Webinar on Looking Forward to a Post-Covid Recovery: Business Sentiment and Opportunities

 

"In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity"

On 21 May 2021, EuroCham hosted a webinar on “Looking Forward to a Post-Covid Recovery: Business Sentiment and Opportunities”, welcoming over 180 attendees. We also launched 2 new publications – the Business Confidence Survey 2021, and the Business Opportunities Guide 2021/2022.

The purpose was to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by the business community during this unique time, but also to discuss future opportunities. If you missed it, a recording will be available on YouTube soon.

We were joined by H.E. Mr. CHEA Vuthy, Deputy Secretary General of the Cambodian Investment Board of the CDC as well as the Cambodian SEZ Board. Mr. Vuthy joined on behalf of H.E. Mr. SOK Chenda Sophea, and he explained how the CDC is working to further promote FDI into Cambodia.   

EuroCham Deputy Director, Mr. Tom HESKETH, then highlighted the key findings of our Business Confidence Survey 2021. It was clear that 2020 was a challenging year: 90% of respondents were negatively impacted by Covid-19, and 87% reported a loss of revenue. There was room for optimism however, with 56% of companies expecting to invest further in a post-Covid Cambodia.

Mr. Guillaume PERDON, CEO of BRED Bank, then shared the perspective of the financial sector, highlighting decreasing growth in new loans and deposits for many banks and MFIs.

Mr. Noë SCHELLINCK, Advocacy Manager of EuroCham, addressed issues the advocacy team is working on to facilitate economic recovery at the micro, macro, and industry levels. His presentation set the stage for the EuroCham sectoral committee heads to describe the sector-specific challenges & opportunities they have faced.

These sector experts included:

- ICT [Mr. Matthew TIPPETS, Clik Payment (Cambodia)]
- Transport and Logistics [Mr. SUY Bunthan, DHL Express (Cambodia)]
- Healthcare [Mr. CHEA Vireak, Community Pharma Co., Ltd]
- Green Business [Dr. Susanne BODACH, BEE Incorporations]
- Agribusiness [Mrs. Margaux BARDET, Sevea]
- Tourism & Hospitality [Mr. Tassilo BRINZER, EuroCham]

The final presentation was from Ms. Christine BOWERS, Head of Project for ARISE + Cambodia, who shared her thoughts on the opportunities for regional integration & trade promotion. This included FTAs, non-tariff measures, and exciting customs initiatives such as the National Single Window (NSW).

Closing remarks were delivered by Mr. Tassilo BRINZER, EuroCham Chairman, who described the on-going activities of EuroCham as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary in 2021.

EuroCham is grateful for the participation of H.E. Mr. CHEA Vuthy, and to everyone who joined the webinar. We also thank BRED Bank for sponsoring this year’s Business Confidence Survey.

View the recording HERE, and below are the links to download our new publications:

Business Confidence Survey 2021: https://bit.ly/3f7427t

Business Opportunities Guide 2021/2022: https://bit.ly/3c1noJx

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