Cambodia Morning News For August 21

GoBusiness17: Cambodia’s World Record Attempt to Promote SMEs (video)
The role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have played in reshaping Cambodia’s economy cannot be overlooked and it certainly hasn’t been by the country’s leadership… in fact it wants more people to start their own businesses
— AEC News Today

Central bank fines MFI for shady lending
The central bank announced on Friday that it has fined an unnamed microfinance institution (MFI) $100,000 for engaging in non-transparent lending practices.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia Daily given till Sept 4 to pay taxes
The Tax Department’s Kong Vibol on Saturday said English-language newspaper the Cambodia Daily faced shuttering and the seizure of its assets if it failed to pay back taxes it allegedly owes by September 4 – a seeming escalation in the government’s recent targeting of NGOs and independent media outlets for tax-related scrutiny.
— The Phnom Penh Post

First Cambodia, where next? Hong Kong ‘may open door’ to more foreign helpers
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung made the remarks in his blog on Sunday, the same day as helpers’ representatives called on the government to raise their monthly minimum wage from HK$4,310 to HK$5,500.
— South China Morning Post

Business Insider: Banking thrives on innovation
Cambodia’s financial sector continues to deepen, with banks and microfinance institutions launching new products to serve their growing base of customers. The Post’s Hor Kimsay spoke with Neoh Sze Ming, deputy chief executive of CIMB Bank Plc, about product innovation in the local banking sector.
— The Phnom Penh Post

‘Cambodia Daily’ newspaper may be shut over taxes
The Cambodia Daily, an English-language tabloid, faces closure and confiscation of its assets if it fails to pay nearly a decade in taxes by Sept 4, the nation’s top tax official said Sunday.
— Westover Review

Anonymous letters slam Cambodia’s NGOs
A raft of anonymous letters and articles critical of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and other NGOs funded by the United States was published by government-aligned Fresh News over the weekend, which one NGO head described as an “avalanche” of misinformation intended to create uncertainty and confusion.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Hun Sen vows benefits for factory workers
Garment factory workers will receive free health care, free access to public transport in Phnom Penh and a minimum wage increase to at least $168 per month, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced following a gathering of thousands of garment industry employees yesterday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Top Academic Says Heng Samrin’s Hometown Is in Vietnam
The home of National Assembly President and CPP stalwart Heng Samrin is technically located inside Vietnam, though the area is settled by Cambodians, the government’s top academic tasked with researching border issues revealed on Friday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Breaking: Cambodia uncooperative in relocating Montagnard asylum seekers, says UN envoy
The United Nations is trying to relocate 36 Montagnard refugees with serious asylum claims to a third country, but the Cambodian government has so far failed to cooperate, a UN rights envoy to Cambodia revealed today.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Maid to Be Repatriated After Turning to Facebook for Help
A Cambodian maid who claimed in a viral Facebook video that she was stranded in Saudi Arabia after fleeing her abusive employer will be repatriated this week, the Cambodian ambassador to Kuwait said on Sunday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Government stonewalling on relocating refugees?
Refugee advocates have welcomed plans from the United Nations to relocate 36 Montagnard asylum seekers to a third country, but the Cambodian government yesterday remained silent as to why it has so far failed to cooperate.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Legal System Failing to Protect Youths, Children: UN Envoy
Cambodia’s legal system is failing its youth, with juveniles being lumped into overcrowded prisons alongside adults, and child victims lacking proper protection from their perpetrators, the U.N.’s human rights envoy to Cambodia said on Friday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Feature photo Asian Development Bank
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Cambodia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Cambodia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.