Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - CAMFEBA launches an ASEAN guidebook

CAMFEBA launches an ASEAN guidebook

CAMFEBA launches an ASEAN guidebook

The Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) yesterday launched an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) guidebook aimed at providing employers with practical recommendations to help businesses better understand the dynamic regional changes of integration.

The guidebook was produced through a partnership between the International Labour Organization and CAMFEBA with technical cooperation from the Cambodia Development Research Institute – a local independent think tank.

The book sums up key challenges that Cambodian employers face, such as lack of awareness and preparedness for a more inclusive economic region. It also recommends that companies should become more formalised – especially small to medium sized enterprises (SME) – and to be prepared for the possibility of mergers and acquisitions.

“This book will help Cambodian businesses understand the context and timelines of AEC as well as present them with ever-changing regional economic and commercial opportunities to assist them in the AEC,” said Matthew Rendall, deputy secretary general of CAMFEBA.

International Labour Organization representative Eunmee Lee, explained that in the long-term the AEC provides a platform to improve mobility within the regional market.

As products, services, labour and investment flow with increased ease, the AEC’s effects will change all levels of doing business, she said.

“It makes a lot of sense then for businesses to be more aware of what exactly the changes are and how to gain a profit,” she said.

Reach Ra, under secretary for the Ministry of Commerce, said the guidebook would benefit regional integration in the future.

“This guidebook will play an important role in Cambodia’s integration with responsive strategies towards the AEC,” he said.

While the AEC only came into effect at the end of last year, he said it had produced some tangible results such as reducing tariffs on most goods throughout the region to nearly zero, allowing for the free flow of goods.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument

  • Cambodian diaspora laud Manet’s UN Assembly visit

    Members of the Cambodian diaspora are rallying in support of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s forthcoming visit to the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) in the US’ New York City this week. Their move is an apparent response to a recent call by self-exiled former