Investors urged not to lose faith in Cambodia’s growth

Top officials of the Cambodia Chinese Commerce Association (CCCA) have urged foreign investors not to lose faith in Cambodia’s development as the country makes a rapid recovery from the Covid-19 slowdown following the bold initiatives by the government.

In an exclusive interview with Khmer Times, on the sidelines of the high-level Malaysian trade delegation’s visit to the Urban Village and Factory Phnom Penh recently, CCCA’s Honorary Chairman Ben Li, Vice President Vichet Lor and Founding President Raymond Choi reminded the investors that the government has initiated strong action against human traffickers and illegal online gambling activities.

“The development of Cambodia in the last couple of decades is unprecedented in Asean. Foreign investment has contributed a lot to this and there is nothing that can now prevent this continued march by the country to greater heights,” said Ben Li.

“After the re-opening of the borders that ended the Covid-19 shutdown, a lot of foreigners are coming over to Cambodia, some with the purpose of investing in the country. The real estate prices are now going up and the economy is growing fast,” he said.

“But we are now hearing stories of human trafficking. Some of the stories can be true but some are exaggerated. The visiting Malaysian delegation is happy about peace and safety in Cambodia,” Li said, adding that Cambodia’s government, especially the Ministry of Interior, has acted quickly against human trafficking incidents.

“My family has been living in Cambodia for the last 30 years and more than 1,000 expatriates are employed with my company. We have not experienced any incidents of human trafficking,” Li added while urging all to approach the issue in a rational way.

Vichet Lor said Cambodia is the new investment hotspot in Asean and that the country is expecting a growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by over six percent in 2023. “It is the ideal time to invest in the Kingdom. The new Investment Law is also encouraging Qualified Investment Projects (QIPs). The government is also providing a lot of incentives for manufacturing projects and tourism enterprises such as tax holidays,” he said.

Lor also described Cambodia’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) initiatives as the best in Asean and urged investors to make good use of the incentives offered.

He reminded that Cambodia is the first country in the region that reopened borders after Covid-19 and the first country that waived quarantine restrictions for visiting tourists. The high vaccination rate in the country also helped the government to boldly move ahead, Lor added.

Raymond Choi said some of the trafficking stories appeared to be exaggerated and some may not be correct at all. “Let us encourage more people to come and visit Cambodia and experience the peace and security for themselves. The investors coming to Cambodia are not facing any issues,” he said.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to all businesspeople and expatriates in the country, CCCA said that Cambodia is a friendly and welcoming country for foreign investors and that “we should not give up on the country’s development opportunities because of individual cases.”

“The Cambodian government shows determination to maintain a harmonious, stable and healthy social environment and it has taken stern action against online gambling activities. Some of the negative information (about the country) does not fully reflect the reality,” the letter said.

Source: Khmertimes