Cambodia has called on the French to help encourage and promote French investors to explore market potential and expand foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia. At present, France has just over 40 FDI projects in the Kingdom.
This proposal was raised by Nut Unvoanra, deputy secretary-general of the Cambodian Investment Board (CIB) under the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), during a working meeting with a delegation from the France-Cambodia Business Council of MEDEF International.
The delegation was led by François Corbin, chairman of the France-Cambodia Business Council and Special Envoy of the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs for economic relations with ASEAN countries.
The meeting took place at the CDC headquarters on September 12.
According to the CDC, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss opportunities to strengthen and expand investment cooperation between Cambodia and France — a country that once held colonial rule over Cambodia from 1863 to 1953.
Unvoanra welcomed the French delegation, who had travelled to Cambodia to learn about the Kingdom’s socio-economic development progress. The meeting also served as a follow-up to the Cambodia-France Business Forum, held during Prime Minister Hun Manet’s official visit to France in January 2024, and to bilateral discussions between Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol and François Corbin in November 2024.
Unvoanra highlighted how Cambodia and France enjoy a longstanding bilateral relationship, which has been progressing in all sectors — especially in fostering private sector connectivity between the two countries. He acknowledged the French government and private sector for consistently supporting Cambodia’s new development era.
“From 1994 to the present, the CDC has approved 44 investment projects from France, with a total capital investment of approximately $380 million, French investments have brought technology, knowledge transfer, innovation, skills and an entrepreneurial spirit to Cambodia,” he said.
“I remain optimistic that France will continue to support the Cambodian government by promoting awareness of the investment climate and competitiveness, and in encouraging more French businesses to explore investment opportunities in Cambodia in the near future,” he added.
Corbin praised Cambodia’s rapid development and commended the long-term vision of the Cambodian leadership.
According to the CDC, the meeting included in-depth exchanges of ideas in several sectors, including civil aviation, logistics, energy and wholesale-retail trade.
According to the the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), France is Cambodia’s 16th largest trading partner.
In the first 8 months of 2025, bilateral trade reached a total of $384.99 million, an 11.4% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Cambodian exports to France amounted to $305.89 million, up 12%, while imports totalled $79.1 million, up 9.2%.
Hong Vanak, an economist at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told The Post on September 15 that Cambodia and France have a long history of diplomatic relations, and that increased French investment in Cambodia would be highly beneficial.
He explained that France is a major developed economy in Europe, and if the French government could encourage its investors to open manufacturing facilities in Cambodia to serve European markets, it would make a significant contribution to Cambodia’s economic growth.
“Cambodia welcomes investment from all directions, especially from countries with long-standing ties like France. The country now offers great potential for investment in various sectors, and Cambodian products are gaining more and more presence in global markets,” he noted.
