Vietnamese enterprises have invested approximately $2.7 billion in Cambodia, coming third behind Laos which received the most investment capital from Vietnamese enterprises at nearly $5 billion in registered capital from 208 projects.
This was followed by Russia at approximately $2.8 billion, Cambodia and Venezuela at about $1.8 billion.
Last year saw Vietnamese businesses pour an estimated $21 billion into more than 1,300 projects in foreign countries, with profits transferred home reaching roughly $3 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Viet Nam.
Included in the figure are a number of major schemes, such as Viettel’s telecom network project in Cambodia at $22.1 million, an oil and gas project run by PetroVietnam in Russia at over $170 million and Petrolimex’s programme in Singapore at nearly $10 million.
Viettel’s Metfone boasts about 50% market share, 99 percent network coverage and more than 10 million subscribers, being in the top three of the telco giants in Cambodia.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment stated that the retained earnings for reinvestment stood at roughly $363 million. Most notably, last year saw retained profits for reinvestment reach over $23.1 million, with businesses contributing roughly $22 million as state financial obligations from overseas investments.
Along with the repatriated capital, local businesses have also been active in creating significant assets such as factories and manufacturing facilities worth several billions of dollars abroad. VOV
The Cambodian government has plans to build an expressway from Phnom Penh to Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city, said the Office of the Council of Ministers in a statement released today.
In the letter signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday, he ordered the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, Ministry of Finance and Office of the Council of Ministers with other related authorities to form a committee to draw up the plans for this project.
China Railway International Group Co Ltd It will be the investors of this project.
Bavet city is located at the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. The construction of this expressway will facilitate transportation and transfer of goods across the country from Phnom Penh to the provinces along the road to Svay Rieng, as well as Vietnam.
Lieu days for the postponed Khmer New Year holidays will be set from August 17 to 21, a government sub-decree obtained by Khmer Times today revealed.
The decision comes after Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this week ordered the Cabinet to convene and decide a date for the substitute holidays.
In a voice message sent to the Cabinet, Mr Hun Sen said the government must compensate the public as promised as the COVID-19 situation in the Kingdom is under control.
By tradition, the Khmer New Year holidays take place in April, allowing the public a brief respite from work and giving them a chance to travel to their home provinces to celebrate.
However, this year’s festivities were postponed with the onslaught of the pandemic.
The construction of Phnom Penh’s third ring road has been completed nearly 40 percent, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).
The third ring road stretches from National Road 4 in Chumpu Voan village, Chaom Chau district, crossing National Road 3 and 2 to National Road 1, connecting to Phnom Penh port’s new terminal with a total distance of 52.98km and a width of 22m.
Lim Sydenin, MPWT’s secretary of state said that the road is built to facilitate goods transportation to Phnom Penh and reduce traffic congestions. He said the construction is scheduled to be complete by 2021.
According to Sydenin, the government is conducting feasibility study on the fourth ring road project, connecting to road 51 and 41 to ease the increasing goods transportation in the future.
PREAH Sihanouk Provincial Hall signed an agreement in cooperation with Royal Group and Sinohydro Co Ltd yesterday to build a 70km road on Koh Rong island.
Provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun signed the agreement with Kith Meng, chairman of the board of directors of the Royal Group, to construct the road in the Koh Rong Development Area on the island.
The road is set to be completed within 16 months at a cost of $35 million.
Chamroeun said he welcomed the private company investment as it will provide infrastructure and improve travel for locals and tourists visiting Koh Rong.
“We are developing infrastructure across the province, both on the islands and on the mainland,” he said.
He added the companies have also helped build a hotel, other roads and will help develop facilities on Koh Rong, including electricity and water supply.
Meng thanked all relevant institutions for their contribution.
“The infrastructure we are building will lead to more activity, providing stimulus to the country’s economy,” he said.
“There have been some land disputes. However, I urge the people to understand that the state supports the development of the island,” he said.
He said the company has begun construction of the 70km road and in the future, there are plans to build ports, power plants and airports.
Meanwhile, provincial authorities are set to complete work on 34 roads within the province at a cost of $294 million.
ACLEDA Bank Plc Phnom Penh headquarters. Khmer Times
ACLEDA Bank Plc, one of the largest banks in Cambodia, announced that the China Development Bank (CDB), the world’s largest development finance institution, signed a $130 million long-term facility agreement.
In Channy, president and group managing director of ACLEDA, said that diversification of source of fund is very important to support sustainable and strategic growth of the bank.
“As one of the listed companies in the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), we can mobilise funding from the capital market to strengthen our capital, tap into savings and deposits from the financial market for short-term funding needs and from the international funding institutions such as CDB to support long term growth of the bank,” he said.
“With this $130 million long-term facility from CDB, the bank expects to reach out to at least another 5,000 small and medium enterprises.”
Lyu Zhinan, deputy general manager of CDB Guangxi branch, said that ACLEDA is the main bank supporting the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Cambodia. He said CDB firmly believes that this credit cooperation will help more Cambodian SMEs to fight the COVID-19 epidemic and resume production and will play a positive effect in promoting the economic recovery of Cambodia.
“CDB is willing to develop further cooperation with ACLEDA Bank, undertake a more important role
in promoting rapid economic growth and realising the true development potential in Cambodia,” Zhinan said.
As of the end of March 2020, ACLEDA Bank Plc had total assets of 25.01 trillion riels ($6.15 billion), total loans outstanding of 16.22 trillion riels($3.99 billion) and total deposits at 17.69 trillion riels ( 4.35 billion).
ACLEDA Bank Plc. is a public limited company, formed under the Banking
and Financial Institutions Law of the Kingdom of Cambodia based in Phnom Penh, with 261 offices covering all provinces, as well as 42 in Laos, and seven in Myanmar. ACLEDA started out in 1993 when it began providing micro credits to war victims. By now it is Cambodia’s major commercial bank.
With the ILO and UNDP as godparents, ACLEDA was established in January 1993, as a national nongovernmental organisation for micro and small enterprise development and credit by a group of founders. From its earliest days, it enjoyed the support of a number of major international development agencies whose contributions are gratefully acknowledged in ACLEDA’s “Roll of Honour”.
Two factors, namely the expansion of its network to cover all of Cambodia’s provinces and towns and its ability to operate at a profit to ensure its sustainability, led both its board and international partners to conclude that it should be transformed into a commercial bank.
This would not only provide a secure regulatory framework lacking under its previous status but would also enable it to enlarge its range of funding options (e.g., equity injection, taking public deposits, obtaining commercial interbank loans) to support the expansion of its core micro-finance business. With assistance from USAID, MPDF/IFC and UNDP – to name a few– a three-year programme for transformation commenced in 1998 which culminated in the granting of a specialised banking licence in October 2000.
