Chinese delegations probe investment opportunities
Chinese delegations probe investment opportunities
Three Chinese delegations, now on a visit to Cambodia, conducted discussions with the Cambodian Investment Board (CIB) of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) on Tuesday, probing investment opportunities in the country.
Chinese delegations from the Hubei Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, the Beijing International Economic Management Technology Promotion Association and the Zhongke Beifang Co., Ltd. have been on a visit to Cambodia to learn more about the Kingdom’s investment potential and opportunities, said a statement.
On Tuesday, at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC)’s headquarters in Phnom Penh, the three delegations were received separately by Chea Vuthy, Secretary General of the CDC’s Cambodian Investment Board.
In the meetings, Vuthy informed the delegations of the Cambodian investment climate and regime, which are favourable and open to all investors without any discrimination.
He noted that China remained at the top of the list of investors in Cambodia when it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI) for over a decade, and many large Chinese companies invest in Cambodia in new areas also such as tyre manufacturing, electronic equipment assembly and furniture manufacturing, which have created higher added value using modern technology, in addition to the traditional garment and footwear sectors.
The CIB secretary general also encouraged the Chinese delegations to consider investing in special economic zones in Cambodia and in the agricultural processing sector to boost exports to the Chinese market.
Vuthy is optimistic that more Chinese will come to invest in Cambodia and contribute to diversifying Cambodia’s economic base and expanding the market, leading to a bright and shining ‘Diamond Cooperation’ between the two countries.
Currently, China is Cambodia’s largest source of FDI and its biggest trading partner. By the second quarter of 2024, the total FDI from China in Cambodia accounted for about 47 percent, amounting to $23 billion, said Rath Sovannorak, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, recently.
China also remained the biggest trading partner of Cambodia in the January-November period of 2024 with the trade between the two reaching $13.76 billion, an increase of 24 percent compared to the same period last year.
China is also the third biggest export market for Cambodia, after the US and Vietnam, with the exports touching $1.6 billion, a rise of 22.3 percent, compared to the same period last year, recent trade data from the General Department of Customs and Excise showed.
Cambodia is one of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s Belt and Road Initiative as well. The Kingdom could also broaden markets through the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2022, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, helping the exports of more Cambodian goods to the Chinese market.
Cambodia’s main exports to China are milled rice, bananas, mangos, cassava, fishery and apparel, while the chief imports consist mostly of raw materials for garments, machinery, vehicles, foodstuffs, electronics and medicines.
