Cambodia Morning News For October 23

Who needs the EBA? Cambodia inks trade deals with Turkey
Cambodia will greatly expand its two-way trade with Turkey, Prime Minister Hun Sen said, perhaps seeking out new economic partners days after his talks with European Union (EU) officials failed to break an impasse over the crucial Everything But Arms (EBA) trade agreement.
— AEC News Today

Rubber exports surge by 22%
Cambodian rubber exports surged 22 per cent during the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year, figures from the Ministry of Agriculture said.
— Phnom Penh Post

Tax collection up 17.5 percent
The General Department of Taxation collected $1.69 billion in tax revenue during the first nine months of the year, an increase of more than 17.5 percent.
— Khmer Times

Phnom Penh SEZ gets $10M in investment
Two regional companies have invested nearly $10 million to acquire 14 million shares in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc (PPSEZ) – one of five companies listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) – in what is considered the first ever private offering by a listed firm in the Kingdom.
— Phnom Penh Post

CDC Grants License to Four New Factories in Cambodia with an Investment of Nearly $30M
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) approved four new factories in Cambodia with a total investment of nearly $30 million, according to CDC Facebook on Monday.
— Fresh News

China, Cambodia to enhance trade, investment cooperation
China and Cambodia are ready to expand cooperation in areas including trade and investment, the two countries’ leaders said Thursday.
— FMPRC

Minister asks US companies to invest in Cambodia
The Cambodian Minister of Commerce on Friday urged American businesses to invest in the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector. Minister Pan Sorasak told Michael Posner – who is now in Cambodia leading a delegation of US firms – that with an investor-friendly approach, Cambodia welcomes investment in the manufacturing of goods that can be exported to the international market.
— Khmer Times

Garment manufacturers group urges EU not to suspend trade preferences for Cambodia
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) has called on the European Union (EU) not to suspend trade preferences for Cambodia, saying that any sanctions may spell adverse impacts on the lives of workers and their families.
— Xinhua

Phnom Penh Precast Plants Co., Ltd. Achieves Quality Management Systems Registration to ISO 9001
Phnom Penh Precast Plants, one of the leading suppliers of pre-stressed spun concrete transmission poles, reinforced concrete pipes, and PC/PHC concrete spun piles has now been awarded ISO 9001:2015 for its Quality Management System since September of this year.
— Fresh News

Protests in Brussels mark arrival of Cambodia’s PM
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Brussels on October 19 to demand the European Union push for a return of democracy to Cambodia. Their rallying cries could be heard as Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen gathered with heads of state and business leaders from Asia and Europe for the Asia Europe Meeting in Brussels.
— European Interest

Vietnam, Cambodia work to fight illegal timber trading
Vietnam and Cambodia should intensify cooperation in monitoring their export and import of timber and wood products, thus minimising illegal timber trading at border areas, heard a dialogue held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 22.
— VietnamPlus

Phnom Penh Authority Arrests One Chinese Man, Drug Trafficking
Cambodian police on Monday arrested a Chinese man, Yu Wei Yi, male, at Phnom Penh International Airport for iIllegally smuggled two kilograms of methamphetamine hidden under his clothes.
— Fresh News

Turkey, Cambodia aim to boost trade
Turkey and Cambodia have agreed to increase bilateral trade to $US1 billion in the near future, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has said, days after a meeting in Brussels where he failed to allay European Union criticism of authoritarianism.
— The Australian

Chief warns ‘corrupt’ cops
The Phnom Penh municipal police chief has warned officials involved in drug crackdowns and those who received complaints to improve themselves. However, civil society sees the measures as ineffective.
— Phnom Penh Post

Dozens of workers faint at shoe factory
Nearly 100 workers at a shoe factory in Kampong Speu province fainted during their shift Friday morning after a worker suspected of living with epilepsy had a seizure. The National Social Security Fund said 70 workers fainted at the Wing Star Shoes factory in Kong Pisey district at 8.20am.
— Khmer Times

Cambodian Media Officials and Journalists Visit China
The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia and the Chinese host invited the Cambodian officials from the Ministry of Information and journalists various institutions, including Fresh News, paid a 12-day visit from 22 October – 2 November 2018 to China’s Guangxi and Jiangsu provinces.
— Fresh News

Property show attracts 5,000 attendees
This year’s edition of the Realestate.com.kh Expo, widely considered Cambodia’s number one property show, attracted 5,000 attendees and is expected to exceed last year’s sales figures.
— Khmer Times

