Pheaktra seeks ASEAN, Chinese investment in Kingdom
Pheaktra seeks ASEAN, Chinese investment in Kingdom
Information Minister Neth Pheaktra Monday called for ASEAN member countries’ and Chinese investment in Cambodia as the Kingdom has peace, political stability, human resources and a young labour force.
Attending the ASEAN-China (SHANXI) Trade and Investment Promotion Seminar themed, ‘New Opportunities, New Momentum, New Cooperation and New Development’ in Changzhi, China’s Shanxi province, as part of the ASEAN-China Week 2024, Pheaktra said, “I call on ASEAN and Chinese investors to continue investing in Cambodia because Cambodia has peace, political stability, human resources and more than 70 percent are active labour, which can guarantee the best investment.”
Pheaktra said that the ASEAN-China Trade and Investment Promotion Seminar is an important event in the ASEAN-China Week (ACW) 2024.
The seminar was attended by Shi Zhongjun, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Center (ACC), Chen Xiangyang, Governor of Changzhi, Benito Gosiaco Techicoof, Philippine Special Envoy for Trade, Investment and Tourism in the People’s Republic of China.
Pheaktra said 2024 is the year of people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and China, and hoped that ASEAN-China will provide good opportunities to strengthen ASEAN-China bilateral cooperation.
He further said that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Cambodia in 2023 amounted to $48.4 billion, an increase of 7.9 percent compared to 2022.
“This growth is due to the favourable investment environment, policies to encourage new investments and large-scale free trade agreement (FTA) between Cambodia and our strategic trading partners, these include the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), the Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement and the Cambodia-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” Pheaktra said.
According to a trade bulletin published by the UK-based Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Cambodia has recently been ranked high in the world index and is considered to be the most developed country in the world for foreign direct investment in 2024.
Cambodia ranks first in 2024 for a country with strong and stable gross domestic product (GDP) growth, a low inflation rate and a fast-growing country in terms of foreign direct investment, Pheaktra told the delegates.
“Due to peace, political stability, adult population and human capital, combined with strong economic growth, Cambodia has been able to attract many investors from Europe, the United States and Asia.”
In 2023, China remained the largest investor in Cambodia, with a total investment of up to $3.7 billion, said Pheaktra, adding, Cambodia will provide many opportunities for companies and investors from China, especially from Changzhi and ASEAN countries to invest in the Kingdom.
