For this week’s interview, Senior Communications Officer Stew Post sat down with Zandre Van Straten, Services Coordinator at EuroCham Cambodia, to talk about the Chamber’s Business Pulse survey.
In the discussion, Zandre explains how the twice-yearly survey tracks business confidence, revenue performance, and investment outlook among EuroCham members, offering one of the most consistent snapshots of Cambodia’s private sector sentiment.
He also shares key takeaways from the soon-to-be-released edition—highlighting cautious optimism for 2026 alongside persistent challenges such as rising operating costs, regulatory hurdles, and shifting global economic pressures. He also previews the launch of a new interactive Business Pulse webpage designed to transform the survey into a growing database of market insights.
Stew: The Business Pulse has become EuroCham’s primary market survey over the past few years. For those who aren’t familiar, what exactly is the Business Pulse?
Zandre: The Business Pulse is EuroCham’s flagship survey that tracks business confidence, revenue performance, and outlook among our member companies. Conducted online every six months, it provides an overview of how businesses are performing in the current economic climate and how they expect conditions to develop in the near future.
The results are analysed using a diffusion index, which measures changes in business sentiment across indicators such as revenue performance, investment plans, expansion and cost-cutting intentions, net promoter scores, and perceptions of the internal and external business environments.
Stew: Why does this type of research matter for EuroCham members?
Zandre: The EuroCham Business Pulse provides a data-driven snapshot of how EuroCham members are performing in Cambodia and how confident they feel about their future operations. This type of information is particularly valuable for our members, as reliable business data can sometimes be limited. The survey gathers feedback from companies across key sectors that represent more than 40% of EuroCham’s membership, including agriculture & food processing, consumer products, financial services, real estate & construction, and other services.
Members can compare their own performance, challenges, and expectations with those of the wider business community, helping them identify potential opportunities or risks. The results are also important for our advocacy committees, as the Business Pulse provides real-time insights that allow EuroCham to communicate private sector priorities and concerns to the Government.
Stew: There have been a number of global and regional disruptions and developments in the past six months. What stood out to you in this latest edition of Business Pulse?
Zandre: Over the past two years, many sectors have experienced low revenue performance. However, expectations for early 2026 have improved across most industries, suggesting that companies are cautiously optimistic about the near future. At the same time, most companies report that the business environment has become more difficult, particularly for consumer products and tourism & hospitality businesses.
Plans to expand operations have generally slowed, and cost-cutting has also become more common, with many companies focusing on reducing headcount-related expenses. Geopolitical and economic pressures have also intensified. Many companies reported impacts from global trade developments, the Cambodia–Thailand border situation, weaker consumer purchasing power, and rising operating costs.
Across all sectors, the most persistent challenges remain lengthy bureaucratic procedures and weak anti-corruption enforcement. Although government reforms are generally viewed positively, their impact on daily business operations is still seen as limited. Lastly, Cambodia’s investment attractiveness remains moderate, with businesses largely neutral when recommending the country as an investment destination.
Stew: There’s a new Business Pulse webpage coming soon. What is it, and what’s the motivation behind taking the Business Pulse online?
Zandre: The upcoming Business Pulse webpage, which will be available on EuroCham’s website, is designed to make the survey results more accessible, interactive, and useful for EuroCham members. Traditionally, the Business Pulse has been published as a report every six months, followed by a webinar. The new webpage will launch this month and provide a central online space where users can explore the data more easily.
Members will be able to revisit key indicators, compare sector performance, and track how business sentiment evolves over time. They will also be able to review macro-economic factors that may have impacted Cambodian businesses in the period thanks to expert insights from our relevant committees.
As we continue conducting the survey, the dataset will grow, creating a more valuable resource that tracks ongoing developments as Cambodia’s business landscape evolves.
