Three people have been arrested in connection with what Senate president Hun Sen described as “slanderous” remarks against the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA), which has been hotly debated on social media in recent days. Former prime minister Hun Sen, in a special address this afternoon, stated that the CLV-DTA is an initiative to maintain economic, social and national security, with each party controlling its own territory. The cooperation, initiated in 1999, aims to foster growth and stability. He stressed that the collaboration has nothing to do with territorial integration but is solely for mutual growth. The Cambodian provinces involved…
Author: Niem Chheng
Prime Minister Hun Manet has banned the establishment of new casinos in Kep and Kampot provinces, except for Bokor Mountain where they currently operate. Nationwide, Cambodia currently has a total of 184 licensed gambling establishments. In a recent decision, Manet stated that the ban on new gaming resorts in these areas is to “diversify investment in hotel and hospitality, tourism, manufacturing, industry, agriculture, trade and special economic zones [SEZs].” The letter added that the ban also aims to strengthen and promote cultural and religious preservation, ensure security and improve order in tourist destinations. Currently, most of the country’s casinos are…
Local authorities are expected to become more adept at resolving disputes at the local level as the National Authority for Alternative Dispute Resolution (NADR) starts providing training next week. Minister of Interior Sar Sokha on July 21 instructed sub-national level authorities to cooperate and coordinate with the authority in organising the dissemination of its mission, training on mediation techniques and facilitating alternative dispute resolution. The instruction follows a request from NADR head Koeut Rith, Minister of Justice, who asked the interior ministry to cooperate with capital, provincial, municipal, district and commune administrations to spread information about the authority’s mission and…
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has introduced an immediate mechanism for Siem Reap province, requiring all commercial banks in the province to accept old or stained US dollars without charge. The decision was made during a Sunday, July 21 meeting with banking and finance institutions in Siem Reap town. The meeting was led by NBC governor Chea Serey. The move came after Prime Minister Hun Manet asked the NBC to find a solution to this issue on July 18. In a July 21 press release, the NBC explained that in the case of very old dollar bills that should…
Lending growth in Cambodia has slowed to a record low of 2.6%, the lowest level in the last 20 years. However, the country’s overall economic expansion in the first six months of the year stood high at 6.3%, according to Chea Serey, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). Speaking today at the meeting to review the results of the first half of 2024, Serey said that the decline in lending was due to caution by banking and financial institutions (FIs) amidst global economic uncertainty fueled by wars in Europe and the Middle East and geopolitical issues. “Global and…
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) will launch the Bakong mobile payment system for international tourists to facilitate their spending while visiting Cambodia, confirmed NBC governor Chea Serey today (July 19). Speaking at the NBC half-year review, she stated that the programme will be promoted at airports and entry points, with international visitors able to download it upon arrival. “Soon, we will have a system for tourists, which means that when [they] arrive, they can download our application. If they do not have a local banking app to transfer money to the Bakong system, they can use credit cards from…
Tourism industry leaders had high expectations following a bilateral meeting between the Cambodian and Thai tourism ministers. They urged Thai tourism operators to encourage international tourists who visit the neighbouring country to extend their tour to Cambodia. Minister of Tourism Sok Soken met yesterday and today with his Thai counterpart Sermsak Pongpanich in Bangkok, Thailand. The July 17-18 meetings were the third such bilateral ministerial meetings since their cooperation was forged ten years ago. According to the tourism ministry, the discussions were held in the spirit of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tourism Cooperation between Cambodia…
Ministry of Interior Sar Sokha has warned that legal action will be pursued against officials should “irregularities” be discovered in regard to commune development projects. He explained that officials from provincial and district level planning and investment offices who are found to have interfered in the bidding process for such projects will be prosecuted. In a July 16 letter, the minister said the ministry has noted irregularities in relation to the implementation of commune development projects. He believed that these issues were the result of carelessness or weak management, and meant that some projects did not comply with the correct…
The current state of Cambodia’s public debt, which stands at $11.09 billion, is “sustainable” and “low risk” as of the second quarter of 2024, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth, as quoted in the Cambodia Public Dept Statistical Bulletin. He noted that maintaining public debt sustainability depends on the country’s strong public debt management system that includes a legal framework, policies, strategies and comprehensive operating procedures, as well as institutional capacity and sufficient human resources. In addition, Cambodia has an IT system for managing operations and storing data as a…
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee will visit Cambodia at the end of the month, with the goal of expanding business opportunities between Hong Kong and the Kingdom. Trade volume between the two is currently surging. Lee, who was elected to replace Carrie Lam last year, is scheduled to touch down on July 31. He will meet with key business stakeholders, including Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, first vice-president of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), and Kith Meng, president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce (CCC). According to an announcement on his social media, Lee will lead…