John Lee, center, in Ho Chi Minh City. He is the first Hong Kong chief executive to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Trade

Hong Kong has ASEAN backing to join RCEP trade pact: John Lee

City goes on charm offensive after COVID-19, security law dent reputation

6 August 2024
Cashews must undergo a lengthy procedure before they turn into the delicious nuts the globe craves, but Cambodia has never been able to carry out this process on its own. Until now.
Agriculture

Japan helps Cambodia toward its goal of being top cashew exporter

Real estate developer Mirarth completes ASEAN country's processing center

29 June 2024
The Mekong riverfront in Phnom Penh: The new waterway will provide a direct route for trade, reducing dependence on foreign ports.
Opinion

Cambodia's waterway project will deliver prosperity

Canal to be vessel for commerce and cooperation, not conflict or coercion

25 May 2024
Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation has engaged Singapore’s Changi Airports International and SIA Engineering for projects at Phnom Penh's future main airport. (Courtesy of OCIC)
Business trends

Cambodian conglomerate lures ASEAN money to drive nation's growth

OCIC partners with Singapore and Thai brands in aviation, retail and more

29 April 2024
One of the unfinished 'ghost buildings' in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.  (Photo by Hiroki Endo)
Property

Chinese exodus leaves Cambodia boomtown with 500 'ghost buildings'

Sihanoukville saddled with unfinished projects due to casino clampdown and COVID

14 April 2024
A ship transports containers down the Mekong River. Recently installed Cambodian PM Hun Manet said the $1.7 billion China-backed canal project would allow his country to "breathe through our own nose," diverting its goods for export directly to its own coast rather than via the Vietnam-controlled Mekong Delta. (Photo by Jack Brook)
Asia Insight

Cambodia to divert Mekong trade via China-built canal, vexing Vietnam

Planned Phnom Penh-coast link raises alarms amid regional influence tussle

12 March 2024
Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport opened last November as a gateway to Cambodia's top tourist destination, the Angkor Wat temple complex.
Transportation

Cambodia's airport dreams stall as Chinese money dries up

Residents say they've been pushed off land to make way for big-ticket projects

23 February 2024
The Indonesian Air Force's aerobatics display team takes to the skies during the Singapore Airshow in 2022.
Your Week in Asia

Singapore Airshow, Japan-Ukraine conference, Cambodia Senate election

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

18 February 2024
Chinese tourists visit Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew temple in August. People from the country made up the world's biggest outbound travel market before the COVID pandemic, with 155 million trips in 2019. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Travel & Leisure

In charts: How Asia's tourism recovery is held back by stay-home Chinese

World's biggest foreign travel market hurt by weak economy, safety concerns

21 December 2023
Gov. Chea Serey says Cambodia's central bank is expanding the Bakong's cross-border payment network. (Photo by Shigeru Seno)
Technology

Cambodia chalks up 10m Bakong digital currency accounts

Central bank focuses on internationalizing its blockchain-based payment system

19 December 2023
Cattle and breeders take part in a competition at the National Japanese Beef Ability Expo, commonly known as the Wagyu Olympics, in 2017. Japan aims to expand its wagyu beef exports.
Trade

Japan's wagyu beef exports to Cambodia tumble, bucking overall trend

Exporters ship more to other markets amid smuggling crackdown

5 November 2023
A Cambodian girl collects rubber sap at a farm in Tbong Khmum province. 
Business Spotlight

From Cambodia to Thailand, rubber producers brace for new EU rules

Deforestation regulation's requirement to prove sources called tough and costly

3 November 2023
Tourists walk past the Wat Arun temple in Bangkok on Sept. 10. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Travel & Leisure

Chinese travelers' slow return hits Southeast Asian economies

Share of China tourists declines in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia

13 October 2023
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet delivered a keynote address at a business forum in Jakarta on Sept. 4. (Photo by Tsubasa Suruga)
Cambodia's new leadership

Cambodia's Hun Manet shares 'high-income' goal in diplomatic debut

New prime minister also vows commitment to rule-based order at ASEAN event

4 September 2023
An aerial view of containers and cargo vessels at China's Qingdao port in May last year.
Caixin

Vietnam, Taiwan boost share of shipments to U.S. as China loses out

India, Cambodia also grow as 'low-cost' exporters, eroding Chinese dominance

25 April 2023
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attends a European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Brussels on Dec. 14, 2022. 
Politics

Cambodia's 'lords' form union under Hun Sen ahead of polls

New association of tycoons to impart 'ethics' to scandal-hit elite

25 April 2023
A deforested area of Botum Sakor National Park in Koh Kong province in 2012: Cambodia's rate of forest destruction is one of the fastest in the world.
Opinion

EU will need more weapons to tackle deforestation in Cambodia

Under Hun Sen, Illegal logging as much about politics as economics

8 January 2023
A factory in Vietnam operated by Matsuoka Corporation, a Uniqlo supplier. (Photo courtesy of Matsuoka Corporation)
Business trends

Vietnam, Cambodia draw Japanese apparel makers away from China

Uniqlo suppliers and others lured by lower labor costs and RCEP tariff reductions

8 December 2022
Though Cambodian officials have long referred to online scam operations -- many of which are based in the coast town of Sihanoukville (pictured) -- under the term illegal online gambling, they are starting to admit to more specific romance scams or fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. (Photo by Vann Soben)
Politics

Under foreign pressure, Cambodia dismantles some 'scam' compounds

But human trafficking still rife and government not doing enough, critics say

13 October 2022
Ream Naval Base is on the Gulf of Thailand, a strategic location given Beijing's claims in the South China Sea. (Photo by Tomoya Onishi)
Belt and Road

'Swallowed' by China: Cambodia's Ream base expansion raises alarm

Sihanoukville naval site underscores Beijing's growing military, business presence

28 August 2022
Pakistani and Chinese flags fly above a construction site in Gwadar, Pakistan. Much of the construction associated with the Belt and Road Initiative in the town remains unfinished. 
The Big Story

Road to nowhere: China's Belt and Road Initiative at tipping point

Pakistan, Sri Lanka debt crises threaten Beijing's regional influence

10 August 2022
Stream article image
Feeding Asia

Opinion: Reform the global food system to end famine

Three clear avenues for action that will limit the spread of the crisis

29 July 2022
After Vietnam, Cambodia has become the next popular destination for China’s processing trade business.
Caixin

Cambodia, Myanmar race to become apparel making hubs

Tax reductions and exemptions among many incentives luring manufacturers

30 June 2022
Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport is expected to welcome many more tourists now that Thailand has dropped strict COVID restrictions.
Coronavirus

ASEAN tourism on the road to business as usual

Thailand to relax mask and alcohol rules; Indonesia drops mandatory insurance

21 June 2022