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The Cambodian Government has revised the entry requirements for foreign travellers entering the Kingdom, with varying measures depending on whether arrivals are sponsored or not.

The announcement came via a directive issued by Health Minister Man Bun Heng.

“Foreign arrivals from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, the European Union and the US who have a sponsor, must produce a health certificate with negative COVID-19 results valid from within 72 hours of departure. They must then take a further test upon arrival and isolate in a hotel until the test results are released and show a negative result,” it said.

“They can then leave, however, they will be required to submit a schedule of their actions before they leave which will be kept by authorities and they must then keep to that schedule,” it said.

The directive said that sponsors of passengers must be an executive director, company shareholder, business association president, or investment project owner in a special economic zone, who are responsible for all expenses of those they guarantee, including the cost of treatment if they test positive for coronavirus at any stage.

Diplomats must also show a certificate to prove they are virus-free within 72 hours of their departure, followed by a test upon arrival, and wait at least 24 hours at a hotel or quarantine facility while waiting for their results, the directive said.

Meanwhile, arrivals from other countries or those who do not have sponsorship are now not permitted to self-quarantine. They must stay at a government-designated hotel for a mandatory quarantine of two weeks, with the $2,000 deposit and mandatory health insurance still a requirement.

In addition, Cambodian’s – holding either a Cambodian or foreign passport – must also undergo quarantine under the supervision of the state. They can choose to stay at state-run quarantine centres for free or at a designated hotel where they will be charged at the same rate as foreigners.

The new requirement will go into effect from November 18 onward, the Ministry directive added.

Japanese firms have mulled their investment on the waste-to-energy plant and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage stations in Cambodia.

This was said by Mikami Masahiro, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, in a meeting with Suy Sem, Minister of Mines and Energy, in Phnom Penh earlier in the week.

The Ambassador said that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the world and impacted many development projects.

However, the importance is that Cambodia and Japan have to work together for the future through dialogue to promote development of investment projects between the two countries.

The minister welcomed the Japanese investment projects in the energy sector, stressing that Cambodia is adjusting electricity supply plan to respond to the country’s rapid development.

The waste-to-energy projects in Cambodia have been proposed by many investment companies, but due to the high cost of investment compared to other energy projects, no investment has been taken to the ground.

The Ministry of Tourism has unveiled plans to establish a new Siem Reap city – Grand Siem Reap –, located near the under-construction new Siem Reap Airport in Sotr Nikum district, Siem Reap province.

The new city, part of Siem Reap Tourism Development Master Plan, will be developed into a Smart City, but the city will be designed following Khmer architecture, said Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, after a recapitulative meeting .

“The establishment of Grand Siem Reap is to support the old city of Siem Reap which cannot accommodate high-rise buildings or constructions that can affect cultural heritage,” he explained.

However, the specific date for the project to begin has not been unveiled. Mr Khon said a working team is studying the project in detail.

Scores of 20 major investment projects have been proposed in the Siem Reap Tourism Development Master Plan 2020-2035.

Regarding the plan, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is going to build 38 roads in Siem Reap to enhance the economy and beauty of the province, as well as to help connect the city centre to rural areas.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the 38 roads is scheduled for mid-November under the presidency of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Chea Vannak – AKP

The European Union has contributed just under $2.4 million to Cambodia for the safe re-opening of schools and the continuing education of children, as part of their support for COVID-19 response and recovery.

Using this support, a nationwide back-to-school campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Education, the EU and Unicef which provides practical guidance to children, parents, teachers and school personnel on how to make schools as safe as possible to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

According to a Unicef press statement yesterday, the campaign will continue through next year and expand to include valuable and engaging information, not only to make schools safe, but also to create healthy and caring environments for children to learn and thrive.

Critical hygiene supplies are also being delivered to all 11,500 of the country’s pre-schools and primary schools. The EU’s contribution to these efforts, through the Unicef-managed multi-donor Capacity Development Partnership Fund (CDPF), is complemented by other CDPF partners, including Sweden, USAID and the Global Partnership for Education.

These partners are contributing to the provision of hygiene supplies to all 1,771 secondary schools in Cambodia.

Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron said: “We welcome the additional support from the EU for our schools and students across the country during this very challenging time. This support will enable us to ensure children have continued opportunities to learn, despite the challenges COVID-19 is creating. The support for safe school re-openings from the EU and other CDPF partners will go a long way towards giving confidence to communities that students can now return to safe and supportive learning environment.”

The official ground breaking ceremony for Aeon mall 3 took place 7th after receiving necessary approvals from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Ltd., has been appointed as the main contractor. Aeon 3 is set to be another huge retail space that will be adding to the 4 percent gain in retail space this year. The mall is being developed at a cost of $289.6 million by the international Japanese retail conglomerate, AEON Group.

Aeon is the largest retailer in Asia and is a retail network comprising around 300 consolidated subsidiaries and 26 equity-method affiliated companies. These range from convenience stores “Ministop” and supermarkets to shopping malls and specialty stores, including having owned the American chain Talbots. AEON is Japan’s single-largest shopping mall developer and operator.

Aeon 3 comprises a five-storey shopping centre with parking facilities. The mall is located on a 170,000 square meters site and is the largest of the three Aeon malls in Cambodia. The first Aeon mall in Tonle Bassac is 68,000 sq mt and the second Aeon mall in Sen Sok is 85,000 sq mt.

Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng said, “The construction of the Aeon Mall 3 by Aeon Mall (Cambodia) will attract more investments into the Kingdom and serve as a flagship investment by the Japanese. It also reflects the friendship and comprehensive collaboration between Japan and Cambodia.”

He added that Phnom Penh has around 263 residential projects and 1,424 high-rise buildings. Sreng added that in the first 9 months of the year, the Capital has received more than 1,020 new construction projects sitting on five million square meters and are worth approximately $2.3billion.

“The construction of Aeon Mall 3 by the Aeon Mall (Cambodia) Co., Ltd now is the right decision as it aligns with the Phnom Penh Master Plan 2035 and because the south of Phnom Penh has been considered as the new development zone for welcoming new high rise buildings, luxurious buildings and satellite city in the capital,” Sreng added.

“To push and support private investments in the service sector in Phnom Penh, I would like to support the project and will contribute towards facilitating its implementation and collaborating with the company to have a better investment environment in order to build confidence with the investors and businessmen,” he added.

Ann Thida, managing director of real estate company CBRE, had earlier said that the investment from Aeon Mall 3 shows the retail sector is in demand. “In the southern part of Phnom Penh, there is no supermarket or mall yet, so it shows the potential,” Thida said.

“The investment is in the centre of an area with vast potentials because many middle class people will move there.”

Cambodia and Japan have pledged to strengthen military cooperation, including capacity building and experience sharing.

The commitment was underlined in a recent phone conversation between Gen. Hun Manet, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army and Gen. Yuasa Goro, Chief of Staff, Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Forces.

In the phone conversation, both sides shared mutual experience of military engagement in fighting COVID-19 and exchanged appreciation of the bilateral collaboration so far.

The Japan’s side promised to help capacitate Cambodian military forces in dealing with disasters through more exposure visits and beyond.

Thanking the Japanese counterpart, Gen Manet expressed his optimism of further enhanced military cooperation between Cambodia and Japan.

Gen. Goro echoed the positive insights and extended his invitation to Gen Manet to visit Japan in February 2021.

Gen. Yuasa Goro paid his first work visit to Cambodia in February 2020. Lim Nary – AKP

The non-preforming loan rate for Cambodia’s microfinance industry remained stable at 2.31 percent for the month of August, after rising from 1.33 percent in January and peaking in May at 2.61 percent, according to an industry report seen by Khmer Times.

A loan is labelled non-performing when a borrower has not made a scheduled repayment in more than 30 days. It is considered a key indicator to assess risk appetite and portfolio quality of the microfinance sector.

According to the report “personal finance” and “agricultural loans” have been the most-affected, recording NPL rates of 3.37 percent and 3.31 percent respectively. While “mortgages” and “social loans” have remained lest affected recording NPL rates of 1.46 percent and 1.28 percent respectively.

The data, so far, goes against concerns raised about the stability of Cambodia’s microfinance sector as fears widespread unemployment in both the garment and tourism sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic would affect debt serviceability.

For context, an NPL rate below 5 percent is considered “good” by global industry standards.

However, industry insiders still fear NPL rates could spike towards the end of the year when loans with six-month suspended payments that were restructured in March and April finish and if economic conditions worsen.

Speaking at the recent Asian Development Bank “September Outlook” launch, Cambodian Country Director Sunniya Durrani-Jamal said it is too early to tell the true effect the pandemic will have on the country’s microfinance sector.

“The main question is not about the level of debt but the serviceability of it. Looking at the macro front of the industry, if the economic conditions worsen and more people find themselves out of a job, of course there are going to be losses when people are not able to pay back loans,” she said.

“This is something those microfinance institutions will need to take into account and we may see some consolidation in the industry,” she added.

The relatively small rise in NPL rates has already affected profits, with the country’s largest provider, PRASAC Microfinance Institution Plc, reporting a nearly 50 percent decline in year-on-year second-quarter profit last week.

PRASAC’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer Say Sony previously told Khmer Times that the reason for the large profit decline was from “loan-loss provisions” this quarter because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A loan-loss provision is an income statement expense set aside as an allowance for uncollected loans and loan payments such as non-performing loans.

“Our profits have dropped because of increasing loan provisions. This is because of an increase in the rate of non-performing loans from some of our clients affected by the impact of COVID-19. However, looking forward, we can see many of our clients’ businesses are now returning and are hopeful of a strong performance in the next quarter,” he said.

Cambodia has requested Japan to support the construction of a tourist seaport in Preah Sihanouk province.

The request was made by Kuoch Chamroeun, Governor of Preah Sihanouk province during his meeting with Mikami Masahiro, Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia here in Phnom Penh.

Mr Chamroeun briefed Ambassador Masahiro on the province’s potentials and its rapid developments, especially in industry, trade, transport, tourism and infrastructures.

The development of Cambodia at large as well as the progress of Preah Sihanouk province cannot be separated from the contribution by the Government of Japan, he underlined.

He also proposed Japan to help construct a health centre at Ream and Koh Rong islands.

Mr Masahiro spoke highly of the province’s progress; and pledged to consider the proposals and to attract more tourists and investments from Japan to Cambodia.

Sorry, this entry is only available in JP.

Sorry, this entry is only available in JP.