Real estate, pawnshop regulator reminds firms to follow reporting rules
Real estate, pawnshop regulator reminds firms to follow reporting rules
The Non-Bank Financial Services Authority’s (NBFSA) Real Estate Business and Pawnshop Regulator (RPR) on July 3 reminded the real estate sector and other businesses under its purview to strictly adhere to the government’s reporting obligations and ensure accuracy and timeliness.
This was a reissue of a January 27 notice that emphasised the importance on providing the RPR with accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and yearly reports.
Speaking to The Post on July 4, Global Real Estate Association president Sam Soknoeun stressed that his real estate firm is “always” cooperative and fully implements the RPR’s principles and guidelines, including those concerning reports.
“Companies that are properly licensed and professional tend to follow the RPR’s instructions,” he said, linking the agency’s notice to unprofessional firms and agencies.
Soknoeun called on businesses that do not entirely comply with the government’s reporting requirements to assess their current situation and take more action to inspire new investors to start businesses in Cambodia and to bolster socio-economic development.
‘Construction set for growth’
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction issued construction permits for 1,463 investment projects in January-May, ministry secretary of state Lao Tip Seiha said on June 23.
Set to cover “more than five million” square metres, these projects have a total registered capital of $2.270 billion, which marks a 138.52 per cent increase on an annual basis from just over $0.95 billion, he said.
Tip Seiha pointed out that just 41 projects (2.80%) were foreign-owned, notably by Chinese, Japanese and South Korean investors. However, these ventures made up nearly $600 million (roughly one quarter) of the total registered capital, he noted.
“The current uptick in investment projects corroborates the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s assessment that the construction sector is poised for growth,” he stated.
He said that there are 2,586 buildings at least five storeys tall in Cambodia, with Phnom Penh housing the most at 1,711 (66.16%), followed by the provinces of Preah Sihanouk (690; 26.68%) and Banteay Meanchey (142; 5.49%). Similarly, there are 52 buildings nationwide that are at least 40 storeys tall, Tip Seiha added.
It was not immediately evident whether a building must have a fifth floor to be formally categorised as a five-storey tall construction due to the two distinct local ways of counting. In other words, a building with floors 1-4 in addition to a ground level may be regarded as having four rather than five storeys.
However, Tip Seiha later told The Post that, in the context of these statistics, a building must have floors 1-5 in addition to a ground level to be considered five storeys tall.
