Hong Kong investors are keen to explore investment opportunities in Cambodia and have pledged to introduce business potentials created by Cambodia’s new investment law and its sub-decrees to their colleagues back home.

The investors are also planning to arrange a business trip for prospective Hong Kong investors to Cambodia soon, said Parsom Lam, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Bangkok on September 25.

Lam met with Nuth Un Voanra, deputy secretary-general of the Cambodian Investment Committee at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) at the latter’s office together with HKETO members in Cambodia.

While expressing his appreciation to the Cambodian government for “always paying attention” to the well-being of investors who invest in Cambodia, especially Hong Kong investors, Lam vowed to further cooperate with the Cambodian Investment Board (CIB). This would involve activities such as investment dissemination and promotion seminars, business forums, investment and trade fairs and a Hong Kong delegation visit to Cambodia and vice versa.

Meanwhile, Un Voanra urged them to learn more about the investment climate, potential and investment opportunities in Cambodia and seek cooperation points with the CDC. He explained that Cambodia’s new investment law is a new legal instrument that is open, transparent and predictable, and offers a smart incentive regime that is favourable for investment.

“The government would mainly focus on improving the business environment and investment in Cambodia, especially with Prime Minister Hun Manet at the helm of the 19th Royal Government-Private Sector Forum, a summit

dialogue forum between the government and private sector in November 2023 where he would listen in person and address the challenges that investors are facing,” he said.

Un Voanra said the Cambodian government has identified 18 investment sectors and activities, including high-tech industries, industries or new manufacturing, providing high value-added, automotive and electronics industries, special economic zone development, green energy and logistics to attract value-added investment and quality to develop Cambodia’s socio-economy.

Data from the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia showed that in 2022, exports and imports between Cambodia and Hong Kong totalled $946.3 million, down 1.3 per cent from 2021. Cambodian exports to Hong Kong dropped 22.2 percent to $182 million, whereas imports from Hong Kong amounted to $764.3 million, an increase of 5.5 per cent.

For the first eight months of 2023, bilateral trade between them totalled $270.2 million, down 65.2 per cent from $776.6 million in the same period in 2022. Of that, Cambodia exported $105.7 million of good, down 15.6 per cent, and imported $164.5 million worth of goods to Cambodia, down 74.8 per cent.