A national government survey of 10,000 households, released on Tuesday, shows increased debt burdens as well as fewer households owning land, more cultivation of fruits and nuts, and the disappearance of video tape recorders and radios.
Four factories in the Sihanoukville SEZ were last year put under investigation for or found to be falsely shipping Chinese plywood, cabinets and pipe fittings to the U.S. as if they were Cambodian-made, according to U.S. Customs documents.
A factory in an industrial park in Svay Rieng province shipped China-made pipes to the U.S. as Cambodia-made to evade duties, U.S. Customs said this week, with investigators finding production machinery “unused, dry, and covered in spider webs.”
An ex-Macau crime boss sanctioned by the U.S. this month partly for links to newly established businesses in Cambodia was accused by prosecutors upon his 1999 arrest of working to build an arms factory here, according to reports at the time.
The World Bank points to a rise in some agricultural and non-garments manufacturing exports this year despite a pandemic-induced economic downturn as it forecasts that Cambodia will be back to economic growth next year.
The U.S. has announced sanctions against a former Macau crime boss who two years ago launched an association headquarters in Cambodia linked to a cryptocurrency and Belt and Road Initiative-related security business at a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An and military police chief Sao Sokha.
The trial of former Cambodia Daily journalists Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter, charged three years ago as the newspaper shut down amid a government crackdown, has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Ratanakiri Provincial Court.
Economists say the standardizing of regulations in 15 countries that signed a regional free-trade deal could make it attractive for companies to operate in or relocate to low-cost countries like Cambodia.
UPDATED 9 a.m. — A known Vietnamese hacker group has created malware in documents that appear related to Asean meetings and is targeting the Cambodian government, a cybersecurity firm said in a report this week.
UPDATED 2 p.m. — Caution and skepticism persist despite health authorities reporting success in keeping Covid-19 numbers down, as government officials have ignored safety precautions, a foreign delegation was allowed to skip quarantine, and the country’s testing regime remains opaque.
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