Some 29,311 companies with a total capital of $8.6 billion have successfully registered their businesses through the Online Business Registration System (OBRS) via IT Platform phase 1, compared to $5.8 billion capital and 20,693 firms on January 2, 2023.
According to the progress of the OBRS via IT Platform phase 1 as of September 17, 38 per cent of the registered companies are owned by women, and the rest by men.
Based on the breakdown of business activities with the largest capital, firms involved in “building construction” accounted for the lion’s share at $1.09 billion, which was equivalent to 12.6 per cent.
This was followed by “accommodation services activities” at $942 million or 11 per cent, while “real estate activities’’ involving the use of one’s own property or leased properties possessed a total capital of $939 million or 10.9 per cent, “management consulting activities” ($483 million, or 5.6 per cent), “garment manufacturing activities (excluding fur garments)” ($439 million, or 5.1 per cent).
The remaining $4.7 billion or 54.7 per cent of the total capital featured “other sectors”. In addition, 16,578 companies have registered and are pending approval while two were rejected, OBRS said.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng told The Post that the rise of registered companies registered via the platform is due to ongoing promotions, facilitation of business registration by the authorities and business owners becoming aware of their obligations.
When every business is registered, it would ensure a fair and balanced business landscape, help the government assist the sector smoothly and intervene immediately during a crisis, he added. The government can also manage the tax payment system efficiently and transparently.
“Since the platform’s implementation in the mid-2020, the number of companies registered has increased steadily. The growth allows us to know that business activities in Cambodia are progressing well,” Heng said.
Amid rising registrations through OBRS via IT Platform, domestic and international investments have also grown with more being approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) recently, Heng pointed out.
According to the CDC last week, six joint ventures with a total investment of $34.6 million and the creation of 7,584 jobs were approved, three of them in Phnom Penh.
The government launched the integrated business registration platform on June 15, 2020, incorporating six ministries and state-run institutions – the finance, interior, commerce and labour ministries, as well as the General Department of Taxation (GDT) and Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).
The government launched Phase II on September 15, 2021 and Phase III on June 22, with more ministries and institutions included.