Cambodia: Asia’s mini-tiger

25 August 2010
By: Tim Johnston

Could frontier market Cambodia become a serious contender for Asian tiger status? The country certainly has a buzz about it: flights into the capital are filled with businessmen, the once rural outskirts of Phnom Penh are fast turning into one big construction site, and the roads of the city centre are gridlocked with Lexus four-wheel drives.

According to a UBS note to its clients today, the country is starting to make a roar, albeit small.  And when it comes to manufacturing, Cambodia is fast becoming a ‘mini tiger’.

According to Jonathan Anderson at UBS in Hong Kong, Cambodia’s manufacturing base has significantly benefitted from the globalisation boom of the past decade.

The country has quietly established itself as a “mini-tiger” in textile processing and assembly, a fact generally overlooked by most investors including ourselves.

So is Cambodia poised  to take on official emerging market status? Not yet.

Cambodia’s manufacturing sector is growing at an astonishing rate – in real terms (the Cambodian currency) it has more than quadrupled in the last decade, but as a manufacturing economy it still has some way to go: manufacturing still represents less than 15 per cent of GDP according to the latest figures from the ADB.

But Cambodia is quietly attracting more and more attention. In 2008, Leopard Capital launched the country’s first dedicated fund, and although the $34m raised was a long way short of the $100m it was aiming for (it was after all the middle of the global crisis), it plans to launch another $50m fund later this year to be split between Cambodia and Laos.

In today’s UBS note, Anderson has taken a look at the extent to which developing economies dependent on manufacturing have expanded their manufacturing exports relative to GDP over the last decade. The standouts were Cambodia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Thailand and Vietnam, all of which increased their exports by more than 25 percentage points.

While Cambodia becoming a tiger overnight may be premature, the note certainly offers some food for thought.

Cambodia Should Invoke The 1991 Paris Peace Agreements To Ensure The Respect For Its Territorial Integrity

(Photo: Reuters)

Sam Rainsy’s letter to The Cambodia Daily, August 20, 2010

CAMBODIA SHOULD INVOKE THE 1991 PARIS PEACE AGREEMENTS TO ENSURE THE RESPECT FOR ITS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

Your article “Asean Weighs Mediation Role in Cambodia-Thailand Border Row” (August 19, page 21) underscored the recent effort by the Cambodian government to seek an international mediation in order to reach a peaceful solution to the Preah Vihear conflict with Thailand.

After two years of fruitless bilateral negotiations with Bangkok, this new approach must be welcomed. Earlier this month Phnom Penh suggested that the Secretary-General of the United Nations act as a mediator while also calling on Asean for diplomatic help.

It was reported that “Asean has begun consulting with member nations about whether the regional body should step in and help mediate negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand over their border dispute near Preah Vihear temple.” However, “a statement made [by Bangkok] on Sunday made it clear that Thailand was not willing to engage in multilateral dialogue over the border dispute.”

In order to remind the international community of their obligations to respond to Cambodia’s call, Phnom Penh should evoke and invoke the Paris Peace Agreements signed in 1991, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, by eighteen friendly countries including all the world’s major powers and all Asean current members (except Burma).

Siam psychopath: Sondhi talks about sincerity

The Son Of the Khmer Empire

Extremist Sondhi

When Hun Sen appointed Thaksin he said it was a trick and yet again when Hun Sen accepted Thaksin´s resignation request he alsoaccused this as a trick and demandedfor sincerity from Hun Sen or Cambodia.

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s resignation as economic adviser to the Cambodian government is only a political ploy, People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leader Sondhi Limthongkul said on Wednesday.

Mr Sondhi said Thaksin’s resignation was just part of a political strategy, since it can be done immediately by just getting approval.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen could show his sincerity by handing over a number of people charged with terrorism, like Arisman Pongruangrong, who are believed to be hiding in Cambodia.

The two countries would be good neighbours if Cambodia returned all of them to Thailand, the yelllow-shirt leader said.

NOTE: Well, it is right for you to say so but we also have someting to tell you that we can become a good neighbor only if  Thailand can show sincerity and respect  Cambodia and her people like:

• Stop invading Cambodia
• Learn to respect international laws,  all treaties, agreements, MoU, and verdict which legally bind the two countries together to move forward in a peaceful co-existence.
• Stop attacking verbally against Cambodia and my people.
• Return all Cambodians who are now jailed and abused for illegally entering  into Thailand like the case Cambodia released the recently arrested three Thais.
• Leave our Prasat Preah Vihear alone!

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• I wish Sy Sopheap to Tell Hun Sen About This!
• Abhisit hits out at Hun Sen
• Is That How Hun Sen Rules the Country?
• Thaksin made Cambodia economic advisor…Hun Sen’s check mate move

PQRU Defended Hun Sen

The Son Of the Khmer Empire

Tit Sothea (Dap)

After Thai media has released many articles about Hun Sen’s order to release the trio Thais arrested and my strong critics below, on Tuesday 24 August 2010, the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of Hun Sen, mouthpieced by Ti Sothea claimedthat the Thai media was disseminating the wrong information. He said that Hun Sen had no rights to order the release of those trio thais becuase he had no right to interfere court’s decision.

Personally, I think it may be true because everyone knows that in Cambodia, most of CPP’s officials are just like a post and they must listen to Hun Sen or they are removed. Everything must be in the name of Hun Xen, i.e. personality cult of Hun Xen. He is above the law and he is with everything from national conciliation to building bridge, house, and toilet. We can see his name with these things everywhere through the country. Most importantly, such a thing has already happened last year when Hun Sen ordered to released Siwark, a thai spy,  after he was arrested by Cambodian authoriry accusing him of sending Thaksin’s persoanal flight for Thai govt. See it here.

However,  whether he ordered to release the trio Thais or not as long as they are released, we still condemn Hun Xen as a useless person for his failure to protect and save his people from the similar arrested reasons who are now jailed and abused in Thailand.

PS: It’s amazing to hear Tit Sothea weekly defending Hun Sen nowadays while in the past during his time working for VOA he was the one that criticized Hun Sen and esp. he liked to interview someone included me who is a critics of Cambodian govt.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Cambodia PM says Thai border conflict “not a war”
• Media treads fine line in border row