AFP
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S foreign currency reserves have topped the US$2.5 billion (S$3.5 billion) mark despite forecasts that the country's economy will contract this year, the premier said on Thursday.
Hun Sen revealed in a speech that the country has increased its international reserves by 21.48 per cent since the end of last year, when they stood at just over $2 billion.
'Despite receiving the impact of the global economic and financial crisis, we can ensure international reserves will continue increasing remarkably,' he said.
'As of the end of August 2009, calculated international reserves had reached $2,522 million,' he added, in the speech marking 30 years since Cambodia rebuilt its national bank that was destroyed under the Khmer Rouge.
After several years of double-digit growth fuelled mainly by tourism and garment exports, Cambodia was buffeted by 2008's global economic downturn.
Last month the International Monetary Fund predicted Cambodia's economy will contract 2.75 per cent this year amid the slowdown, but praised the national bank for its supervision of commercial banks hit by non-performing loans.
Hun Sen revealed in a speech that the country has increased its international reserves by 21.48 per cent since the end of last year, when they stood at just over $2 billion.
'Despite receiving the impact of the global economic and financial crisis, we can ensure international reserves will continue increasing remarkably,' he said.
'As of the end of August 2009, calculated international reserves had reached $2,522 million,' he added, in the speech marking 30 years since Cambodia rebuilt its national bank that was destroyed under the Khmer Rouge.
After several years of double-digit growth fuelled mainly by tourism and garment exports, Cambodia was buffeted by 2008's global economic downturn.
Last month the International Monetary Fund predicted Cambodia's economy will contract 2.75 per cent this year amid the slowdown, but praised the national bank for its supervision of commercial banks hit by non-performing loans.
6 comments:
If those CPP crooks or corrupt officers don't put money in their own pocket we could have done better than this.
We need checks and balances. That's how they keep track of the income.
Mr. Hun Sen has either failed to speak the truth or tended to hide the facts behind the number when he only mentioned CAMBODIA'S foreign currency reserves have increased. In fact, this increased figure may have resulted from a growing aids from countries like China that children of our children will have to pay back with interest in the future. If this is the case, this figure should not be viewed as healthy unless used in a productive, corruption-free way. However, it would be a good economic indicator if Mr. Hun Sen could show to the public that this increase has actually come in the form of FDI.
Khmer Student
Mr PM,
What's the point of having more reserved in bank vault while your people are starving and relying on begging business to survive?
all the three monkeys above, where is your proof, you shit eaters? lol I can pull facts out of my ass too, you monkey dicks.
reserves this , reserves that,
but more and more poor and poorer khmer.
One way to increase revenue during an economic crisis is to tax your population.
The government did this by criminalising thousands of Cambodians in the form of prohibitively expensive motorbike registration and licence plate fees. My wife spent $180 for the papers, plate and bribes for a 2001 Honda Wave which we bought second-hand from a known shop in SR six years ago. Took her three whole days of sitting at the police office stretched out over a week. The police office is quite a long way out of town so if you'd had your bike confiscated you had to pay a motorbike just to go speak to the police. And we still haven't received the plate because there's a backlog.
A friend who had a fino confiscated told us the police wanted $600 for it's return!!! How can this be just? Another friend in KS bought an old bike for $70. Police confiscated it and wanted $200 for it's return. My friend asked to see the bike and then poured petrol on it and set it on fire rather than give the police a free bike.
Can anyone explain what the papers are for? Are the police going to put the details into the national database so that if my bike is stolen they'll be able to get it back to me?? No, there isn't a national database and most police have no idea how to use a computer, so why the tax etc??
At a time of increased unemployment and drops in tourist numbers, does not the government show an extreme lack of empathy and compassion for the situation of many Cambodians by bringing in such regulations now? Did they actually do any assessment of the ability of the average Cambodian to pay such fees for old bikes?
The other day in SR, I saw an old man of over sixty with an ancient motobike with no plate that he couldn't have sold for more than $50. Around him were 5 policemen and about 10 burly military police. They were obviously going to confiscate the bike and this old man was complaining about the unjustness of the situation.
Is this really a good use of police resources when real crimes by real criminals are being committed? (by the way, five days of flooding in SR. I didn't see one policeman or soldier - now the water's gone they're back again stopping people for living.)
So, I'm not surprised that the government has increased revenue at a time of financial crisis. However, the government in many ways has simply saved itself at the expense of it's citizens. Many of whom are now suffering their own personal financial crisis because they have had to spend their emergency savings that would have paid for health care, food or education at times of crisis but instead have had to pay out hundreds of dollars for bikes they already own.
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