The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Economy and Finance have issued a collaborative official proclamation, or “prakas”, to outline the costs involved in providing public services for business mergers.

This follows the government’s recent sub-decree detailing the terms and procedures required for such mergers.

The parkas, released recently, stipulates that services offered by the Ministry of Commerce, concerning prior certificate issuance notice and joint registration of businesses, will now fall under public service clusters.

These will outline the specific type of service, cost, and maximum service duration applicable to each setting.

The proclamation is in two sections. The first focuses on services concerning advance notice of business mergers.

These services, which come with a lifetime validity, incur a fee between eight million to 12 million riel ($2,000 to $3,000) and are available for a period of 150 days.

The second section pertains to services relevant to the pre-certification of business mergers. Also possessing lifetime validity, these services can be processed between seven and 120 days, with service costs ranging from 400,000 riel to 14 million riel.

This arrangement is as per the definition in the inter-ministerial proclamation.

Phan Oun, the government representative heading the CCF’s directorate-general, explained that this prakas serves as a supplement to the existing standard documents.

He emphasised the requirement for businesses to apply and notify the Competition Commission of Cambodia (CCC) before merging, as prescribed by law.

“We’ve crafted the prakas to provide a specific timeframe for this service, aligned with the sub-decree. It facilitates an evaluation of all forms of business mergers,” Oun said.

“The Ministry of Commerce or the Competition Commission of Cambodia will determine the forms, procedures, and conditions of service provision mentioned in this prakas,” he added.

On March 6, the government had issued a sub-decree outlining the conditions and procedures for business mergers, to support the competition law’s implementation in monitoring and assessing the consequences of anti-competitive and monopolistic businesses that potentially harm consumers’ interests.

The sub-decree consists of seven chapters and 20 articles, applying to any business mergers that could obstruct, restrict, or undermine significant competition within the Cambodian market. It covers mergers that originate within or outside the country, except for specific sectors where existing laws and regulations apply.