Despite the global financial crisis, US president Barak Obama issued a new release on June 13, 2009 from Washington D.C to decide to make business loan available for American investors who are making investment in Cambodia. It is expected that this decision is to encourage more private companies from America to ask for commercial loans to do business in Cambodia.
Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information and Government’s spokesman, said that he welcomes this decision and regards it as a way to encourage more commercial businessmen from United States of America to invest in Cambodia since America is a major partner of Cambodia, reported Khmer-language newspaper, Rasmei Kampuchea.
Chheang Von, lawmakers and chairperson of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly, said that America’s decision is a big encouragement for Cambodia and facilitation for trade and investment related to international cooperation between Cambodia and other countries, especially United States of America, which is the powerful country of the world, continued newspapers.
Khieu Kanharith added that though the funding aid from America to Cambodia is a small amount, but it has assisted Cambodia a lot in different international institutions. In addition, Obama’s decision is another step in order to push for more American businessmen in Cambodia, reported paper.
Lending loan to American investors to do business in Cambodia is because that Cambodia is no longer “a Marxist-Leninist country” under the terms spelled out in the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, which established the government agency charged with promoting the export of American goods and services.. So far, there are six countries that the United States of America still does not offer commercial loans for investment, including Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syra.
The US Export-Import Bank authorized US$243.74 million to ASEAN last year in loans, guarantees and insurance, most of which – $234.73 million – went to Singapore.
“I think that President Barack Obama removed our country from his trade blacklist because he recognised our development, and this will pave the way for businesspersons to get loans from American banks to do business here,” Cheam Yeap said, quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.
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