The strong inflow of Japanese investment is expected to continue on the back of both large-scale commercial projects and the consumer habits of Japanese expatriates residing and working in Cambodia, according to investment officials.

Japanese investment into the Kingdom over the last 25 years through May 2017 totalled $1.5 billion, the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC) said on Tuesday after the closing of the 15th Cambodia-Japan Public Private Sector Meeting, which drew nearly 70 Japanese investors to Phnom Penh. The investment has covered some 125 registered projects to date, as well as 200 Japanese restaurants, it said in a press release.

“The number of Japanese restaurants is expected to jump further when Japanese retail giant Aeon Mall opens its second outlet in Phnom Penh next year,” the release added.

The CDC said the $1.5 billion invested in the last few decades was proof that Japanese investors are increasingly seeing Cambodia as a safe and open place to do business, expand production and branch out into the service sector.

Chan Vichet, an assistant director of Sushi Bar, a Japanese-owned restaurant in Phnom Penh, said that he has witnessed firsthand the surge of Japanese expats and the consumer habits they have brought.

“The increase of Japanese restaurants in Cambodia is a good sign that Japanese investment will continue to increase,” he said, adding that Sushi Bar entered the market in 2012 and plans to open its third outlet next year due to demand.