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Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced it will launch a flight service to Phnom Penh from Manila in early April.

Filipino media ABS-CBN quoted PAL president Jaime Bautista yesterday as saying that the airline will begin this year direct flights from Manila to Phnom Penh, as well as destinations in Vietnam and India

Mr Bautista said with the new flights the airline aims to make Manila a hub for passengers traveling from the United States to South and Southeast Asia.

“In opening this new routes Philippine Airlines is making a strategic decision to go beyond our traditional service of point-to-point market,” Mr Bautista told reporters.

The airline will fly from Manila to Hanoi starting March 31, to Phnom Penh starting April 1, and to New Delhi in the second week of April, Mr Bautista said.

Chea Aun, a spokesperson for State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), told Khmer Times that this will be the second airline connecting Cambodia and the Philippines, with Cebu Pacific, a Philippine low-cost airline, flying to Siem Reap.

He said PAL has yet to confirm to SSCA the new flight’s launch date as well as its schedule.

The World Bank on Wednesday released its latest edition of Cambodia’s economic outlook, expecting that the Kingdom’s economy will grow higher this year compared to last year.

The World Bank Cambodia Economic Update, a biannual report that provides up-to-date information on short- and medium-term macroeconomic developments, said Cambodia’s economic growth rate will reach 7.1 per cent this year.

The figure is slightly higher than the seven per cent recorded last year. The growth is driven primarily by domestic consumption and exports, which are largely supported by strong demand in the US and the EU.

Despite the positive outlook, World Bank economists warned of external risks, which include the potential withdrawal of Everything But Arms preferences for Cambodia, and the unpredictable spill-over effects of the US-China trade dispute.

Internally, risks related to the financial sector should also be considered as the Kingdom continues to grow with large exposure to the construction and real estate sectors.

“Priorities for Cambodia include safeguarding the health of the financial sector, while building reserves, strengthening competitiveness, and preventing a rapid real exchange rate appreciation, given the recent surge in imports,” said World Bank senior economist for Cambodia Sodeth Ly.

The World Bank in 2016 revised the status of Cambodia’s economy, moving it up a rung from the low-income bracket into lower-middle income territory after its 2015 gross national income (GNI) per capita surpassed the $1,026 threshold to reach $1,070.

With economic growth averaging seven per cent annually, the Cambodian government expects the country to reach upper-middle-income status by 2030 and become a high-income nation in 2050.

To reach the next tier – the upper-middle income status – the Kingdom’s GNI per capita must reach $3,896, which is more than three times the current amount.

While long-term outlooks remain positive, World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia Inguna Dobraja said on Wednesday that Cambodia needs to develop its physical and human capital to attain higher income status in the long term.

“To achieve its upper middle-income country aspirations, Cambodia needs to increase its investment in human capital and infrastructure and adopt reforms that enable sustained and inclusive growth,” she said.

“Mobilising significant domestic savings to boost investment is critical to attaining what high-performing Asian economies have achieved.”

The World Bank report also calls for further bridging of the infrastructure deficit to absorb rising foreign direct investments in manufacturing and agro-processing, as well as continued improvements to the business environment.

The Japanese government has provided nearly $4 million in aid to the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) for demining operations in the Kingdom.

CMAC director-general Heng Ratana told The Post on Sunday that Japan has offered $3,536,680 for mine clearance throughout the Kingdom and another $300,000 for CMAC operations in Battambang province, which also involves supporting mine victims for 12 months starting from January 1 to December 31.

With the new donation, more than 450 mine experts will have enough capacity to clear over 2,750ha of mines.

Since 1992, CMAC has cleared over three million mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), amounting to around 72 per cent of mines left over from decades of war.

Ny Nhar, Victim Assistance Department deputy director at the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), told The Post that since 1979 there have been 64,771 mine victims. Of that number, nearly 20,000 were killed and over 40,000 disabled.

“We will provide training and opportunities for them to start a business,” he said.

Cambodia notched up their first win of the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup yesterday evening – a 3-1 win at the Olympic Stadium here handing them all three points against their out of depth Laotian rivals.

Chan Vathanaka was on target midway through the first half, scoring his second goal of the group stage. In the 36th minute, Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng midfielder Prak Mony Udom stepped up to convert the spot-kick and help ensure the Kouprey’s went into half-time with a commanding two-goal cushion.

In a tense- second period, Somxay Keohanam put the visitors back in the tie with a fine effort in the 76th but Keo Sokpheng was on hand to restore Cambodia’s leads just moments later.

