Former residents of Group 78 commemorate the 3rd anniversary of the violent evictions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6BaR9kmCno

New media outlet for CPP propaganda ... courtesy of Hun Xen's crony Kith Meng

Kith Meng, chairman of the Cambodian News Channel and Royal Group, speaks during the launch of the new TV station yesterday. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia launches first 24-hour news station

Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

We created this channel to help [the government]

The Cambodian Broadcasting Service launched the Kingdom’s first 24-hour news channel, Cambodian News Channel, to great fanfare last night at its new studios.

During the launch, Kith Meng, chairman of both Royal Group and the new channel, said this news channel would further the development of Cambodia.

“We created this channel to help [the government] broadcast the progress and [the nation’s] development. We serve people who like news,” he said, adding that the initial US$15 million put into the station had beaten his estimate by some $9 million.

មន្ត្រី​មហាផ្ទៃ​កម្ពុជា​ថា​មិនទាន់​មាន​ភស្តុតាង​បញ្ជាក់​ថា​ហ៊ុន តូ​រត់​គ្រឿង​ញៀន (sic!)

ថ្ងៃច័ន្ទ, 09 ខែមេសា 2012
ដោយ ហេង រស្មី វីអូអេ ខ្មែរ | ភ្នំពេញ

«ខ្ញុំ​គិត​ថា ​មក​ដល់​ពេល​នេះ ​យើង​ពុំទាន់​មាន​ឯកសារ​ណា​ជា​មូលដ្ឋាន​ ដើម្បី​ធ្វើ​ការ​ស្រាវជ្រាវ​នោះ​ទេ។​ នេះ​គ្រាន់​តែ​ជា​ព័ត៌មាន​កាសែត​មួយ​តែ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ»។ (sic!)

មន្ត្រី​ជាន់ខ្ពស់​នៃ​ក្រសួង​មហាផ្ទៃ​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ចន្ទ​នេះ ​បាន​អះអាង​ថា ក្រសួង​មហាផ្ទៃ​កម្ពុជា​នៅ​មិន​ទាន់​បាន​រកឃើញ​ភស្តុងតាង​ណាមួយ​ដែល​បាន​បញ្ជាក់​ថា ​លោក​ឧកញ៉ា ​ហ៊ុន ​តូ ​និង​លោក​ឧកញ៉ា ​គិត ​ម៉េង ​ជាប់​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​សកម្មភាព​រត់ពន្ធ​ថ្នាំញៀន ​និង​លាងលុយ​កខ្វក់​នៅ​ប្រទេស​អូស្ត្រាលី ​ដែល​មានតម្លៃ​មួយ​ពាន់​លាន​ដុល្លារ​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក​នោះ​ទេ។

កាល​ពី​ចុង​ខែ​មិនា កាសែត​ក្នុង​ស្រុក​មួយ​ចំនួន​របស់​អូស្ត្រាលី​បាន​រាយការណ៍​នៅ​ក្នុង​អត្ថបទ​របស់​ខ្លួន​ដែល​មាន​ខ្លឹមសារ​ថា អាជ្ញាធរ​អូស្រ្តាលី​មាន​គម្រោង​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​លោក​ឧកញ៉ា ​ហ៊ុន តូ។ ​ក៏ប៉ុន្តែ​ត្រូវ​បាន​អាកខាន​ទៅវិញ ​ដោយសារ​តែ​ស្ថានទូត​អូស្រ្តាលី​ប្រចាំ​ទីក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ​មិន​បាន​ផ្តល់​ទិដ្ឋាកា​ដល់​លោក ​ហ៊ុន ​តូ ដោយ​ខ្លាច​ប៉ះពាល់​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​ការទូត​រវាង​កម្ពុជា​ និង​អូស្រ្តាលី។

ការ​ប៉ុនប៉ង​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​ឧកញ៉ា ​ហ៊ុន​ តូ ដោយសារ​តែ​អាជ្ញាធរ​សង្ស័យ​ថា លោក​ជាប់​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​សកម្មភាព​រត់ពន្ធ​ថ្នាំញៀន ​និង​លាងលុយ​កង្វក់​ទៅ​កាន់​អូស្ត្រាលី។​ កាសែត​នោះ​ក៏​បាន​បញ្ជាក់​ថា​ក្នុង​ពេល​នោះ​លោក​គិត ម៉េង ក៏​មាន​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​រកស៊ី​ជាមួយ​លោក ហ៊ុន តូ​ដែរ​ប៉ុន្តែ​មិន​បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា​លោក​គិត​ ម៉េង ​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​ក្នុង​សកម្ម​ភាព​ឧក្រិដ្ឋ​នោះ​ទេ។

