Cambodian Economy Reviews

Cambodia’s first insurance agency had started in 1990 by the State-owned agency – Caminco. After the 1993 national election, the insurance industry is increasing when local and foreign investors have invested in the sector during nearly 20 years. Even though, it is noticed that insurance industry still face challenges in a market where a few people understand the benefits and many cannot afford premiums.

Despite there was the global financial crisis, Cambodia’s premium insurance revenues increased 18 percent in 2008 – from US$17.5 million in 2007 up to US$20.5 million in 2008. In addition, Cambodian people have started understanding the advantage of buying personal insurance and car insurance, according to In Meatra, Head of the Financial Industry Department’s Insurance Division at the Ministry of Finance.

At the present, there are five insurance companies in Cambodia – Forte Insurance, Caminco, Asia Insurance, Campubank Lonpac and Infinity Insurance. In addition, two new companies are expected to enter the market this year – one local firm and another from Malaysia.

Although, Cambodia’s insurance market is very small in comparison with other countries because Cambodians have a little knowledge about this sector and cannot afford it as well. It is estimated that there is one and two percent amongst Cambodia’s 14 million have possibility to buy insurance. Read the rest of this entry »

Putting an end to a month-long dispute between mobile phone service providers MobiTel and Beeline by trading accusations over price dumping and blocking of between-network calls, Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) issued a directive dated Friday, 04 by setting a minimum charges of US$0.045 per minute for calls within an operator’s network and $0.0595 for calls across networks.

So far, there are 9 mobile service providers operating in the Kingdom of Cambodia with some newer entrants to Cambodia’s telecoms market. The increasingly competitive phone market remain tight-tipped about the pricing rules which was set a minimum traffic charge for calls within network and calls across networks.

Leading phone service operator MobiTel and Russian Phone Company, Beeline accused each other of selling below cost price and blocking interconnectivity in September. Read the rest of this entry »

Cambodia’s prime minister Hun Sen departed Vietnam on Saturday in order to attend a Vietnamese investor’s conference in Ho Chi Minh City. During this time, Cambodia and Vietnam has agreements with US$6 billion worth of investment into Cambodia to strengthen the cooperation in four sectors of commerce, tourism, energy and transportation.

The agreements were signed by Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc.

“We have the ambition and commitment to keep developing the investment atmosphere in Cambodia in order to promote it as the best in the region,” The Cambodia Daily quoted Hun Sen as saying.

The premier added that the passing of the investment law and the recent Council of Ministers approval of the anticorruption law, as well as Cambodia’s natural resources, showed that the country was ready for more investment.” Read the rest of this entry »

In order to maintain the interest of tourists and general public in Cambodia to avoid the exploitation of exchange rates among of the money exchange shops, and all currency conversation business, National Bank of Cambodia (BNC) announced that money exchange shops must show license.

Chea Chanto, NBC’s governor, also has warned tourists and the public to be careful of being defrauded by unlicensed money changers along Cambodia’s borders.

Money exchange shop

According to the announcement of NBC, “in order to guarantee personal interests and prevent accidental losses, the public should be careful, and in case of requiring the exchange of money, please, the public must change in shops that show their license, which is issued by the National Bank of Cambodia.”

The Phnom Penh Post quoted Chea Chanto as saying that “to avoid eventually losing out, customers should have their money exchanged at booths displaying operating licenses from the central bank.”

According to the notice, a few money changing shops, particularly along the border with Thailand have cheated visitors and have even passed counterfeit Cambodian riel to customers.

NBC inspection of money-changing racket on the Kingdom’s borders found many offered exchange rates far below the market rate, some as low as 2,500 riels for US$1. A dollar was worth 4,167 riels Monday, the Post reported.