The Ministry of Tourism on October 31 underscored two major initiatives to focus on in tandem with “Visit Cambodia Year 2023” to accelerate international tourism growth, and called on relevant parties to be actively involved and pursue options to raise the allure of the Kingdom. These are: to champion local travel destinations at 10 international events set to be held in India, China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, Europe, or elsewhere; and drive forward the so-called “Cambodia as Sports Tourism Destination” campaign as the host of the 2023 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and ASEAN Para Games, the ministry said in a…
Author: Hin Pisei
The Cambodia Tech Expo (CTX) 2022 scheduled for next weekend will reportedly feature a FinTech Stage that seeks to gather community input to inform policy decisions on the development of the local financial technology (fintech) sector, as well as to accelerate the creation of digital economy and fintech solutions and applications in the Kingdom. The government tasked the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation with organising the event at the Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre in the capital from November 11-13, in conjunction with the ASEAN Summit, the Digital Economy and Business Committee (DEBC) recapped in an October…
Cambodia exported $1.325 billion worth of “footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles” in the first nine months of 2022, up 32.69 per cent year-on-year from $998.238 million, Customs data show. However, industry insiders have reported a material slowdown in new orders in the third quarter, and other signs of possible weakness in exports in the coming months, as global post-Covid-19 inflation concerns mount amid elevated oil prices. The aforementioned category of items, corresponding to Chapter 64 of the harmonised tariff schedule, accounted for 7.67 per cent of the value of the Kingdom’s total exports over the period,…
The bilateral commodity trade between Cambodia and Vietnam stood at $4.634 billion in the first nine months of 2022, up 22.02 per cent from the same time last year, with imports into the Kingdom accounting for 66.33 per cent of the total, up 6.17 percentage points year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE). In the January-September period, Cambodian commodity exports to Vietnam amounted to $1.560 billion, up 3.13 per cent year-on-year, and imports $3.074 billion, up 34.53 per cent. The Kingdom’s trade deficit with its neighbour for the nine-month period expanded by 96.05 per…
The Ministry of Economy and Finance has pegged Cambodia’s 2023 economic growth at 6.6 per cent, and the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at $1,924 for the year. This is according to the draft Law on Financial Management for 2023, which was drawn up by the finance ministry and approved by the Council of Ministers on October 28. The bill will now be sent to the National Assembly (NA) for a vote. If approved, the document will be forwarded to the Senate for review, after which it will be returned to the NA to proceed with a signature from…
Cambodia welcomed nearly 1.266 million international visitors in the first nine months of this year – up 861.21 per cent year-on-year but down 73.58 per cent over the same period in 2019 – of which 59.08 per cent were from Thailand and Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Of the January-September arrivals, 946,125 or 74.75 per cent declared “holiday” as their purpose of visit, 270,910 or 21.40 per cent marked “business”, while 48,737 or 3.85 per cent indicated other motives. Thailand accounted for 462,705 or 36.56 per cent (444,943 holiday; 16,814 business; 948 other) – up 617.83 per cent…
The Angkor Wildlife and Aquarium complex about 30km southeast of Siem Reap town with total investment of more than $70 million is set to open on November 1, which tourism players hope will bring in more visitors to the historically-rich northwestern Cambodian region, for longer stays. The park is located on a 100ha plot along National Road 6 in Kbon village, Khchas commune, Sotr Nikum district, Siem Reap province about 7km northwest of Damdek village, where the road intersects National Road 64. Breaking ground on April 29, 2019, construction on the first of three phases was completed just this month.…
Longan on October 27 became the third Cambodian fruit to be officially exported directly to China in fresh form, after bananas and mangoes, following months of inspections and preparations. This was the first day the Cambodian government authorised the direct export of fresh longan to China, more than a month after Beijing gave the final all-clear. The historic moment was commemorated in a ceremony held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, attended by newly-minted minister Dith Tina, Chinese ambassador Wang Wentian, leaders of relevant ministries and institutions, representatives of the longan community, exporters and plantation owners. Longan –…
The government’s decision to extend Covid-19-related tourism tax breaks and incentives till end-2022 to alleviate pressure on distressed businesses is key to the recovery and continued sustainability of the sector, as the domestic and international tourist markets gradually return to normal, insiders have said. In an October 25 notice, the government announced that it will continue to exempt certain General Department of Taxation- (GDT) registered tourism businesses from all monthly taxes – except for value-added tax (VAT) – for another three months to December. After the government moved to allow the full resumption of socio-economic activity late last year, manufacturing…
The Cambodian-German commodity trade came to $946.318 million in the first nine months of this year, up 20.29 per cent year-on-year, according to Customs, an increase attributed to the EU’s preferential commercial arrangements with Cambodia which may be lost down the road as the Kingdom sheds its “developing country” tag. In response, local analysts are calling for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the world’s fourth-largest economy to seamlessly carry forward the momentum of bilateral economic cooperation. In the January-September period, Cambodia’s commodity exports to Germany amounted to $828.872 million, up 26.37 per cent year-on-year and imports $117.445 million, down…