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Inquiry links Cambodian leader's nephew to drug trafficking, money laundering

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ... Australian police suspect his nephew of being involved in a crime syndicate targeting Australia. Photo: Bloomberg

Cambodian tycoons, Prime Minister Hun Sen's nephew Hun To, right, Cambodian Chamber of Commerce President Kith Meng, center, and Cambodian Sen. Ly Yong Phat, left, take part in ceremonies held ahead of the May 8 World Red Cross Day and Red Crescent Day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

March 26, 2012
Nick Mckenzie and Richard Baker
The Sydney Morning Herald

AUSTRALIAN police suspect the nephew of Cambodia's Prime Minister is involved in a heroin trafficking and money laundering syndicate targeting Australia.

But a plan to arrest and question Hun To in Melbourne was thwarted because his application for a visa was denied by the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh, with one official citing the need to avoid a diplomatic incident. The targeting of Mr Hun To by an Australian Crime Commission inquiry that ran between 2002 and 2004 is one of several incidents that suggest strong and continuing links between Australian crime figures and Cambodia.

The Herald can also reveal that Sydney crime figures have been investing millions of dollars in suspected drug funds in big businesses in Cambodia, including those tied to influential government and business identities.

The revelations came after the Herald on Saturday reported that Australian officials had uncovered a global crime syndicate importing more than $1 billion worth of drugs into Australia annually and with connections to government and policing officials in Asia.

The inquiry that targeted Mr Hun To was called Operation Illipango and investigated the shipment of heroin to Australia from Cambodia in loads of timber.

As the nephew of the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, Mr Hun To is a powerful and feared figure in Cambodia and was once considered a close business associate of the country's richest man, Kith Meng, who owns the Royal Group.

Police had sights on Cambodia drug trade

Cambodian tycoons, Prime Minister Hun Sen's nephew Hun To, right, Cambodian Chamber of Commerce President Kith Meng, center, and Cambodian Sen. Ly Yong Phat, left, take part in ceremonies held ahead of the May 8 World Red Cross Day and Red Crescent Day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

March 26, 2012
Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker
The Canberra Times

Australian police suspect a nephew of Cambodia's Prime Minister of involvement in a heroin trafficking and money laundering syndicate targeting Australia.

But a plan to arrest and question Hun To in Melbourne was thwarted because his application for a visa was denied by Australian embassy officials in Phnom Penh, with one official citing the need to avoid a diplomatic incident.

The targeting of Hun To by an Australian Crime Commission inquiry between 2002 and 2004 is one of several incidents that suggest strong and continuing links between local crime figures and Cambodia.

Fairfax can also reveal that Sydney crime figures have been investing millions of dollars of suspected drug proceeds in businesses in Cambodia, including some tied to influential government and business identities.

Rare win for villagers in battle with tycoon [-The election season is really here ... but wait to see what happen after the election]

Hun Xen's crony: Kith Meng

Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

In a rare siding with villagers, government officials earlier this week rejected a proposal by tycoon Kith Meng to develop the area surrounding Boeung Prek Tub lake in Preah Sihanouk town and instead vowed to issue proper land titles to residents.

Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction spokesman Benghong Socheat Kemro told the Post yesterday that Kith Meng’s proposal to develop the 82-hectare Boeung Prek Tub lake area in commune three had been rejected at an inter-ministerial meeting the day before.

“There is no approval from the state,” he said.

“The people will stay in the same place without any eviction. The state does not intend to put eviction on them.”

[Australian Company] Toll to quit Cambodia rail plans

March 14, 2012
Lindsay Murdoch
WA Today (Australia)

AUSTRALIAN company Toll Group is set to pull out of a controversial $145 million project to rebuild Cambodia's railways, reliable sources in Cambodia say.

Under an agreement signed in 2009, Toll and a Cambodian joint venture partner were to operate the railways for 30 years.

The project, partly funded by the Australian aid agency AusAid, has been at the centre of claims that up to 4000 people living along the tracks are not being fully compensated for having to move. A Toll spokesman declined to comment.

Hell to the chief ... from CTN management and staff

Hun Xen's answer to SRP MP Son Chhay's questions regarding the Kith Meng-Viet Hydro dam

Dear KI-Media Readers,

Please find below:

1. A copy of questions sent by SRP MP Son Chhay to Hun Sen on the join venture of Hydro Dam between Okhna Kith Meng with a Vietnamese company.
2. A six-page response letter from Hun Sen on this issue.

