Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday said that Cambodia is committed to facilitating and enhancing economic growth and creating more job opportunities for local people. He reiterated the government’s unwavering focus on ensuring stability, promoting macroeconomics, setting out incentive packages to attract investors as well as developing more logistics and infrastructures that connect with the regions and the world.
Addressing the ‘Inauguration and Gala Dinner of CCIA’ under the theme ‘Collaborative Prosperity for a Shared Future’, at the Diamond Island, Phnom Penh, Mr Hun Manet acknowledged the achievement of CCIA describing it as “another milestone of development and transformation.”
Dignitaries including Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Ly Yong Phat, President of the Cambodian Oknha Association (COA) and others were present on the occasion.
Neak Oknha Ly Kun Thai, President of CCIA said, “The Premier presence today signifies the commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in supporting the CCIA initiative which allows the association to expand the platform, connect to more chambers and institutions, which boost the ability to lure foreign businessmen into Cambodia.”
“Cambodia is the best location for investors as the country has stable politics, a low inflation rate, the highest GDP growth in the region and connected infrastructures including railways, ports and logistics which are convenient for export and import processes.”
CCIA was established as a collaborative effort of these chambers aimed at fostering the investment and business environment to encourage and share resources, information and achievement among its participations, providing an opportunity for members to connect and engage with each other, explore potential collaborations and gain exposure to a wider audience, he added.
CCIA has attracted $15 billion in investment capital and generated 640,000 jobs.
Earlier, Mr Hun Manet said that the private sector is the engine of the government that contributes to achieving the vision in 2050, hence he encouraged the private sector to engage in the priorities development along with the RGC for shared success.
The Premier also said that next month he will go to Singapore to attract more investments.
“On the RGC side, we focus on ensuring stability, promoting macroeconomics, setting out incentive packages to attract investors as well as developing more logistics and infrastructures that connect with the regions and the world,” he added.
Speaking at the event, Lor Vichet, Vice President of CCCA said, “Over the past eight months, we [Khmer] can see that RGC is a proactive and pro-business government that has been creating numerous trade strategies and fostering a conducive business environment and the inauguration of CCIA by the Prime Minister aimed to publicly inform both domestic and international investors, reiterating the government high priority to the development of the country’s economy via increased investment from the private sector.”
“This event also served as a platform for participants to connect and expand business opportunities as well as discuss ways to further attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).”
The participation from the Premier underscores the RGC’s commitment to becoming a preferred destination for global investors, aligning with the strategic goals to become a middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050, Vichet told Khmer Times.
On June 17 last year, CCIA was launched with six chambers of commerce, including the Cambodia Chinese Commerce Association (CCCA), Cambodia Footwear Association (CFA), Cambodia Travel Goods and Leather Association (CTLA), China Sichuan & Chongqing Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (CYZSH), Malaysian Business Chamber of Cambodia (MBCC) and Singapore Club Cambodia (SCC).
Later, the Leaders Union Association (PLUA), the Merchants and Investors Association of Hunan Provincial in Cambodia, the Anhui General Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (AH), and the China Jiangsu General Chamber of Commerce were added to the association.
The event saw booths showcasing products of Zo Motors, Fortune Life Insurance Plc, Maybank Cambodia, Smart Axiata, Lesso (Cambodia) Trading Co Ltd, JGL Worldwide (SG) Pte Ltd, Honor Service Device Co Ltd, Huawei Technology (Cambodia) Co Ltd, Leader Energy, Yako Discovery and Cambodia Airways Co Ltd, a sum of 25 booths.