THE Ministry of Planning has released preliminary results from its 2009 listing of businesses in Cambodia, hoping the results will facilitate an economic census planned for 2011.

According to the report, released Tuesday by the ministry's Institute of Statistics and conducted in February and March with support from the Japanese government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Cambodia has 375,095 businesses, excluding agriculture, forestry, fisheries and mobile retail.

The report said that Phnom Penh leads with 55,802 businesses - 14 percent of the total - with Kampong Cham second with 43,787 (11.7 percent). Kep province has the fewest registered businesses: 789, just 0.2 percent of the country's total.

Minister of Planning Chhay Than said the data was of great importance. "The economic census will be useful for the government in its forecasts of future economic growth." he told an audience of government officials and development partners at the launch of the new report at the ministry.