CDC deputy secretary-general Suon Sophal (right) meets with KOTRA’s Hacheong Yun on February 6. CDC
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) plans to hold a forum to promote and attract investment to Cambodia, aiming to increase awareness among Korean businesspeople and financers about the opportunities and market climate in the Kingdom.
The move aligns with the implementation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Hacheong Yun, director-general of KOTRA, announced the plan during a meeting with Suon Sophal, deputy secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), at the council’s headquarters in Phnom Penh on February 6, according to a CDC press release.
Yun expressed his appreciation for the council’s close cooperation in organising support activities.
“In this spirit, the counterparts have strongly expressed confidence that the action plan to stimulate and attract investment will be successful as planned,” he said.
Sophal reiterated that the existence of the Korea Desk is a valuable legacy of cooperation between the CDC and the South Korean government on private investment.
He praised the Korean side for its intention to arrange a forum aimed at mainstreaming Korean awareness of the investment climate in Cambodia.
“The upcoming business forum is expected to yield positive outcomes by significantly boosting the flow of investment from Korea to Cambodia,” he stated, however, he did not specify the event’s exact date.
Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, supported the upcoming meeting.
“The business forum will play an important role in providing more detailed information to officials of the two countries about the benefits of implementing the Cambodia-Korea FTA [CKFTA]. We, the businesspeople, will gain more information and be able to learn about our partners before doing business together,” he said.
According to a report from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), Korea was the country’s second-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first quarter of 2023, amounting to 22.4 trillion riel ($5.467 billion), equivalent to more than 10% of the country’s total FDI.
The report noted that Korea’s investments were primarily in finance, real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, hydropower and construction.
Cambodia has seen a large increase in export activity to Korea, surpassing $281 million in 2023, a rise of over 20% compared to 2022, as reported by the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).
According to the GDCE, bilateral trade reached $751.38 million in 2023, a 3.5% decline year-on-year. Exports to Korea amounted to $281.14 million, a 20.3% increase from the previous year, while imports from Korea totalled $470.25 million, a 13.8% decrease from 2022.
Cambodia’s trade deficit stood at $189.11 million for 2023, a substantial reduction from the $311.65 million recorded in 2022.
Korea currently ranks as the Kingdom’s 12th largest trade partner, following countries and territories such as China, the US, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, Canada, Singapore, the UK and Taiwan, as per the GDCE.
