The Editor,

I read with surprise Christine Chaumeau's article in your issue of July 12-25 concerning

the International Youth Club and myself, and I am very happy because the IYC is becoming

famous, as for the first time a good newspaper talks about it.

So now please allow me to make some rectifications to enable readers to get a clear

picture about me and the IYC.

First of all, my family name is Kong, my first name is Rithy, my middle name is Chup,

and the American style of writing this is Rithy C. Kong. Khmer people call me Kong

Rithy Chup, so there are some corrections to be made in the article.

Secondly, I don't want to talk about the past but only the future. I would like to

gratefully thank Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh and Samdech Hun Sen for giving

strong support to the IYC (they signed four times) and allowing the IYC to invest

$20 million to expand its business.

I think that without this high support the IYC would have already closed its doors

and the Japanese investor would have walked away having lost $7 million. So again,

thanks to the Kingdom's new investment law, IYC can see a bright future and we are

sure that after the completion of our new hotel complex we will be able to provide

the best service for our dear members and customers, and of course this will generate

more employment for local Khmer people.

Thirdly, if I am the advisor of HE Chap Nhalyvoud so I am also the advisor of the

municipality of Phnom Penh and I am proud to be, and proud to serve the people of

our city by using my personal relations with Japanese friends and partners in order

to get some aid from Japan.

Just to mention a few of them, I have secured donations with the help of Honorable

Yoshio Sakurauchi, Honorable Keiji Furuya, Honorable Koji Kakizawa, Honorable Tsutomu

Takakuma, Honorable Shunichi Suzuki and Honorable Yoshio Yamagoshi who kindly sent

two fire fighting vehicles and other equipment to the city.

I have also been appointed Hiroshima's Overseas Partner for the Kingdom of Cambodia

by the mayor of Hiroshima, Honorable Takashi Hiraoka and I have just recently managed

to arrange the donation of two more fire fighting vehicles and other equipment from

Hiroshima City. I will try my best to use all my personal relations with Japan and

other foreign countries to donate fire fighting vehicles and ambulances to each of

Cambodia's provinces.

I also have a plan to help in the field of education for our people, which is one

of the Royal Government's priorities, raising funds from abroad in order to build

schools in every province.

Finally, I just want to say welcome to Cambodia for foreign investors, and please

come and visit, to see and study for yourselves and to participate to the future

boom of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which has the best Investment Law in the world.

If you are not still convinced, then I want to tell you the story of the IYC, which

is the best example of business success in the future, despite all the problems and

especially the slow administrative workings, as we have been waiting for two years

already. Now we have CDC's approval and we are waiting to sign a new contract with

the municipality to start building as soon as possible.

- Kong Rithy Chup, Managing Director, International Youth Club.