The Angkor Warriors play one more fixture on Saturday against neighbours and perennial rivals Vietnam before wrapping up a disappointing first tournament campaign for management duo Keisuke Honda and Felix Dalmas.

In other evening action in Group A, there were no goals as Myanmar and Vietnam played out a first goalless draw of the competition.

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City hall is requesting the Japanese government for help in constructing an additional water treatment facility in Phnom Penh, an official said yesterday.

Deputy Governor Nuon Pharoth said during a press conference yesterday that he led a delegation to Japan last week to discuss the matter with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.

“We requested for Japan to support our important project in Phnom Penh,” Mr Pharoth said. “We need to set up a water treatment plant south of the city. We’re still studying this prospect, but we will wrap up the study at the end of April.”

He added that after the study is completed, City Hall needs Japan to assist in the plant’s construction. He noted that without Japan’s help, the environment could be threatened.

Mr Pharoth noted that Japan has not yet responded to the request.

He said that during his visit to Japan, a contract was signed between him and Katsuhisa Kimura, TOA Corporation general manager, to improve Phnom Penh’s sewage system as part of a separate project.

Mr Pharoth said the sewage system aid is worth about $30 million in grants from the Japanese government through JICA. The project is expected to commence at the end of next month, he said.

In February, Sam Piseth, director of the Phnom Penh public works department, said a water treatment facility will be built in Dangkor district with $27 million in aid from the Japanese government. It is separate from the one under study now.

An Airbus A320-232, operated by charter firm Small Planet Airlines Poland, is seen in Burgas airport, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/Bulphoto Agency
Low-cost carrier Small Planet Airlines is planning a direct flight between Siem Reap and Tokyo, with the maiden flight likely to take off early next year, an official at the Ministry of Tourism said.

Top Sopheak, spokesman at the ministry, said that Small Planet Airlines will launch a direct flight between Siem Reap International Airport and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in the beginning of 2019.

“Small Planet Airlines has announced recently in Japan that they will start flying from Narita to Siem Reap in an attempt to increase the number of visitors from Japan to Cambodia and vice versa,” Mr Sopheak said.

Small Planet Airlines will be the second carrier to connect the countries with a direct flight. In 2016, All Nippon Airways (ANA) launched its Phnom Penh-Narita route.

Sin Chansereyvutha, spokesman at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said he has not been informed by the company of its plans, but that the airline has every right to operate the route.

“We gave them the Air Operator Certificate last year, so if they want to start flying to a new destination, they just need to inform us so that we can contact the destination and facilitate the process,” Mr Sinsereyvutha said.

Ho Vandy, secretary-general of Cambodia National Tourism Alliance, welcomed the prospect of a new flight between Cambodia and Japan.

“With ANA’s direct flight from Tokyo to Phnom Penh, the number of Japanese visitors rose dramatically, as well as the number of Cambodians travelling to Japan. This new flight will further boost those numbers,” Mr Vandy said.

Sorry, this entry is only available in JP.

A Lion Air airplane is seen parked at the tarmac of Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta February 20, 2015. REUTERS/Beawiharta
Local tour operators and tourism associations are exploring potential tourism markets in Indonesia and urged both the Indonesian and Cambodian governments to facilitate direct flights between the two countries.

Speaking at the ‘Sales Mission 10 Indonesia Branding Destination’ in Cambodia on Friday, Chhay Sivlin, president of Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA), said Indonesia is the top five tourism destinations for Cambodian tourists.

Ms Sivlin said outbound Cambodian tourists to Indonesia and from Indonesia to Cambodia has increased recently compared to the past few years. She said this was due to the fact that Indonesia has promoted their tourism destinations in Cambodia as they found that Cambodians showed interest in visiting foreign countries, especially the neighboring nations.

“Indonesia is a new destination for Cambodian tourists. We saw the number of both countries’ tourist arrivals increasing,” Ms Sivlin said, adding that, “Indonesia is a big market for Cambodia. We want to grab this market, and push for more direct connectivity. Currently, we rely on Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore for air transits,” she said.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia in collaboration with Cambodia’s Tourism Ministry, CATA and Embassy of Indonesia in Cambodia.

Veng Sam Ol, managing director of Khmer World Connection Tours, a tour company sending tourists to Indonesia told Khmer Times the outbound traffic from Cambodia to Indonesia has immense potential with its attractive places to lure Cambodians.