Why we think you should read Hun Sen's response? Because it provide you with the details of the project and its impacts. Furthermore, it also shows how Hun Sen's regime treats the opposition when it comes to critical questions affecting national issues.

Thank you,

KI-Media team

Letter from SRP MP Son Chhay to Hun Xen

http://www.box.net/shared/ejioh7g6tl99rppeokyg

Letter from Hun Xen to SRP MP Son Chhay

http://www.box.net/shared/07yu6g64d1smoc295s78

Coastal road block for Kith Meng [... More evictions to come from Mr. Rough Stuff?]

Kith Meng attends an event in Phnom Penh in January this year. (Photo by: Pha Lina)

Friday, 12 August 2011
Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post

We protested by blocking the road because we don’t want to leave our land ... because we have lived here since 1979

More than 100 villagers living near Sihanoukville blocked a national road leading to the coastal town yesterday to protest against tycoon Kith Meng’s proposed lakeside ecotourism

development, which they fear will rob them of land they have farmed for decades.

In a letter sent to the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy in March, obtained by The Post yesterday, Kith Meng, president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, requested a 99-year, 82-hectare concession for an ecotourism development on land around the Boeung Prek Tup lake.

“I want to tell you, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, that the Boeung Prek Tup area is the biggest freshwater lake in the province and [the lakeside] covers about 82 hectares,” the letter stated. Kith Meng, who is also chairman and chief executive officer of the Royal Group, said in the letter that the Boeung Prek Tup lakeside had not been protected and that his company had the skills and budget to invest in the area.

Monkey see, monkey do in the Banana Kingdoom: The boss gets congratulations ... so does the crony

The power and the glory [... in the Kingdom of Nothing Left to Wonder]

Motorcycle taxi drivers wait for customers across a casino on Koh Kong. The development of the island has contributed significantly to the economy, but not without cost.

New cables show how Cambodia is caught in a tough balancing act between economic growth and fledgling efforts to curb corruption

1/08/2011

James O'Toole

Bangkok Post

"The tycoons help to finance the CPP, contribute greatly to economic growth, and undertake important charitable work," the cable says. "However, Hun Sen's very reliance on his tycoon network may hinder progress in battling corruption, illegal logging, and other sensitive issues that he claims are priorities."

PHNOM PENH : "Mr Rough Stuff." "The Gatekeeper." "Gambling Kingpin." "Hun Sen's Money Man."

These are just a few of the nicknames bestowed on some of the most prominent members of the Cambodian business community by American diplomats writing in a cable made public over the last few weeks by the anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks. The authors of the communique raise concerns about this collection of oligarchs, their close relations with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the implications of such links for Cambodia's avowed war on corruption.

Ranked 154th out of 178 on Transparency International's global Corruption Perceptions Index, Cambodia has long been dogged by graft in both the private and public sectors. Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) have publicly acknowledged the issue, and last year the country passed its long-awaited anti-corruption law, legislation years in the making that had long been urged by donor countries.

A few high-profile busts have been made since the law came into effect, but few doubt the systemic nature of Cambodia's corruption challenge. Complicating the fight are the country's well-connected tycoons, whose close ties with the government "reinforce the culture of impunity and limit progress on reforms such as Hun Sen's self-declared 'war on corruption", the US cable says.

Wikileaks: Kith Meng or Mr. Rough Stuff, a young and ruthless gangster [-Kith Meng: The Mekong Gangster?]

The Mekong Gangster?

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/08/07PHNOMPENH1034.html

Kith Meng: "Mr. Rough Stuff"
----------------------------
¶2. (SBU) A dual Cambodian-Australian citizen with a BA from
Australian National University, Kith Meng was born on
September 1, 1968. He is described as a relatively young and
ruthless gangster by Mekong Bank Chairman Michael Stephen
(PROTECT). Another well-connected business man in the
Cambodian community claims that Kith Meng is notorious for
using his bodyguards to coerce others into brokering deals.
As the chairman and CEO of Royal Group of Companies (RGC),
his resume runs the gamut of many different businesses. He
is concurrently the chairman of mobile phone company Cam GSM
Co., Cambodia Television Network (CTN), Cambo Six European
soccer betting Co., and CamLot Lottery Co. He has also
become an exclusive distributor of Canon products. Kith Meng
owns the Northbridge International School and the Cambodiana
Hotel. One of the most widely recognized achievements of the
Royal Group is its new joint venture with Australian-based
ANZ bank, in which both companies established ANZ Royal Bank
in 2005. The Royal Group owns 45% of the new bank. Kith
Meng also recently launched a new Cambodian insurance
company, Infinity General Insurance, through a joint venture
with Kuala Lumpur-based Infinity Financial Solutions.

