Campaign Rallies Mekong Governments and Leaders to Improve Access to Quality Medicines
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and other leaders from the Greater Mekong Subregion joined hands as part of a global campaign to improve access to quality medicines.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

PM: review union leaders’ cases
The Prime Minister on Wednesday (Nov.7) asked that cases of five union leaders be review, or perhaps dismissed.
— Khmer Times

US Secretary of State Pompeo Congratulates Cambodia’s 65th Anniversary of Independence
Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of State, conveyed a congratulation to the people of Cambodia on the 65th anniversary of independence, according to the US Department of State’s press statement released on Wednesday.
— Fresh News

Fair to enhance Vietnam – Cambodia trade cooperation
The 2018 Vietnam Trade Fair in Cambodia, themed “Friendship, Cooperation and Development”, kicked off on November 7 at the Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
— Nhan Dan Online

Agreements to preserve ancient artefacts
Two deals on cultural cooperation in Cambodia were signed yesterday between the United States embassy and the Culture and Fine Arts Ministry.
— Khmer Times

UN rights envoy raises concerns over justice system transparency
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia yesterday raised concerns over justice system transparency and judiciary independence during a meeting with Justice Ministry representatives.
— Khmer Times

Cambodian PM Hun Sen Asks Relevant Ministries to Examine Union Cases (Video inside)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training to examine the legal cases of union leaders, either the cases be dropped or hurriedly sentenced, addressing to 23,466 workers from 20 factories in Takeo province on Wednesday.
— Fresh News

Ministry dismisses flatworms video
The Environment Ministry has denied rumours circulated online that an invasive species was spotted along rivers in Cambodia.
— Khmer Times

Government ‘wants RFA and VOA reopened’
Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith told the outgoing US ambassador on Tuesday that the government intended to reopen Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA) for “effective communication and to promote freedom of the press in Cambodia”, local media reported.
— Phnom Penh Post

Stung Sen wetlands now a Ramsar Site
The government has designated the 9,293 hectare Stung Sen, a unique wetland along the Tonle Sap, as Cambodia’s fifth Ramsar Site recognised by the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands through a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday.
— Khmer Times

Experts stress efforts to up food standards
Cambodian experts on Tuesday urged entrepreneurs, traders, producers and suppliers to pay more attention to food safety standards to ensure the welfare of consumers.
— Phnom Penh Post

UN Human Rights Envoy and Cambodian Interior Ministry Discuss Three Agendas, but Not Kem Sokha’s Case
Cambodian Minister of Interior Sar Kheng met with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia Rhona Smith on Wednesday to discuss three agendas, including sustainable development goals 2016 and Civil Society Groups (CSOs); public service issues; and overcrowded space in prison.
— Fresh News

Land activists seek solutions
More than 700 land activists from the capital, Preah Sihanouk, Svay Rieng, Tbong Khmum, Preah Vihear and Kandal provinces gathered on Tuesday at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district to deliver petitions seeking solutions to their longstanding land disputes.
— Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian Villagers Blocked From Petitioning For Lost Land
Hundreds of Cambodian villagers trying to submit petitions over land disputes were blocked from approaching government offices and the residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday, with some ordered into minivans to be taken back to their home provinces, sources said.
— Radio Free Asia

Kem Sokha off the menu as Smith talks judicial independence
The UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, on Tuesday, focused on “judicial independence” at a meeting with Ministry of Justice officials.
— Phnom Penh Post

PM: No Royal Pardon for Leader of Former Opposition Party
There will be no royal pardon for leader of the dissolved opposition party, Mr. Kem Sokha, underlined this morning Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen
— Agence Kampuchea Press

Massage shop boss jailed for offering sex services
Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday sentenced a massage shop owner to 18 months jail and fined her about $500 for offering sex services in Meanchey district last year.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia Looking into Issue of Overcrowded Prisons
Cambodia is looking thoroughly into the issue of overcrowded prisons in order to live up the country’s commitment to the human rights.
— Agence Kampuchea Press

Longboat on record course
The Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia (UYFC) announced that the boat to break the Guinness World Record for longest longboat is finished. The official measuring will be on November 12 in Prey Veng.
— Khmer Times

C.P. Cambodia received three awards from Cambodia International Agriculture, Feed & Livestock Show 2018
On 1st – 3rd November, Agri-livestock Cambodia 2018 at Koh Pich, was presided over by H.E. Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, including government VIPs, 32 leading exhibiting companies, press members and over 3,000 visitors.
— Phnom Penh Post

DPM Sar Kheng Holds Talks with UN Human Rights Expert
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Samdech Kralahom Sar Kheng (R, Pic. 1) greets visiting Ms. Rhona Smith, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, prior to their meeting here this afternoon.
— Agence Kampuchea Press

Academy recruits judges and prosecutors amid shortage
The Royal Academy for Judicial Professions (RAJP) is recruiting 50 new judges and prosecutors as part of efforts to tackle the shortage of court officials across Cambodia.
— Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian migrant workers are welcome, says Kuwait diplomat
Kuwait is open for Cambodian migrant workers, said the Head of Mission at the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Cambodia, Zaher M B M Alkhurainej at a press conference in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.
— Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo Apopo

This week’s Cambodia morning news feature photo acknowledges International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, November 6.

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.