MEF: Cambodia’s GDP likely to touch $35B this year

Cambodia’s GDP could touch $35 billion (143 trillion riel) this year, said a senior official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Ministry Secretary of State Phan Phalla said, "We also expect the GDP per capita to go up to $2,071 in 2024, compared to $1,917 in 2023."

Cambodia’s economy is also expected to grow at 6.6 percent in 2024, said the ministry official. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), however, has been more conservative and projected that the country will grow at 6.1 percent in 2024, due to global geopolitical tensions and a larger economic slowdown.

He added that the share of the non-garment sector in the economy is growing. Tourism will also see a rise and get back to pre-Covid levels. As has the garment continues to increase, tourism is expected to rise and the garment sector has recovered considerably. For instance, in the month of January garment exports exceeded what was reported for the same month in 2023.

As per an earlier report by the General Department of Customs and Excise, Cambodia’s exports from garment, textile and footwear sector grew 24 percent to $826 million in January 2024.

The Ministry official also said that the increase in export orders shows a lot of positive sentiment around recovery. Production in other non-garment sectors and agriculture is up.

Phalla also talked about the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Kingdom and significant investment from China.

IMF Asia Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan has said that IMF expects the global economy to grow by 3.1 percent in 2024, similar to growth rates in the previous year.

For 2025, global growth could go up slightly to 3.2 percent. Global inflation could also go down to 4.4 percent in 2025; from the expected 5.8 percent in 2024, compared to 6.8 percent inflation in 2023.

IMF has revised its growth for Asia to 4.5 percent from 4.2 percent, indicating more optimism, Srinivasan said.