Cambodia 20250303
Mekong Memo Cambodia Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Headlines:
China Fortifies Its Presence
High-Level Commission Takes on Online Scams
Partnerships Strengthen Regional Ties
Education Reforms for KR Era, Vocational Training
Infrastructure: Hospitals, Water, Energy
Digital Transformation and Economic Growth
Interfaith Dialogue Promotes Tourism
Wealth Management Grows With Rising Inequality
Casino Oversight with Onsite Regulatory Offices
Land Management Progress
Trade, Borders, and Stability with Vietnam
Ag Exports and Food Security
North Korean Business Ties Denied
China Fortifies Its Presence
China is expanding its economic and political footprint in Cambodia as the U.S. retreats from regional influence. The withdrawal of USAID funding has left a vacuum that China is quickly moving to fill through infrastructure investments, security collaborations, and diplomatic ties. High-level meetings between Chinese and Cambodian officials have reinforced political and security cooperation. Phnom Penh's governor met with a senior CPC official to discuss deeper city-level ties, while Chinese leadership has confined Cambodia status as a key ally in ASEAN. As China tightens its grip, Cambodia's reliance on Beijing grows.
Read more: Construction & Property (USAID withdrawal), Khmer Times (City-level cooperation), The Star (Political ties)
High-Level Commission Takes on Online Scams
Prime Minister Hun Manet is taking the helm of a new high-level Commission for Combatting Online Scams to tackle human trafficking and cyber fraud. The commission includes 8 vice-presidents from senior ministries and 16 members from government agencies and the military. The body has authority to deploy armed forces and operates with a direct mandate from the Prime Minister. Recent operations with Thai authorities rescued 215 victims from call centers. Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos are making a big show of working together on systematic collaboration, infrastructure disruption, and information sharing.
Read more: Khmer Times (Commission formation), Khmer Times (Regional cooperation), Khmer Times (Anti-scam measures)
Partnerships Strengthen Regional Ties
Japan and Cambodia are celebrating 72 years of diplomatic ties with bilateral trade growing from $1.4 billion to $2.2 billion since 2017. Thailand and Cambodia agreed to work better together on transboundary challenges, tourism promotion, and cross-border crime prevention. The countries will be focused on improvements to water resource management, PM2.5 pollution control, and hydrocarbon development in overlapping claim areas (ie. the Gulf of Thailand).
Read more: Khmer Times (Japan), Khmer Times (Thailand)
Education Reforms for KR Era, Vocational Training
The Documentation Center of Cambodia is pushing for legislation to make Khmer Rouge era education mandatory. The proposed law would complement the existing Genocide Denial Law and would be intended to shore-up historical ignorance by requiring education about the 1975-1979 period. Separately, the Labor Ministry and the Indian Embassy talked about ways they could improve technical and vocational education cooperation through the "TVET 1.5M" program, offering 38 courses across 10 sectors that have been identified for targeting.
Read more: Khmer Times (Historical education), Khmer Times (Vocational training)
Infrastructure: Hospitals, Water, Energy
Prime Minister Hun Manet this week announced plans for two regional hospitals specializing in advanced surgical procedures in Siem Reap and Kampong Cham provinces. These facilities will offer sophisticated surgical services including heart, brain, and cancer operations. Japanese grants totaling $720,304 will support surgical care systems and early childhood education projects. A $1 billion investment in a pumped-storage project is showing of China's commitment to Cambodia's energy sector, reinforcing its economic dominance. South Korea's K-water is looking for investment opportunities in water resource management to develop efficient improvements and mitigate flood risks.
Read more: Khmer Times (Hospitals), Khmer Times (Japanese support), Khmer Times (Water management), Global Construction Review (Energy investment)
Digital Transformation and Economic Growth
The economy was able to manage 6% growth in 2024, with expectations of 6.3% for 2025. The MSME sector grew to 43,970 enterprises, employing 476,223 workers. E-commerce trade reached $1.51 billion in value, almost 5% of GDP. The government is investing in digital infrastructure development, with 4G coverage across 82% of the nation and nearly 19 million internet subscribers. A 5G master plan is under development.