¶3. (SBU) Recently, Kith Meng was elected President of the
Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as an advisor

to Prime Minister Hun Sen and serves on the board of the

Cambodian Red Cross, whose President is Hun Sen's wife, Bun

Rany. Politically, Kith Meng has good relations with the

Cambodian People's Party, FUNCINPEC, and the Sam Rainsy

Party. He claims credit for negotiating the three-way deal
among the parties to engineer Sam Rainsy's return to Cambodia
in early 2006. Several sources believe that the CPP has
tried to strengthen its relationship with Kith Meng because

it wants CTN's ability to broadcast to a large number of

Cambodians living abroad. Kith Meng speaks, reads, and
writes both Khmer and English.

U.S. Anxiety Over Rising China Aired in Cambodia WikiLeaks

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, left, waves next to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen after the two countries signed agreements in Phnom Penh in April 2006 (Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP / Getty Images)

Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011
By Douglas Gillison / Phnom Penh
Time Magazine (USA)

For the world's small cadre of Cambodia scholars and journalists, the WikiLeaks disclosures offered rare dish. As they had in other countries, American diplomats had privately recorded downright catty descriptions of public figures, describing the foreign minister as "sclerotic" and labeling the businessman Kith Meng, a ranking member of the Khmer oligarchy, as a "ruthless gangster," while saying Beijing's relations with King Father Norodom Sihanouk, the father Cambodian independence, were "more or less the 'property of China' and will revert to the PRC upon Sihanouk's death," just like the residence China's leaders had built for the former King in Beijing.

Like a roving picaresque novel, the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables have been released since November in chapters, focusing on specific countries and distinct themes. When the anti-secrecy organization turned its focus to Cambodia last week — dumping nearly 800 missives from the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh online in 24 hours — the public was at last treated to a candid record of U.S. efforts to grapple with the rising influence of China here — and by extension in Southeast Asia as a whole.

When the Obama Administration took office in 2008, it was keen not to present itself as China's direct strategic adversary. Instead, officials said they were reviving American diplomacy in Asia while maintaining an aversion to "competition and rivalry" which could thwart cooperation with Beijing thirty years after it normalized relations with the U.S. But if it isn't competition and rivalry on display in the cables disclosed last week, it is something very near to it. Though the picture offered by the WikiLeaks archive is incomplete, with the bulk of material generated since 2006, the dispatches show a growing anxiety among U.S. officials about the inroads that Beijing is making in Cambodia. (Watch a video of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange on China.)

Say NO to CTN and pro-CPP music productions: Khmer Guardian

http://www.box.net/shared/rmt7akrv7eku9n60lz03

Electricity [from Sesan dam] for [Big-brother] Vietnam

People navigate a boat down the Sesan river, past Kbal Romea village, in Stung Treng province’s Sesan district last month. (Photo by: Adam Miller)

Kith Meng's company stealing Khmer resources to sell to Vietnam?

Wednesday, 01 June 2011
Adam Miller and Phak Seangly
The Phnom Penh Post

“This is not about electricity for Cambodia. It is not about reducing the cost of electricity in Cambodia,” Baird said. “They are trying to maximise their profit. It’s not for the benefit of the country – these are private companies.”

An official from the Ministry of Environment admitted yesterday that electricity generated from the controversial Lower Sesan 2 Dam, a project touted as ensuring cheaper energy prices in Cambodia, would be exported to Vietnam.

The admission, made at an NGO-led workshop held with indigenous community representatives in Phnom Penh, came after a United States-based fisheries expert and consultant for conservation group International Rivers estimated that only about 1 percent of the dam’s capacity would be used locally, with the rest being sold to Cambodia’s eastern neighbour.

The proposed US$816 million, 400-megawatt dam is set to begin construction later this year in Stung Treng province by the Cambodia-Vietnam Hydropower Company, a joint venture that is 51-percent owned by the EVNI Joint Stock Company of Vietnam and 49-percent owned by local conglomerate the Royal Group.

Prach Sun, a secretary of state for the Ministry of Environment, initially said yesterday that the potential of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam to fulfill local energy needs outweighed the environmental and social damage it may inflict on indigenous communities.