Mr Sam Ol said his company’s tour packages are mostly designed for wedding, honeymoon, family and others. A week visit to Indonesia would cost $1,000 with demand increasing for this destination.

However, he said the poor connectivity and absence of direct flights are the main issues.

“We encountered the challenges with flights as we have to transit in Malaysia or Singapore Therefore, It is difficult to attract both tourist from Cambodia to Indonesia and Indonesia to Cambodia.

“More Cambodians will travel to Indonesia if there are direct flights. This is the main complaint that we get from potential travellers,” Mr Samol said.

CATA president Sivlin echoed Mr Samol’s views on the absence of direct flights. She said it is a challenge for Cambodia, which is missing out on Indonesia’s vast marketplace. She said though there are flights connecting to Indonesia via Singapore or Malaysia, they are not good enough. “We have to wait hours or sometimes a day long to reach Indonesia.”

Indonesian Tourism Ministry`s deputy assistant for marketing development region I, Ibu Masruroh, said the total number of Cambodians traveling to Indonesia increased from 5,000 in 2016 to 6,000 in 2017, while there were 49,000 Indonesians visiting Cambodia in 2017.

World Bank senior economist Miguel Eduardo Sanchez Martin speaks at the event. KT/Chor Sokunthea
The World Bank, citing up-beat investor sentiment and a rise in exports, has revised the country’s economic growth upward, estimating it will be 7 percent in 2018, a 0.1 percent increase from an earlier prediction in April.

Other international financial institutions have also issued similar forecasts for the Cambodian economy, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting national growth at 7 percent and 7.25 percent respectively this year.

The World Bank, according to its East Asia and Pacific report released yesterday, said economic growth is driven mainly by external demand, exports, rising government spending, and an up-beat investor sentiment.

The report added that garment, travel goods, and footwear exports increased 16.1 percent year-on-year during the first half 2018, up from 8.3 percent recorded at the end of 2017. Consistent with this trend, fabric imports, largely used as inputs for garment production, grew at 37.1 percent during the first six months of 2018.

It said tourist arrivals reached 3 million in the first half of the year, representing a 13.6 percent increase compared to 11.8 percent in 2017, adding that the rise is driven by a surge in tourist arrivals by air from China.

The report says capital inflows continue to increase, and the external position remains stable. The current account deficit slightly widened in the first half of 2018, but was entirely financed by foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.

Speaking at a press conference, Miguel Eduardo Sanchez Martin, senior economist of the World Bank in Cambodia, said strong growth in garment, travel goods, and footwear exports was partly supported by the agreement between Cambodia and the United States on travel goods in 2016. Under the deal, Cambodia can export travel goods to the US duty-free.

He said 2018 saw a strong and stable foreign direct investment inflow, steady currency deposit movement and expects FDI to peak this year.

“Cambodia is an attractive destination for FDI from all countries because of the ‘dollarised’ economy. Chinese investors in Cambodia who are looking for opportunities in the real estate and manufacturing sectors are attracted by cheap labor force and the relative close proximity to China. The ties between the two countries have also encouraged more Chinese investors to come to Cambodia.

“As global demand peaks this year, growth in Cambodia is expected to remain robust, easing modestly to 6.8 percent in 2019 and 2020. Strong economic growth is expected to result in continued poverty reduction,” Mr Martin said.

The report said FDI rose 14.3 percent year-on-year during the first six months of 2018. More than half of the inflows originated from China, and are directed towards commercial and residential real estate, as well as, to a lesser extent, manufacturing and agriculture.

With the current construction boom, newly emerging hot spots include the seaside provincial town of Sihanoukville, where FDI approvals amounted to $126 million in June alone.

Confidence in the banking system remained strong, and private sector deposits, largely in US dollars, grew at 22.4 percent in June, it said.

The report also highlighted the main risks to Cambodia’s economy. Those stem from rising protectionism and a potential revision of Cambodia’s preferential access to advanced economies.

A tariff war escalation in major economies would affect Cambodia only indirectly. On one hand, there could be some potentially positive trade and investment diversion from China in the short-term. On the other hand, however, the trade war could disrupt global value chains and depress investors’ sentiment, adversely impacting Cambodia and other small export-oriented economies.

A sharp slowdown in the Chinese economy could substantially dampen Cambodia’s growth prospects. The impact through the trade channel would, on the other hand, be muted, due to low dependency on China as an export destination.