Cambodia's business community yesterday welcomed the announcement that the World Economic Forum (WEF) will host a major regional meeting in Phnom Penh next year, adding that the high-profile international summit would help raise the Kingdom’s visibility on investors’ radar.

“This is great news for Cambodia as hosting the Forum will further strengthen the Kingdom’s growing reputation as a key economic partner in ASEAN and a place where business gets done,” Bretton Sciaroni, chairman of the International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC), said in a press release.

The 2017 World Economic Forum on ASEAN, tentatively scheduled for May 2017, is expected to attract up to 700 delegates.

WEF managing director Philipp Rosler said the regional forum would be “one of the highlights” of the Geneva-based organisation’s busy calendar.

“Cambodia has a compelling story to tell around the challenges and opportunities of rapid economic development in the 21st century, which will make next year’s ASEAN meeting a very special one,” he said.

WEF previously announced plans for Cambodia to host the next annual East Asia regional forum during a summit in Indonesia in April 2015.

This year’s regional forum, however, will be hosted by Malaysia in June.