Cambodia 20250331
Mekong Memo Cambodia Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
News from Southeast Asia directly to your inbox every weekday.
The Mekong Memo is proudly presented by:
Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.
Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.
The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.
Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.
Headlines:
Textile Summit to Boost Exports
AmCham Joins Commercial Arbitration Board
NBC Governor Pushes Green Finance in China
UN, NBC Lead Microfinance Cleanup
E-Waste Rules Take Effect
Security Pact Targets Border Crime
Dams Threaten Carbon Credit Projects
WTO Applauds Cambodia's Growth
Bakong Digital Payments Explode
JICA Backs Financial Inclusion
Public Debt Shows Strong Management
Cambodia-China Target "Second Shenzhen"
Tourism Trails Regional Rivals
Social Protection Reaches Informal Workers
Healthcare Goes High-Tech
Cambodia-UK Launch Education Projects
Massive Money Laundering Network Reported
Textile Summit to Boost Exports
Phnom Penh's Global Textile Summit 2025 will bring together industry leaders to discuss Cambodia's garment sector. Textile exports hit $11.68B in 2024, jumping 24.4% from 2023 and making up ~45% of total exports. The event is expected to be an opportunity to demonstrate investment potential and industry stability, showing China's role as a reliable supplier and the country’s strong export ties with EU, US and UK markets.
Read more: The Star
AmCham Joins Commercial Arbitration Board
AmCham Cambodia has replaced EuroCham on the National Commercial Arbitration Centre Board for its 5th mandate. This change comes as US-Cambodia trade topped $10B in 2024. The NCAC handles commercial dispute resolution through independent arbitration services. This appointment is a show of stronger US-Cambodia business ties and should help to improve investor confidence in the country's commercial framework.
Read more: Cambodia Investment Review
NBC Governor Pushes Green Finance in China
NBC Governor Chea Serey presented at China's Boao Forum on sustainable finance and regional integration. She called for better SME support, improved logistics, and direct payment systems for cross-border trade, while also emphasizing Cambodia's 2050 carbon neutrality goal. Serey discussed the Bakong payment system’s role in cross-border payments (see other article below) and met with Bank of China and UnionPay about payment connectivity. Her talk stressed Cambodia's participation in ASEAN+3 initiatives and regional e-commerce efforts.
Read more: Khmer Times
UN, NBC Lead Microfinance Cleanup
The UN and National Bank of Cambodia are driving a microfinance reform program launched in late 2023. More than 100 institutions have joined technical talks, including government agencies, financial firms, investors, and civic groups. The initiative has been developed to protect vulnerable borrowers and help to enforce responsible lending. Of 22 priority actions, 4 are complete, 15 in progress, and 3 are just getting started.
Read more: UN Cambodia
E-Waste Rules Take Effect
The Environment Ministry has published new e-waste guidelines requiring electronics manufacturers, importers and suppliers to create waste management systems. The rules mandate collection mechanisms, storage facilities, and proper handling protocols. Companies must work with licensed waste operators and provide marked collection points. The framework includes provisions for waste export or treatment by licensed facilities to protect the environment from hazardous electronic materials.
Read more: Construction Property
Security Pact Targets Border Crime
Cambodia and Laos have signed a broad security agreement covering safety, drugs, human trafficking, border security, cybercrime and prisoner transfers. The deal creates frameworks for delegation exchanges and professional training. Signed in front of Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone, both countries committed to peaceful border dispute resolution and stronger economic ties.
Read more: Khmer Times
Dams Threaten Carbon Credit Projects
The government has approved three irrigation dams in the Cardamom Mountains that overlap with REDD+ carbon credit projects, putting ~5,200 hectares of forest at risk. These add to damage from five hydropower dams that already destroyed 15,000 hectares. Indigenous communities report getting no compensation and are opposing the projects. Wildlife Alliance confirms major forest loss will occur. The money from hydropower and timber seems to be winning out over carbon credit benefits, indicative of challenges in forest protection.
Read more: Mongabay
WTO Applauds Cambodia's Growth
WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praised Cambodia during its third Trade Policy Review, celebrating its projected 6% growth rate and status as one of ASEAN's fastest-growing economies. The country has fully implemented the Trade Facilitation Agreement and is moving toward graduating from Least Developed Country status. Cambodia wants to reach upper-middle-income status soon and high-income status by 2050, while working hard to keep putting economic diversification efforts into play.
Read more: Khmer Times
Bakong Digital Payments Explode
The Cambodian blockchain payment system Bakong has seen huge growth, with 2024 transaction volumes hitting 330% of GDP. Launched in 2019, the platform now serves 30M wallets with ~643,000 active accounts and 4.5M merchants. Transaction volume reached $104.81B across 608M transactions in 2024, a 95% rise from 2023. The system is designed to reduce dollarization, promote the riel, support financial inclusion, and enable cross-border transactions.
