$100 million of gov't subsidies for gasoline in a country with the highest price in the region? Something is really amiss

Hun Sen: Gov’t “quietly” spends more than $100 million each year to hold down the price of gasoline

Friday, December 14, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Thursday, Prime minister Hun Sen declared that his government quietly provided funding of more than $100 million to hold down the price of gasoline.

During a speech given at the inauguration of a groundbreaking for a construction site to build measures to prevent flooding in Phnom Penh city, Hun Sen said that, each year, his government quietly provided a funding of $100 million to hold down the price of gasoline, and another $26 million to pay for the loss in the production of electricity each year.

Regarding the price increase of gasoline, Hun Sen said that it is not like the government should not (allow the price increase), but he said that (it has to be so) because Cambodia does not have oil wells, and even countries which own oil wells, such as Indonesia, the price of gasoline increases there as well. Hun Sen said that, in quietly funding to hold down the price of electricity, his government rather eat up the losses, that is why, even with the price of oil increasing, the price of electricity doesn’t.

Hun Sen also criticized some political parties which promised in 2003, that, should they win the election, they will lower the price of gasoline to 1,800 riels only (~$0.45) per liter, and some even went on to promise to lower the price of gasoline to 1,500 riels (~$0.38) per liter, he said that these were empty promises.

Hun Sen brought forth a number of reasons which pushed up the price of gasoline. He said that even Japan and the US which are superpowers, could not force OPEC from raising oil price, therefore, the (Cambodian) political parties have no power to dare claim that they can lower the price of gasoline to this or that much.

Recently, Hun Sen declared that foreign companies, which came to invest in oil exploration in Cambodian seas, will pump oil in 2010 from the wells they discovered. At that time, (with the potential oil revenue,) the government will have more possibilities to develop other fields.