PHNOM PENH, July 27 (Reuters) - Cambodia launched a new national carrier on Monday, a $100 million, three-aircraft venture set up in a bid to boost the tourist sector with the help of Vietnam Airlines.
Cambodia will hold 51 percent of Cambodia Angkor Air and Vietnam Airlines the rest.
The airline will operate domestic flights from Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, to Siem Reap, site of the Angkor temples, the country's biggest tourist destination, and to the coastal tourist town of Sihanoukville.
'The government is investing to facilitate the company's flight operations to carry tourists for competitive fares, to attract more visitors,' Prime Minister Hun Sen told a crowd at Phnom Penh International airport.
The new airline will initially operate with two ATR 72 planes and is scheduled to get an Airbus A321 in September.
It was looking to expand commercial flights to Vietnam and another neighbouring country, Laos, and hoped to increase its fleet to 10 by 2015, said Vietnam Airlines Executive Director Pham Ngoc Minh.
Vietnam and Cambodia are traditional rivals, and Vietnam's deputy prime minister, Truong Vinh Trong, said at a signing ceremony on Sunday evening that the airline was not just a rare joint investment, but a way to 'improve the two Asian neighbours' bilateral relations'.
Cambodia has had no national carrier since Royal Air Cambodge went bankrupt in 2001 with estimated losses of $25 million.
In 2007, Indonesia's Rajawali Group signed a deal with Cambodia to establish a flag carrier and planned to begin flights in mid-2008, but the deal was cancelled because of the global economic downturn.
Cambodia welcomed 2.2 million tourists last year.
Tourism brought in the equivalent of 13 percent of gross domestic product in 2005 to 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The sector had been growing at around 18 percent a year before the global financial crisis but growth in the sector is likely to be only 5 percent this year, according to tourism officials.
The IMF has forecast that Cambodia's economy could shrink 0.5 percent this year, hurt by a drop in tourism and a slowdown in garment exports.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Additional reporting by Nguyen Nhat Lam in Hanoi; Editing by Alan Raybould)
Cambodia will hold 51 percent of Cambodia Angkor Air and Vietnam Airlines the rest.
The airline will operate domestic flights from Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, to Siem Reap, site of the Angkor temples, the country's biggest tourist destination, and to the coastal tourist town of Sihanoukville.
'The government is investing to facilitate the company's flight operations to carry tourists for competitive fares, to attract more visitors,' Prime Minister Hun Sen told a crowd at Phnom Penh International airport.
The new airline will initially operate with two ATR 72 planes and is scheduled to get an Airbus A321 in September.
It was looking to expand commercial flights to Vietnam and another neighbouring country, Laos, and hoped to increase its fleet to 10 by 2015, said Vietnam Airlines Executive Director Pham Ngoc Minh.
Vietnam and Cambodia are traditional rivals, and Vietnam's deputy prime minister, Truong Vinh Trong, said at a signing ceremony on Sunday evening that the airline was not just a rare joint investment, but a way to 'improve the two Asian neighbours' bilateral relations'.
Cambodia has had no national carrier since Royal Air Cambodge went bankrupt in 2001 with estimated losses of $25 million.
In 2007, Indonesia's Rajawali Group signed a deal with Cambodia to establish a flag carrier and planned to begin flights in mid-2008, but the deal was cancelled because of the global economic downturn.
Cambodia welcomed 2.2 million tourists last year.
Tourism brought in the equivalent of 13 percent of gross domestic product in 2005 to 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The sector had been growing at around 18 percent a year before the global financial crisis but growth in the sector is likely to be only 5 percent this year, according to tourism officials.
The IMF has forecast that Cambodia's economy could shrink 0.5 percent this year, hurt by a drop in tourism and a slowdown in garment exports.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Additional reporting by Nguyen Nhat Lam in Hanoi; Editing by Alan Raybould)
23 comments:
It's the spitting image of me. Half female, half male.
I am a transsexual freak with a dick stitched up my ass.
Public Prostitute Unknown gender
PPU
11:27
And the "it" slurps on one eyed hyena's ass.