Read more: Khmer Times (Economic growth), Xinhua (E-commerce growth)
Interfaith Dialogue Promotes Tourism
Cambodia organized its first Islam-Buddhism summit in Phnom Penh, bringing together 180 delegates from 30 countries. The event is intended to demonstrate support for religious diversity and is in alignment with the country’s tourism diversification strategies. A five-point plan to bring in more Muslim tourists increased Middle Eastern visitors from 360,000 to 430,000 in 2024, supported by expanded halal services and better flight connections.
Read more: UCA News
Wealth Management Grows With Rising Inequality
Cambodia's rising number of millionaires is driving demand for professional wealth management services, but still, economic inequality is a huge issue. The country is seeing dramatic growth in its affluent class, with banks and financial firms responding by developing wealth management divisions. A report from Oxfam, however, shows how local wealth disparities continue to grow, with the ultra-rich benefiting from monopolies, inheritance, and economic imbalances. While Cambodia has made progress in reducing poverty, wage gaps, huge challenges remain. The work now is to balance wealth growth with economic policies that will be supportive of all sectors of society.
Read more: Khmer Times (Wealth management demand), Phnom Penh Post (Wealth inequality concerns)
Casino Oversight with Onsite Regulatory Offices
Cambodia’s Commercial Gambling Management Commission (CGMC) is stepping up regulatory oversight by placing onsite offices at licensed casinos to enforce compliance, improve transparency, and streamline processes. The first phase includes 13 regulatory offices, with some of the bigger locations like NagaWorld in Phnom Penh and DNA Star Vegas in Poipet. These offices will help casino operators in meeting legal obligations, while future plans hint at an online supervision system.
Read more: AGB (Onsite offices rollout), GGRAsia (Legal perspective)
Land Management Progress
Svay Rieng became Cambodia's second province to complete systematic land measurement, with 17,708 land ownership certificates distributed. Prime Minister Hun Manet is claiming that his direct engagement strategy through unannounced rural visits has recovered 40,000 hectares of illegally occupied state land and generated 3,000 new social land concession applications.
Read more: Khmer Times (Land measurement), Khmer Times (Rural engagement)
Trade, Borders, and Stability with Vietnam
During recent high-level Vientam - Cambodia meetings, officials reaffirmed commitments to fulfilling party agreements and furthering trade and infrastructure connectivity. Both sides agreed to finalize outstanding border demarcation issues and improve security collaboration. Cambodia reiterated its support for ASEAN’s role in maintaining regional stability, while both nations committed to strengthening trilateral ties with Laos.
Read more: Khmer Times (Bilateral talks), VietnamPlus (Border cooperation), VOV (Economic agreements)
Ag Exports and Food Security
Cambodia is ramping up its agricultural exports, with China being the main target market for its growing production of rice, cashews, and other commodities. The government is also putting a lens on food security, particularly on climate resilience and sustainable farming. A collaboration between Heineken Cambodia and the Cambodian Institute for Research and Rural Development (CIRD) is supporting rice farmers with eco-friendly initiatives, and Malaysia’s Farm Fresh is looking into dairy production in Cambodia to reduce reliance on milk imports.
Read more: Khmer Times (Exports to China), The Edge Malaysia (Dairy investment), Khmer Times (Sustainable farming)
North Korean Business Ties Denied
The Cambodian Ministry of Commerce has dismissed claims by NK News that North Korean businesses are currently operating in the country. In a February 27 statement, the ministry said that it was adhering to strict enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions, citing the closure of 16 North Korean-linked businesses in 2019 and 2022. An internal investigation reportedly found no evidence of North Korean commercial activity. A China-Cambodia business leader supported the ministry’s stance.
Read more: Asia News Network
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