Vietnam-US joint venture to build cement plant in Cambodia

HANOI, Jun 8, 2009 (Asia In Focus) -- A joint venture between the PAUL CHAM CO LTD and the US-based PHI GROUP will invest US$51 million in a cement plant in Cambodia's Stung Treng Province, it was announced on Wednesday. Phnom Penh-based Paul Cham is 51 per cent-owned by the Vietnam-headquartered T&T COMPANY.

* Paul Cham director Nguyen Thi Cham said the feasibility study for the cement project had been completed and that construction of the plant would start in July.

* The cement factory and limestone quarry in Stung Treng Province's Thala Barivath District will turn out its first products early next year, she added.

Source: http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2009/06/vietnam-us-joint-venture-to-build.html

Cambodia passes $2.8b public investment plan

Source: (Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-01 11:41

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia's Council of Ministers approved a three-year plan drafted by the Ministry of Planning to spend US$2.8 billion on public investment from 2010 to the end of 2012, national media reported on Monday.

The plan related to 536 projects, 389 of which are direct investment with the remainder technical assistance projects, the Cambodia Daily quoted the council as saying.

Minister of Planning Chhay Than said earlier that the majority of the budget would be spent on infrastructure and irrigation systems to boost agricultural production.

The list of planned projects also includes the construction of major roadways, hospitals and schools, Than said.

The new three-year plan is part of the broader national development planning strategy 2006 to 2010, which was approved by the National Assembly in May 2006.

The entire state budget approved for 2009 totals approximately US$1.9 billion, meaning that each year the proposed infrastructure projects would consume the equivalent of about half of the current national budget.

China top investor in Cambodia in 2008

Source: (Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-05 10:27

PHNOM PENH -- China was No. 1 foreign investor in Cambodia last year in terms of approved projects in Cambodia, nearly four times the capital of second-placed South Korea, national media on Thursday quoted official figures as saying.

China invested US$4.3 billion in 2008 in Cambodia, or 40.14 percent of the total, and South Korea US$1.2 billion, or 11.39 percent of the total, said the 2008 report issued by the Cambodian Investment Board.

The Chinese projects were in a wide range of sectors, including garments, hydropower, agribusiness and bodiless, while the largest Chinese investor was Tong Min Group Engineering with US$3.8 billion for a coastal development project in Kampot province, it added.

"The Chinese leadership encourages investors to come to Cambodia... (and) the Chinese government is pushing investors to come here," Sok Chanda, secretary general of the Council for Development of Cambodia, was quoted by English-language newspaper the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

In addition, China expert Michael Sullivan said that close ties between the private sector and the government gave Chinese firms an advantage.

"This is all occurring within the context of emerging bilateral ties between China and Cambodia," said Sullivan, who is conducting a research for the Association of Southeast Asian Studies under UK sponsorship.

In 2007, the Cambodian Investment Board put Malaysia as the foreign investment champion, with China and South Korea trailing behind.