Cambodian officials and foreign investors visit in Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Preah Sihanouk province in April. (Photo: phnompenhpost.com)Phnom Penh (VNA) - The Council for theDevelopment of Cambodia (CDC) has announced that it approved 113 new investmentand expansion projects with combined registered capital of about 1.1 billionUSD in the first half of this year, of which nearly 65% came from Chinese investors.
According to CDC’s report, local investors accountedfor nearly 20% of the registered capital in the six-month period. Next on thelist of nationalities were Vietnam (6.64%), Seychelles (3.31%), Thailand(1.77%), the Republic of Korea (1.70%), Samoa (0.60%), the US (0.49%), Singapore(0.18%) and Sweden (0.07%).
These undertakings are expected to generate about122,000 new jobs, the report said, adding that the industrial sector accountedfor the most projects, at 102 (90.27%), followed by agriculture andagro-industry (7), tourism (3), and infrastructure (1).
Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) economist Ky Sereyvathacknowledged that the key factors shaping the kingdom’s investment appealinclude its bilateral and regional trade deals as well as the more recentchanges to its legal investment framework, which he stressed are favourableacross a range of sectors.
He said that the country is receiving moremedium-sized investments, necessitating government initiatives to promote small-and medium-sized enterprises, and encourage these investments and turn the sectortoward exports.
China continues to be Cambodia’s top investor,primarily in the processing sector, largely due to the availability of cheaperlabour, he said.
On July 11, the CDC approved fournew investment projects in Preah Sihanouk and Kampong Speu provinces and the capitalof Phnmom Penh with a total investment capital of 26.7 million USD./.
