'Ethnic Chinese always respected in Cambodia'

PHNOM PENH
14-Jul-07

THE Cambodian government and people always respectthe ethnic Chinese living in the kingdom, as they have contributed a lot to the economic and social development, Kong Triv, one of Cambodia's four ethnic Chinese senators, told China's news agency, Xinhua, recently.

"The ethnic Chinese in Cambodia can stick to the tradition of working hard, remaining faithful and kind-hearted, and seeking harmony with other peoples, and this is the main reason that makes the mainstream society accept them as one part within," said Triv, president of the KT Pacific Group Limited, a top syndicate of the kingdom of timber, steel, cigarette and beverage production, real estate development and airport management.

After they make some money, they not only have it to themselves, but back-feed the society through helping the poor and donating to charities, which in effect earn them wide recognition, said the tycoon, who spends tens of thousands of U.S. dollars each year for education and social welfares.

"With business success and social contribution, the elite get promoted into the government and the parliament to help govern the country in deputy of the people, which is the top prize the kingdom gives to all the ethnic Chinese," he added.

Besides, the Cambodian government adheres to the policy of national reconciliation and attaches much importance to the role of the ethnic Chinese in the economic and social developments, said Triv.

During his term at the Senate starting in January 2006, Triv said, he became one of the witnesses of the country's determination to have China as its trustworthy partner and the ethnic Chinese as one of its major constructive forces.

Triv himself started his business with bicycle salewhen wars ravaged the country, and now owns or has shares in 13 enterprises in the country's pivotal industries.

Due to his example role, King Norodom Sihanouk in 1994 entitled him as Lord, a supreme title for Cambodian civilians. Read more!

Concerted community action urged to contain dengue in Cambodia

The Cambodian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued a joint statement here calling for community action to contain the current spread of dengue fever, according to local media Saturday.

Cambodia's severe dengue break, which has killed 182 people, mostly children, in the first six months of this year, will further escalate unless "concerted community action" is taken to fight it, English-language newspaper the Cambodian Daily quoted the statement issued here late Friday as saying.

In order to combat the quickly spreading dengue virus, which will reach its annual peak at the end of July, individual efforts must be expanded nationwide, it said.

"Household jars containing stagnant water, discarded tires and small pots constitute potential breeding sites and a dengue risk that only households and the community itself can commit to eliminate," said the statement.

Such containers should be cleaned every 10 days to interrupt mosquito breeding, it added.

According to the ministry, the 182 death toll from the virus in the first six months of this year already surpassed that of the whole year of 2006, namely 158.

The reported cases of human contamination of the fever so far this year have reached some 15,000. There were 16,649 reported cases in the year of 2006.

Currently, WHO's regional office is leading the efforts of Cambodia to spray insecticide and train provincial teams to contain the epidemic.

Source: Xinhua. Read more!

CAMBODIA: Garment exports growth slows down

According to the recent statistics issued by the commerce ministry the growth rate of garment exports of Cambodia has slowed down.

The export growth rate is expected to fall in the second half of year also.

The total exports of garments and textiles in the first five months of this year amounted to nearly 985 million U.S. dollars, an 11.2 percent increase over the same period of last year, said the statistics. But the exports in same period for 2006 had recorded a growth of 30% over exports for the same period of 2005.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers'' Association of Cambodia has said that the main reason for the slowdown was most likely the recent ascension of Vietnam to the World Trade Organization.

Vietnam's entry to WTO in January has eliminated many of the restrictions that kept Vietnamese goods out of international markets that Cambodia used to export to, he said.

So the reason behind the slowdown is also the increase in Vietnam’s exports to the US. The competition for Cambodia is increasing.

Another potential factor was the price fetched by garments on the international market, which continued to drop, he said.

"It is a combination of external factors that are beyond our control," he added.

Garments accounted for nearly 19 percent of Cambodia''s total GDP and employed some 337,000 workers.

The garment sector is one of the country's main engines of economy. Read more!