SEZ exports reach almost $6 billion in nine months

SEZ exports reach almost $6 billion in nine months

SEZs have been established across the country to provide investors with a ‘one-stop’ service for imports and exports.

Exports from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) reached $5.9 billion in the first nine months of the year, a performance that reflected the zones’ increasing importance as major economic drivers for the Kingdom, according to the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC) report yesterday.

There are 58 SEZs nationwide, but only 32 of them are operational SEZs, stated the report.

According to the CDC officials, the SEZ development is the success of the government’s strategic efforts to attract and retain foreign investment.

Suon Sophal, Deputy Secretary General of CDC’s Cambodia Investment Board, emphasized main points supporting the SEZs’ development to global manufacturers, including the smart incentive scheme, the Kingdom’s strategic location, and its broad market access under trade pacts.

“Products exported from special economic zones have seen robust growth and contributed to socio-economic development,” Sophal said in an investment forum during the 18th Cambodia Trade Expo 2025 held last weekend in Phnom Penh.

He stressed that the trade pacts offer investors to gain privileged access to massive global markets and made Cambodia a strategic location for an investment hub for injecting investment on processing, producing, and exporting abroad.

The SEZ exports accounted for between 60 percent and 70 percent of Cambodia’s total exports, he added, citing that those commodities produced in SEZs included car tyres, bicycles, spare parts, electronic components, and automotive parts, among others.

SEZs have been established across the country to provide investors with a ‘one-stop’ service for imports and exports, and they have greatly facilitated trade.

They have also been instrumental in national economic development and are increasingly being linked with key transport routes and near borders with the purpose of facilitating cross-border trade and regional cooperation.

The Royal Government’s focus on attracting foreign investment and promoting innovation within SEZs will be crucial for realizing the full potential of these economic zones.

According to the report, currently, there are 1,021 investment projects with $12.9 billion in investment capital operating inside those 32 operational SEZs, which currently employ over 230,000 people.

“What we have intensified efforts in facilitating investors through setting up investment facilitation measures, for example, streamlined process for import duty exemption and online Qualified Investment Project registration has significantly helped investors to receive investment licenses faster, facilitating them in doing business in Cambodia,” Sophal said.

Additionally, the government has also planned for establishing a new model of SEZs for green industries and high-end technology investments, making them different from the existing industrial parks.

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