The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). Heng Chivoan
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has approved final registration certificates for 15 projects with capital investment of nearly $550 million in the first two weeks of this month, which could reportedly generate 13,952 new jobs in fields such as car assembly, power grids, garments and fruit processing.
Major projects include RMA Automotive (Cambodia) Co Ltd’s $21 million car and components assembly plant in Pursat province’s Krakor district, and EM Automobile Co Ltd’s $16.3 million assembly line for trailers and heavy trucks, machinery and components in Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district, the CDC said in its latest statement on November 12.
Other ventures are Schneitec Western Co Ltd’s $111 million 500kV transmission line from Battambang to the Cambodia-Thai border and Schneitec Northern Co Ltd’s $330 million 500kV transmission line from Phnom Penh to the Cambodia-Laos border.
Still other projects involve garments, textile products and travel goods.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng told The Post on November 15 that the large number of approvals reflects the “confidence and robustness” of market opportunities offered by the Kingdom.
He said investors are looking to invest in Cambodia due to its stable political climate, high economic growth rate and free trade agreements (FTA) with many countries, most notably China, which is purportedly the most populous market in the world.
A unique trend that has emerged in the Kingdom is an increase in investment in the medium and heavy industry, he said, predicting that this tendency will be sustained indefinitely.
He said the reopening of almost all socio-economic activities – announced by Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 15 – would be “another driving force that will attract more investors to invest further in Cambodia”.
Hong Vanak, director of International Economics at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, attributed the Kingdom’s continued investment growth to a number of factors including better and more favourable conditions brought about by political and geographical stability, diplomatic relations, new investment laws, improved infrastructure and the development of more special economic zones (SEZ).
Cambodia has also been expanding its skilled workforce to meet the needs of factories, as the Kingdom negotiates and signs more bilateral and multilateral FTAs, he said.
“The recent increase in new investment is very important in contributing to the recovery of the national economy during and after the Covid-19 crisis,” he added.
According to Vanak, investment growth figures are also an indicator that brings the attractiveness of Cambodia to the view of other investors, to encourage them to explore opportunities in the Kingdom.
The CDC signed off on 70 projects with a total capital investment of more than $2.428 billion in January-June, according to The Post’s calculations based on the council’s Facebook statements during the period.
The bulk of the projects were in the fields of garments, footwear and other textile-based goods; travel products; electrical components; bicycle parts; furniture; electricity; and hospitality.
