Capital protest

Nearly 100 vendors from Boeng Trabek Plaza, in the capital’s Chamkarmon district, protested on Monday to demand that the company running the plaza reduce their rent by 80 per cent because they were attracting too few customers.

“No customers shop and buy, so how can we sell goods?” vendor Yi Sokha said. “The company should reduce the price of renting stalls. We want to pay only 20 per cent [of the current price].”

Yi  Sokha said she paid US$1,000 a month in rent, but some vendors withlarger stalls paid even more.

Another vendor, Srey Noch, said the company had been unsuccessful in attempts to attract customers.

“I spend so much money every month buying goods to sell and pay [rent to] the company, but some days I cannot earn anything,” he said.

As vendors protested, representatives of the company arrived but two hours of negotiations yielded no agreement.

“The company will offer a 50 per cent discount on rent until the end of the year,” Boeng Trabak Plaza deputy manager Keo Khemarak.

“Our market has just been open nearly six months. The company is trying to seek any promotion that will attract customers.”