Regional media agency Phibious Indochina and local firm Active Communications announced their merger and joint launching of a new business model focusing on digital operations, a statement said on Tuesday.

The merged company is to be called Phibious Group and employs nearly 50 people.

Phibious Indochina founder and CEO Mervyn Cheo said Cambodians are tech-savvy, and the company wants to take advantage of this by joining with a strong local agency like Active Communication to develop new services for clients.

He said his intention is to keep up with Cambodian consumers who are more mobile, connected, and digitally-reliant than ever before.

“This transition is another step in recognising what has changed in today’s digital era. We need to focus on new capabilities to develop digital services for brands and connect better with today’s consumers, particularly with digital content, new media, mobile financial services and e-commerce applications.”

The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications said more than 10.7 million mobile phones were connected to the internet last year – a 33 per cent increase from the year before.