Cambodia Morning News For May 3

Workers March in Phnom Penh for May Day as Sanctions Loom
The US and EU have threatened Cambodia with deepening economic sanctions following the ruling party’s decision to dissolve the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.
— VOA Cambodia

KrisEnergy to up investment plans for drawing oil next year
KrisEnergy plans to produce oil from Cambodia’s offshore Block A oil deposit next year and forecasted an investment of more than $30 million in the country this year, according to its 2017 annual report.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian Rice Production Increases by 5.7% in 2018, Says PM Hun Sen
Addressing at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MoAFF)’s annual meeting 2017 on Wednesday, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen appreciated the Ministry’s efforts and relevant institutions on the development of Cambodian agriculture sector.
— Fresh News

Email suggests ‘major backer’ promised to help win $344,000 case against Cambodian newspaper
An Australian who was awarded $344,000 for wrongful dismissal told the Cambodian newspaper he worked for that he had a “major backer” who would “help me win” the case, according to an email obtained by the ABC.
— ABC

Recently privatised state lots have been in commercial use for years
Several plots of public land in Phnom Penh only recently privatised by the government already have commercial businesses on them – some for years – contradicting multiple Cambodian laws and sub-decrees, legal experts said.
— The Phnom Penh Post

CDC Grants Licenses to Ten New Companies in Cambodia
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), in April, granted licenses to ten companies to establish factories, warehouse, and trade center, worth of approximately $130 million in total, creating 11,915 jobs, according to the CDC’s report on Wednesday.
— Fresh News

Cambodian authorities increase number of mobile nationality verification units
The Cambodian authorities have increased the number of mobile nationality verification units for Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand.
— NNT

How Cambodia killed its unions
Hundreds of Cambodian workers gathered in the capital Phnom Penh on Tuesday to passionately call for higher wages, better working conditions and greater labor rights.
— Asia Times

Cambodia is a democracy: PM says
Prime Minister Hun said yesterday that Cambodia remains a democracy because both big and small political parties will participate in the national election in July.
— Khmer Times

Statements laud press freedom, but ignore inconvenient truths
Cambodian media federations have called for the Kingdom’s journalists to fight “fake news”, even as one presented questionable claims that Cambodia has the freest press in the Asean region.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Premier welcomes climate-resilient rice
The Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has developed a rice variety better adapted to withstand the drastic changes in weather patterns seen in Cambodia in recent years.
— Khmer Times

Mainland Money Is Luring Cambodia To Tourism, And Away From Other Investors
The future of Cambodia’s economy, as Tekreth Samrach, chairman of the government-controlled flagship airline, sees it, is in tourism.
— Forbes

Why Cambodia is making fantastical allegations against Ted Cruz of inciting revolution
With China on the rise and the world trending towards authoritarianism, it perhaps comes as no surprise that the façade of democracy in Cambodia is crumbling.
— Dallas News

Food safety laboratory opens in Phnom Penh
A new centre to check produce for safety and quality standards was inaugurated yesterday in Phnom Penh.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia to Celebrate Royal Ploughing Ceremony
The Royal Ploughing ceremony, or Pithi Chrat Preah Neang Korl in Khmer, will be held on May 3, 2018, in Svay Rieng Province under the highest patronage of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, expecting 20,000 visitors.
— Fresh News

Human disturbances threaten conservation of cave bats in Cambodia, study says
Researchers in a new study say visitor activities in caves in Cambodia pose challenges for bat conservation, noting that human disturbance is often detrimental to populations, which in turn take substantial time to recover from declines.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo Enrico Strocchi

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.