Political (Cambodia-Specific)
- NEC to Accept Secretary-General Applications 14-12-15
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/nec-to-accept-secretary-general-applications-102903/
The National Election Committee (NEC) is to begin accepting application for the position of secretary-general, its top administrative role. Reform of the NEC and the composition of its board members was one of the major negotiation points in the deal that saw the CNRP cease their year-long boycott of the National Assembly in July 2014.
The current secretary-general Tep Nytha, who is seen by many as a CPP partisan, has expressed an intention to apply.
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CNRP lawmakers set to retake seats in National Assembly 15-12-15
The opposition CNRP has announced an intention to retake their seats in the National Assembly on Wednesday 16th December, ending a 2-month boycott that has followed assaults on two CNRP lawmakers on 26th October. A CNRP spokesman said that talks held between CNRP acting president Kem Sokha and Interior Minister Sar Kheng had made it possible for CNRP lawmakers to return to the Assembly.
Europe, European Businesses, EuroCham Members
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Cambodia to Gain as Adidas Pivots From China 16-12-15
Adidas, one of the country’s biggest garment buyers, says it will expand production in Cambodia over the next five years as part of its pivot away from China to lower-cost producers in Southeast Asia. The company is also planning to increase orders from Burma, Indonesia and Vietnam to escape rising labor costs in China.
On Tuesday 15th December, a spokeswoman for Adidas commented: “In 2014 we sourced 16 percent of our apparel from Cambodia and we expect this percentage to increase to 20 percent by 2020. We also source some of our footwear from Cambodia and will continue to do so.” Adidas currently sources from 24 Cambodian factories.
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Savills enters Cambodia 17-12-15
British real estate services provider Savills are set to enter the Cambodian market after reaching an agreement with local firm Keystone Property Consultants to act as their Cambodia-based associate. The managing director of Savills Vietnam commented that the agreement with Keystone was in response to demand from the firm’s international clients for consultancy and other property-related services in Cambodia.
Cambodia will be the 17th Asian country in which Savills have established a presence.
Infrastructure, Development and Core Industries
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Labour market unfazed by AEC 14-12-15
Most industry experts do not expect the soon-to-be-implemented ASEAN Economic Community, and its facilitation of free flow of skilled labour across national borders, to lead to major outflows of skilled labour from Cambodia.
A Labour Ministry spokesman focused on the benefits that Cambodian industry could reap from attracting higher-skilled workers, for which there is insufficient supply at the current time. Free flow of labour in AEC only applies to eight core skilled sectors: engineering, nursing, architecture, dentistry, medicine, tourism, land surveying and accounting.
Commenting on fears that foreign workers coming in to the country could take Cambodian jobs, the spokesman stated that labour laws at the national level were unchanged and the existing 10% maximum threshold for hiring foreign staff without exceptional justification would remain.
Sandra D’Amico of HR Inc highlighted how Cambodians wishing to work in other ASEAN countries will still need to comply with visa and work permit requirements of their prospective host country and that the number of skilled Cambodian workers going abroad is likely to be unchanged by AEC.
Latest figures from the ILO show that of the 771,000 Cambodian workers in the ASEAN region in 2013, a majority were in Thailand, close to 750,000, with the rest working in Malaysia and Vietnam.
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Pepper Production on the Rise 16-12-15
Cambodian pepper production is projected to increase to more than 10,000 tons next year due to rising demand in both the local and international markets. Pepper has been identified by the Ministry of Commerce as a priority crop for export and the local market, and the Ministry has been organizing workshops to raise awareness amongst farmers of the crop’s export potential.
Pepper is grown in 18 provinces but the main plantation area is Tbong Khmum province. Nationally, the plantation area for black pepper has increased by more than 40% in 2015 and production increased from 7,500 tons in 2014 to around 9,800 tons this year with projections of 11,000 tons in 2016.
Vietnam and Thailand are the major markets for Cambodian pepper, but small amounts are also exported to East Asia, Australia and the European Union.
For the GI-protected and more expensive Kampot pepper, production increased from 33 tons in 2014 to 58 this year and up to 80 in 2016 according to the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association.
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Kingdom unfazed by Fed rate hike 18-12-15
Chea Serey, director general of the National Bank of Cambodia, does not believe that the US Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis will have any major impact on FDI into Cambodia. Cambodia is a largely dollarized economy and the Fed’s 0.25% increase could potentially make Cambodia less competitive by making borrowing more costly.
However, Ms. Serey does not believe that Cambodia will be too heavily hit as most FDI in the Kingdom is directed towards longer-term projects: “While Cambodia has a very liberal capital account regime, however, at present there are few investment options for short-term capital and thus Cambodia is relatively immune from a sudden capital pullback,”. Longer-term investors will have already factored in a possible interest rate increase so would be very unlikely to withdraw.
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Bavet City SEZs Close Amid Violent Protests 18-12-15
The Manhattan and Tai Seng special economic zones (SEZs) at Bavet City near the Vietnam border were temporarily closed on Thursday 17th December – 30,000 workers were sent home after local officials shut the SEZs due to allegedly violent protests for higher wages.
The two SEZs have experienced difficult industrial relations for an extended period. Most factories in the Bavet SEZs are garments factories and these recent protests have prompted the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) to publish an open letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen calling for “immediate effective and appropriate measures for the protection of security and safety of the investors and their properties”.
Thematic Pieces
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Mixed feelings over COP21 agreement 14-12-15
Cambodian delegates to COP21, which concluded on Saturday 12th December, have provided mixed responses to the ambitious climate change mitigation commitments now known as the ‘Paris Agreement’.
Government delegate Sum Thy noted that some of Cambodia’s key priorities had been incorporated into the agreement, including a commitment by developed countries to provide $100bn a year in ‘loss and damage funds’ to poorer countries to help address and adapt to the effects of climate change.
However, Mr. Thy also noted the lack of binding commitments of greenhouse gas emissions, which amongst other components of the agreement has been left as a voluntary commitment. This view was echoed by Nop Polin, Cambodia’s civil society delegate, who recognized the symbolic value of the agreement but worried that a lack of binding language leaves the door open for non-compliance by signatory countries. Regarding the commitment to take action to limit global warming to 2 degree celsius by the end of the century, he said there remained large questions over ‘how and when’.
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ADB boosts climate funds 16-12-15
Asian Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao has announced that the bank’s finances for climate change-related projects is to be doubled to $6bn by 2020 in light of the Paris Agreement at COP21. $4 billion will be dedicated to mitigation schemes such as renewable energy, sustainable transport and urban efficiency, while $2 billion has been allocated for adaptation programs like resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture and disaster-management.
Details of how the funding scheme would be applied to Cambodia are yet to be finalized, though a Ministry of Environment spokesman welcomed the news. Cambodia has already said that it would need $1.27bn in funding to meet its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions submitted to COP21 of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 27% less than baseline projections by 2030.
Civil society representative Nop Polin welcomed the additional funding but urged the ADB to maintain a focus on adaptation: “Cambodia doesn’t cause climate change but is vulnerable to climate change, and mitigation doesn’t benefit so much [as] the resilience-building, which is urgently needed by farmers,”.