Read more: Cointrust (Digital Finance), Khmer Times (Transaction Growth)
JICA Backs Financial Inclusion
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has kept up support for financial inclusion in Cambodia through several noteworthy investments and partnerships. The agency provided a $50M loan to Hatta Bank, $85M to Acleda Bank, and invested 1B Japanese Yen in Gojo and Company. JICA is working with NBC on joint research while focusing on macro-economic inclusion and social welfare. Dr. Sok Siphana has been public with noting Japan's ongoing support for Cambodia's infrastructure and economic growth.
Read more: Khmer Times
Public Debt Shows Strong Management
Cambodia's public debt stands at $12.03B in 2024, with 99% of that being external debt and 1% domestic. External debt is split between bilateral loans (62%) and multilateral organizations (38%). The country is keeping low debt risk, with total public debt at just 19.3% of GDP (well below the 55% danger level) and external debt at 19% of GDP (under the 40% limit). In 2024, Cambodia signed $1.8B in new concessional loans, with 61% from multilateral partners and 39% from bilateral partners, mainly for infrastructure projects.
Read more: Khmer Times
Cambodia-China Target "Second Shenzhen"
Cambodia is pushing deep economic ties with China, aiming to transform Preah Sihanouk province into a "second Shenzhen." This strategy was on display at the recent “Fourth Think Tank High-Level Forum.” Chinese investments dominated Cambodia's approved projects in early 2025, racking up nearly 80% of the total. The partnership covers politics, production, agriculture, energy, security, and people exchanges under the "Diamond Cooperation Framework." Major projects include developing Sihanoukville as a multi-purpose economic zone, creating a Fish and Rice Corridor, and making better use of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway.
Read more: China Global South (Economic Integration), Khmer Times (Strategic Ties), Bastille Post (Bilateral Cooperation)
Tourism Trails Regional Rivals
The tourism sector grew with 6.7M international tourists in 2024 (up 23%) and $3.63B in revenue (up 18%), but lags far behind Thailand (35.5M tourists) and Malaysia (25M tourists). Challenges include tiny marketing budgets, poor promotion of diverse sites, and reputational damage to the nation’s credibility from online scams. The government's doing its part to fight back with the new Techo International Airport opening in July, an anti-scam commission, and community tourism development. Senate leaders want tourism positioned as Cambodia's economic backbone.
Read more: Khmer Times (Regional Comparison), Khmer Times (Tourism Strategy)
Social Protection Reaches Informal Workers
Cambodia's National Social Protection Council has brought forward its Social Security Formalization Plan for 2024-2026 to support informal workers. Part of the National Strategy for the Informal Economy 2023-2028, it is intended to integrate informal workers into the social security network. The Digital Platform for Onboarding the Informal Economy has already seen 36,824 applications from 1,949 employees, 1,226 micro-enterprises, and 33,649 of the self-employed. The plan links informal economy development with social protection to support growth and welfare.
Read more: Khmer Times
Healthcare Goes High-Tech
Health Minister Chheang Ra led a group to Hong Kong in order to study advanced healthcare tech. The visit focused on AI for disease prevention, electronic medical records, and digital health innovations. The team wants to improve the standard of Cambodian healthcare by cooperation with Hong Kong/China, by modernizing hospital services, improving medical training, and raising pharma quality standards. These improvements are in alignment with Cambodia's universal health coverage goals and success here would greatly reduce dependence on overseas treatment.
Read more: Khmer Times
Cambodia-UK Launch Education Projects
Cambodia and the UK have started two education projects under the ASEAN-UK Supporting Girls Education program. The Teaching at the Right Level Project will help 500 at-risk kids in Grades 4-5 by grouping them by learning levels in reading and math. The Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Project will analyze classroom practices for Grades 1-2 to improve teacher education and develop early reading materials. Both are expected to improve learning outcomes, especially for girls and marginalized groups.
Read more: Khmer Times (Education Improvement), Cambodia Investment Review (Learning Outcomes)
Massive Money Laundering Network Reported
A major money laundering operation in Cambodia allegedly run by Huione Group and Huione International Pay has reportedly processed about $26.8B in crypto since 2021. The network operates through Tether transfers, transaction splitting to dodge detection, and "money mules." The operation apparently enjoys political protection, with a relative of the Prime Minister serving as company director. The operation is said to exploit Cambodia's weak regulations and uses trafficking victims as scam operators.
Read more: ZeroHedge
That’s all for this week! Please don’t forget to share this with someone who would find it useful. Also, your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back— hit reply and tell us what you think.
If you value the Mekong Memo, please consider buying (or gifting!) a paid subscription, sharing it on social media or forwarding this email to someone who might enjoy it. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below (or sometimes above, depending on the platform), which helps us get visibility on Substack.