11:27
Hun Sen fucked him so hard he left a dick behind in PPU ass!
i dont' think it such a bad idea. i mean we all need help somewhere somehow, plus, everbody has to start somewhere, somehow. eventually, things will be better. some has to think about financial ability as well, not not partnership. so, i think what cambodia is trying to do now is a good thing, although, perhaps not the best thing. but again, people and nation can't wait forever for the right nation to come forward to partner with cambodia, otherwise, we all will grow too old and die out, so better to start now and build up eventually to better thing. i think if cambodia use the khmer law, etc, we don't have to worry about vietnam "marching western" or whatever. i think in this day and age it is a different style or different kind of ambition that is all about business. of course, they have to respect khmer law, etiquette, culture, language, custom, etc. otherwise, if they respect the local khmer laws, etc, khmer shouldn't have to worry about vietnam, especially if we all smarten up by now having learned from our dark past! i think even if vietnam didn't partner with cambodia, some other country would have done the same. the important thing is to be educated, be informed and be opened so cambodia and all khmer people will benefit from it all. god bless cambodia.
No wonder the Thai wants some pieces of PIE too!!!!
the important too is for everyone to be patient and using all the senses first, before blinded jumping to the wrong conclusion without seeing the result first. it is only the beginning and it is still a small fleet of airlines. i don't see any other country partner with cambodia in this, so, what is all the complaints about here? it's called competition in business, you have to hurry up and join, don't wait until you get older and may die form sickness or too old to think clearly. do it now while you all young and vibrant, etc... god bless cambodia.
Hey who want to fly on the Viet Air line? If ah kwack family would not want it may lightning strike them on the ground!
How many time Viet airplane had crash??????
I am sorry for the negative comment i made. I just want to stir up a debatable atmosphere.
PPU
if i'm in cambodia....i would rather travel by road than this new air line.....
This business shouldn't name as national Air line, what so ever!.
What we are debating here is just hindsight. The deal is on it way. However, I am personally very skeptic about the success of this new company. Risks of government owned enterprise include, but not limit to, bureaucratic, corruption, and competition discouragement. I once flied RAC in 2000. It was cheap both in price and service. Now, RAC is history. I wish this new company would not end up the same way as RAC did.
អាកាសចរជាតិពីមុនក៏ធ្លាប់មានភាគហ៊ុនជា១ម៉ាឡេស៊ីដែរ។នេះគឺជាការវិនិយោគ។ប៉ុន្តែអ្វីដែលជាការសំខាន់នោះគឺតើយើងគ្រប់គ្រងបានមិនឲមានការខាតបង់(មានអំពើពុករលួយនិងការកិបកេងពីគូរភាគហ៊ុនដែលនៅមានឥទ្ឋិពលគូសវាសផ្លូវឲយើងដើរនៅឡើយ)ដូចអាកាសចរជាតិពីមុនដែរឬទេ?នឹងមួយទៀតគឺថាតើមានគេនិយមចូលចិត្តជិះដែរឬទេនៅពេលដែលគេកំពុងតែមិនចូលចិត្តនោះ?
How's about Angkor Wat ????
Ah Sok KOng, ex-GViet Cong general who did lead Viet invading troops into Cambodia in 1979, controlled and pocketed all money from tourist visiting Angkor.
And Khmers, the owners of Cambodia, lived under a DOLLAR a day, and will be Viet slaves on their ancestors' lands.
Shame! Shame ! Shame ! ah Hun Kh'vang Ma Khack, Viet puppet khmer Prime Minister!!!
Just because you can't do shit for Cambodia there is no need to get pissed about other, even Vietnamese foreigners, that can lol. I just laugh when my fellow Khmer people that are so fucking stupid and idiotic to get so angry with anything Vietnamese do with Khmer. Grow the fuck up man. If you're like 30 and 40 and up, that is understandable because you were raised up to believe in this racism and shit but if you're in your 20's and feel unconditioned animosity toward the Viets, I just can't imagine what goes on in your house lol. The Thai, I dislike because many of them are just plain fucking rude. I went to both countries and Thai look down on Khmer for real. I've seen it. Vietnamese they are just themselves, ripping your off and shit no matter what your race is lol but they don't look down on you like a piece of shit like the Thai do. Some Thai don't even sell to you in Bangkok if you tell them your Khmer. They scold us with "oh do you have money to pay for that?" This one guy was pissed off at this Thai fucker's remark and tipped everyone at this restaurant like 100 dollars each except that idiot.