Kampong Speu villagers meet to solve land dispute
Some 500 people from Trapaing Chou commune in Kampong Speu province’s Oral district gathered at Trapaing Chou pagoda to seek a solution to their long-running land dispute with Phnom Penh Sugar.
— Phnom Penh Post

Hun Sen meets Cambodian students in Turkey
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday met with Cambodian students studying in Turkey, advising them that they should apply for embassy positions in the country once they graduate.
— Khmer Times

PM says no more negotiations
Prime Minister Hun Sen renewed his vow over the weekend not to negotiate with former opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Hun Sen reiterated that he would hold direct talks with the international over political issues in the Kingdom.
— Phnom Penh Postcommunity

Unruffled by EBA withdrawal, PM seeks ‘low interest’ loans
After meeting with the European Commission, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had expected that Cambodia would one day lose its access to the bloc’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) preferential trade agreement and had “already requested low interest” loans from China, Japan, South Korea and the World Bank.
— Phnom Penh Post

GDP boycotts the Supreme Consultative Council
The Grassroots Democracy Party said that it decided to boycott the Supreme Consultative Council as it does not want to be a part of the government, an official said.
— Khmer Times

Cambodian Defense Minister Leads Delegation to Visit the 8th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing
Cambodian Minister of National Defense Tea Banh, on Monday morning, led Cambodian senior military delegation to pay an official 6-day visit to China and participate in the 8th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, at the invitation of Chinese defense minister Wei Fenghe.
— Fresh News

Sok Touch criticised over monk comments
The president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia has drawn ire from monks on social media after suggesting that a law should be drafted to ensure their discipline.
— Khmer Times

Government slams the IPU’s call to release Kem Sokha
The Cambodian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva has slammed the body’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians after it called for the “immediate release” of former opposition leader Kem Sokha, decrying its reliance on “politically motivated and one-sided sources”.
— Phnom Penh Post

Rush for ancestral ashes amid riverbank collapse in capital
People were frantically removing the ashes of loved ones from stupas along the riverbank in Veal Sbov commune in Phnom Penh yesterday after five were damaged by riverbank collapses.
— Khmer Times

11th Vietnam-Cambodia friendship monument inaugurated in Cambodia
A Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument was inaugurated in Kep, the capital city of Cambodia’s Kep province on October 20, which is the 11th of its kind built under the direction of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
— Sggp News

Seven nabbed and 686 birds seized in wildlife trade crackdown
Sangke district police in Battambang province on Thursday arrested seven people and seized more than 600 dead birds during a crackdown on wildlife trade in the district.
— Khmer Times

James Ricketson: If Arrested, Don’t Count on your Embassy for Help
Australian filmmaker James Ricketson spent 15 months in Phnom Penh’s notorious Prey Sar prison on espionage charges. In the second installment of a four-part interview with The Cambodia Daily, Ricketson criticizes the Australian government for what he says was a lackluster effort to secure his freedom.
— Cambodia Daily

Four jailed for illegal logging
Four suspects were jailed Thursday for illegally harvesting luxury timber from a protected forest in Mondulkiri province’s Koh Nhek district, a court official said yesterday.
— Khmer Times

Chinese bringing positive impacts too
Tourism is one of the main sectors contributing to Cambodia’s economic growth. With international arrivals increasing each year, boosted by Chinese visitors, insiders say their arrival has a positive and negative impact on local tourism-related businesses.
— Phnom Penh Post

Eurocham’s Tax Forum to be held October 25
Following two very successful Tax Forums in 2016 and 2017 in Phnom Penh, and last June’s Tax Forum in Siem Reap, Eurocham Cambodia will hold its annual Tax Forum 2018 on October 25 at The Great Duke Hotel.
— Khmer Times

Why I don’t regret running my startup from Cambodia
The startup scene in Cambodia has begun to flourish. Internet and mobile penetration are high and the country is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for startup entrepreneurs, remote workers, and digital nomads.
— Tech in Asia

Kratie to have two more wildlife sanctuaries
The government is creating two more wildlife sanctuaries, totalling more than 60,000 hectares, in Kratie province to further preserve natural resources, mitigate climate change and reduce the risk of natural disasters.
— Khmer Times

All you need to know about Cambodia’s Water Festival, from its history to the colourful boat races that attract more than a million people
Also known as Bon Om Touk, the annual event is one of the country’s biggest celebrations drawing more than one million Cambodians from the provinces to the capital for three days of boat racing and other festivities
— South China Morning Post

Feature photo VOA Khmer

This week’s Cambodia morning news feature photo acknowledges United Nations Day, October 24.

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.