MEF deliberates on improving business permitting processes

MEF deliberates on improving business permitting processes

The move will foster a more competitive, transparent, and resilient ecosystem for local enterprises and foreign direct investment.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, with support from developing partners, launched a targeted research study on improving business registration processes on Wednesday to reduce administrative burdens.

Co-chaired by Phan Phalla, Secretary of State of the MEF and Secretary-General of the General Secretariat of the Economic and Financial Policy Committee, and Kong Marry, Secretary-General of the General Secretariat of the Digital Economy and Business Committee, and Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Electronic Services for Business, the meeting finalised the scope and implementation timeline for “Phase I: Improving Business Permitting and Licensing Processes”.

The project is being implemented in collaboration with Sok Piseth, Head of the Special Working Group of Prime Minister Hun Manet, with technical assistance from the Cambodia-Australia Partnership for Resilient Economic Development (CAPRED).

The meeting was also attended by Sor Kinal, President of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cambodia, Kanu Negi, representative of the Australian Embassy in Cambodia, and the Alpha Desk Partner team.

The MEF, in a statement, stated that the objective of the meeting was to review and agree on the scope of work and implementation timeline prior to the official commencement of the research study project.

In Phase I, the study focuses on five priority sectors: agricultural product processing; food and beverage processing; agricultural inputs; electronics products and the electric vehicle ecosystem; and tourism, the ministry stated.

“As a result, the meeting endorsed the work plan and officially launched the research study project aimed at understanding the practical experiences of businesses in the licensing and permit application process to address key challenges, including procedural redundancies, overlapping requirements, administrative burdens, and regulatory bottlenecks,” stated the statement.

Over the past two decades, digital technology has undergone rapid development and continues to evolve, serving as a key catalyst for enabling economic activities globally, including in Cambodia.

Modernising public service delivery in Cambodia has transformed the way people live and work across both private and public sectors, according to the Strategy for the Development of E-Service for Business 2025-2028.

The Online Business Registration (OBR), known as Single Portal, registered 53,422 businesses with $21.39 billion in capital as of 2025, an official report showed.

With these initiatives, Cambodia aims to foster a more competitive, transparent, and resilient ecosystem for local enterprises and foreign direct investment alike.

The Ministry of Commerce this week announced new reforms to streamline company registration and ease administrative burdens, part of a broader drive to strengthen digital governance and attract investment.

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