T0 1:37AM and all whose ideas are similar to 1:37AM,
We do not blame the government for accepting partnership with VN to come and invest in this field. However the wiser people will care about some of the following points.
How can we call it the national airline while staffs and board of director are:
Chairman & CEO:
Mr. Trinh Ngoc Thanh
Chief Quality & Safety Officer:
Mr. Le Xuan Duong
Chief Operation Officer:
Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc
Chief Commercial & Service Officer:
Mr. Truong Thanh Vu
Chief Technical Officer:
Mr. Mai Dinh Toan
Chief Financial Officer:
Mr. Vu Dinh Thuy
It seems Khmers can not do anythings?
4.00 PM is good on the details.
Thanks.
It is a continued insanity of the HS 's team, horribly HUN SEN and his dorn lorng (in-law) SOK AN. Sok An entered the Khmer National Air operation without polling the Khmer public, while H S even thanked VN for business cooperation. Youns want to be any part of Khmer societal levels so that they can spy on and pressurize Khmer people to colonize Khmer land like Laos next to us. VN has exploited Khmer for centuries , but these two puppets are ignorant of this fact. This airway agreement is like an agreement between a deer and a fox to go eating in forests together. And it is clear what will happen to the deer: It lies bleeding and being devoured. Thus the air deal with VN will judge the team of two in-law people heroes of Hell in Khmer history. KhmerSake.
i think khmer should have too much fear about vietnam annexing or colonizing cambodia in this day and day; it is different from the during the dark ages. nowadays, everyone and every businesses from all over the world is doing business or investing in cambodia. the important thing is that everybody must respect our khmer laws and law of cambodia in general because if they can't respect our khmer laws, they can be deported from the country. so don't worry. as long as they obey our laws, our culture, local etiquette, local custom, etc... they are ok. our law mus spell out that they hire local khmer people and use khmer language and english as business language like they do in the rest of the world. we can empower our khmer people and cambodia by educating ourselves everyday. remember the old saying that only ignorance is the root of all evil; it is so true when we come to think about it, really! there's no fear by fear itself. we all have to be smarter now! sometime we can beat them by using their own game, you know. it's called being smart and clever! wake up, please! god bless cambodia.
How about Viet associations, over 50, in Cambodia???
And did Viet leaders allow Khmer Krom to have association too???
Damned idea and blind like Hun Kh'vang Ma Khak.
well, we can demand same rights for khmer krom in vietnam too. because it's got to be bilateral benefit to both country. cambodia and khmer people do not want to see one way only, the vietnam has to be fair to khmer krom indigenous people living in the former khmer lands there too. otherwise, don't expect cambodia and khmer people to treat vietnamese living in cambodia differently. what goes around comes around too, you know! we must demand vietnam to treat khmer krom fairly as well. no one way only!
Remember that in the 60's Air France was the main shareholder of Royal Air Cambodge. Anyway, the monkey khmers don't know how to make business so let the vietnameses thais take over cambodia please. If only the fucking frenchs did not come in 1890 to establish protectorate in cambodia, we would have been long time divided/shared between the kdoa thais and kduoy yaun. History is taking revenge of what was supposed to be and did not happen. We khmers monkeys do not deserve to manage our country. Just look around how khmer people they behave: throwing rubbishes along the public areas, scratching bowls or asses in public, splitting or making noisy sounds (as vomitting) or going around half naked, we don't deserve to exist anymore, so i welcome vietnameses an thais to take over our country cause finally we are too stupid to manage it.
Hi 3.23 AM. You sound descriptive and theoretical. But look around! Viet as Fox is almost everywhere in Khmer land and even at your door. You are right on one point: Business is global, but there many many good partners globally. Why do you let historically untrustworthy partner like VN do with Khmer strategic industry? These Viet people will dominate the air operation and employ its nationals most. If you poll Khmer for their agreement to the air deal, they will oppose it. KhmerOpen
4:00pm, it sounds so scary. Do you have a document proving your claim? I'm eager to learn. Thanks in advance.
Khmer Commoner
Great job!
PPU
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