From a victim of the Khmer Rouge to being a crony of a ruthless Khmer Rouge dictator: Kith Meng

Kith Meng, who as an orphaned child slept with pigs on a farm in Thailand, is now known as a sharp and sometimes ruthless businessman in Cambodia. Source: The Australian

Royal Group's joint venture with ANZ has done well. Source: The Australian

Royal connections

March 21, 2011
Sian Powell
The Australian

BACK then, he was a skinny little kid, looking for his family in a nation devastated by the Khmer Rouge. He had been forcibly separated from his parents in a distant commune years before, later discovering they had starved to death. After the fall of the brutal regime, he and an older brother somehow made it to Phnom Penh. It was 1980. Kith Meng was maybe 11 years old.

Thirty years later, with a decade living, learning and working in Australia under his belt, followed by a meteoric business ascent in Cambodia, Kith Meng is a power to be reckoned with. Chairman and chief executive of the Royal Group, the largest privately owned conglomerate in Cambodia, he has his fingers in many of the nation’s growth industries – fast food, television, telecommunications, insurance, rail and banking. The group recently negotiated a $US591 million loan from a Chinese bank to restructure its debt and buy new technology. On paper he is a multi-millionaire, possibly even a billionaire. And he has the ear of Cambodia’s famously xenophobic and strong-arm prime minister, Hun Sen.

Slight, and beautifully dressed in a white shirt, navy suit and polished black shoes, Kith Meng is courteous and affable. Yet he has been viciously uprooted not once, but many times. From the day he was born in September 1968, his life was shadowed by war. His father, Kith Peng Ike, was a “class enemy”, a well-off businessman, feared, hated and targeted by the Khmer Rouge communists who were fighting to rule Cambodia.

San Miguel Corp to build beer plant in Cambodia

October 25, 2010

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - San Miguel Corporation plans to invest in beverage factory and various projects in Cambodia.

During a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday, Ramon S. Ang, president and chief operating officer of San Miguel Corporation, told the premier that the company plans to invest in beers and whisky factory, energy, gas, chemical and agricultural sections, the Prime Minister's spokesman Eang Sophalleth told reporters after the meeting. The company is also planning to build chicken farm in Cambodia.

Eang Sophalleth said that the San Miguel Corp would invest in a joint-venture with the Royal Group of Companies owned by the local tycoon Kith Meng for these investment projects.

The details of the investment plan are not disclosed on Monday.

San Miguel Corporation is one of the Philippines' most diversified conglomerates, generating close to 3 percent of the country's gross national product through its highly integrated operation in beverages, food, energy, power, mining, telecommunications and infrastructure.

Chinese businessmen visit Cambodia to seek investment opportunities

June 09, 2010
Xinhua

A delegation of Chinese businessmen on Wednesday met with Cambodian business people for investment opportunities and local business partners, aimed at strengthening trade cooperation between the two countries.

The Chinese delegation, consisting of around 80 business people from 50 companies of Guangzhou, the capital city of China's Guangdong province, met with more than 100 Cambodian business people headed by Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), on Wednesday at Naga World Hotel.

Yu Ruheng, vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangzhou Council, said that trade volume between Guangzhou and Cambodia has increased by 1.8 percent to 3.78 million U.S. dollars in 2009 from 3.71 million U. S. dollars in 2008. In the first four months of this year, the two- way trade between Guangzhou and Cambodia rose by a year-on-year 46. 31 percent to 1.35 million U.S. dollars.

"This shows a very good surging point due to the strong relationship between Cambodia and China; However, the trade volume is still small, meaning that we have a lot of room to grow," he said. "I do hope that Guangzhou will be able to expand its trade volume for trade cooperation with many other ASEAN's countries including Cambodia to achieve the great outcome."

Goods Cambodia imported from Guangzhou are machinery, electronics, furniture, light products, medicine while Cambodia's main exports to Guangzhou are agricultural products, fishes, and timbers.

Yu Ruheng also promised to invite Cambodian companies to join all trade fairs in order to take market share in Guagzhou and other markets in China.

Kith Meng during the meeting said that it is the right time that they observed investment opportunities in Cambodia because now Cambodia has gained full peace and stability. And investment environment is favorable for investors, especially, Cambodia has low cost of labor.

"By combining China's experience in developing manufacturing industries, in combination with an increasingly reliable electricity supply and improved physical infrastructure here and relatively low cost labor force, Cambodia is the favorable place for Chinese investors," said Kith Meng.