Cambodia To Face More Challenges In Next Decade [-It may help if there's a new govt other than the stale CPP's]

SIEM REAP, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Cambodia will face more challenges in the upcoming decade and feel much harder to revitalize its economic glory of the past 10 years, said the Economic Conferences in a press release here on Monday.

"The next 10 years will be more challenging for Cambodia than the past decade, and economic growth is unlikely to be as strong," Xinhua news agency quoted the release, as saying.

The press release was issued prior to the opening of the one-day Business Roundtable hosted by the group to discuss ways for the kingdom to secure economic development.

"The outlook for 2009 and beyond looks far less promising. With the world in the midst of a deepening recession, Cambodia's economy will not escape unscathed," said Charles Goddard, editorial director of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which, like the Economic Conferences, belongs to the Economist Group, publisher of The Economist magazine.

The Economist Intelligence Unit is now forecasting that the gross domestic products (GDP) growth of Cambodia will slow from 5 percent in 2008 to around 1 percent in 2009, as its pillar industries such as garment, construction and real estate, as well as tourism will be hit by the global downturn, said the release.

"Trying to navigate this less favorable environment will throw up serious challenges for the government in the short term, not least how it should adjust fiscal policy to keep the economy growing," said Justin Wood, Southeast Asia expert at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"The medium- and long-term challenges are just as great. Having relied heavily on 4 sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, garment, construction and tourism, to drive recent growth, the government needs to help the economy diversify," he said.

"Equally, the financial system needs to be strengthened, investment into areas like infrastructure needs to be raised, the monetary and macro-economic framework needs to be upgraded, and the management of the country's resources needs to be improved, especially its human capital through education," he added.

"With the right policies, the country does present exciting opportunities for foreign investors," the press release concluded.

Cambodia has just enjoyed a decade of blistering growth, more than doubling its per capita GDP between 1998 and 2007, thanks to political stability, deepening integration into the global trade and investment community and improved macro-economic management, according to the Economist Conferences.

Experts: Investors still highly interested in Cambodia [... as long as there is still a buck to be made]

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Investors still remain highly interested in putting their money into Cambodia, despite of the global economic downturn, the Economic Conferences here on Monday quoted financial experts as saying.

"Although the global crisis has undoubtedly had an impact on direct foreign investment, this is expected to be only temporary, as regional investors are still showing strong interest and the entry cost and risk is comparatively less than for other developing markets," said Im Channy, president and CEO of the ACLEDA Bank, a leading sponsor of the one-day Business Roundtable, which was opened here on Monday by the Economists Conferences to discuss ways for the kingdom to secure sustainable economic development.

"The National Bank (of Cambodia) took robust measures in 2008 to squeeze credit when inflation was running high, but have been equally quick to relax them this year when the economy started to slow down," he added.

Brett Sciaroni, senior partner of the Sciaroni and Associates, another leading sponsor of the Business Roundtable, also said that "there is still considerable interest in investment in Cambodia, despite the economic troubles that are evident in more advanced economies."

"Businesses operating in Cambodia rate political stability and an openness of the Royal Government to engage in dialogue with the private sector as key features of the current investment environment that have attracted the attention of many potential investors," the Economic Conferences quoted him as saying in a press release issued prior to the meeting.

"Furthermore, while much legal reform is needed, investors are impressed with the commitment of the government to getting modern commercial laws in place as evidenced by the progress that has been made both before and after Cambodia's accession to WTO," he added.

With the same press release, the Economist Conferences warned that "the next 10 years will be more challenging for Cambodia than the past decade, and economic growth is unlikely to be as strong."

Cambodia has just enjoyed a decade of blistering growth, more than doubling its per capita GDP between 1998 and 2007, thanks to political stability, deepening integration into the global trade and investment community and improved macro-economic management, according to the Economist Conferences.