Hun Sen to allow firms to import oil over borders

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that he will allow private companies to import gasoline from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in order to cut down its prices and contain smuggling, local media said on Monday.

The high price of gasoline because of gas smuggling by paying the sum to currupted border authorities. The price of gasoline had been staying high for several months and causing economic harship. The government had lost million dollars in tax.

Hun Sen declared his decision during a meeting at the Council of Ministers here on Friday, after Ministry of Finance and Economy failed to convince the five main gas traders operating in the country to lower their prices, the Cambodian Daily quoted government spokesman and Information Minister Kiheu Kanharith as saying.

"Hun Sen is allowing any company to import lower-priced gasoline to Cambodia. We can not wait for the companies (to lower their prices), or it will be too late," he said.
The five companies are Caltex Cambodian Ltd, Total Cambodge, Sokimex, Kampuchea Tela Co. Ltd, and PTT (Cambodia) Ltd.

They told the paper that the introduction of new traders to import gasoline will not affect the current gasoline price, but it may help combat smuggling. The question is why is not going to affect gas prices? are some of the above gas companies belong to high ranking government officials, may be? or they have to pay some bribe to high ranking officials.

About 30 percent of gasoline price is paid to the government as tax, they added.
The opposition Sam Rainsy Party has been pressing the government in recent months to make efforts to decrease gasoline price in order to benefit the mass.

Cambodia's gas prices are among the highest in the region, almost one U.S. dollar per liter. There is something wrong in somewhere that force the gas price have to be high in order to survive their business. Or may be the Law disorder in Cambodia is good for the looting.