VN and Cambodia armies plan ties

Are Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao soon forming Federal state government? Are they under one Yuon Communist rule? it is the tactic that Yuon communist using for centuries to colonize Cambodia and Lao, Yuon communist is never co-operating with Cambodia, but Yuon wanted Cambodia to form co-operation with them (Cambodia should know the same game).

Ha Noi — The Armies of Viet Nam and Cambodia should promote co-operation to protect and develop both countries and contribute to keeping peace in the region and all over the world, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated yesterday.

Dung made the remark in a meeting with General Ke Kim Yan, Commander-in-Chief of the Cambodia Royal Army, who was paying an official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Khac Nghien, Chief of General Staff of the Viet Nam People’s Army.
The Prime Minister said that co-operation between the two armies was very important for preventing crimes and defeating hostile forces to ensure national stability.

Dung stressed that the two armies should continue their joint patrols at sea and support the two countries’ authorised agencies in planting border markers.

The Cambodian Chief Commander thanked the Prime Minister for his reception and stressed that the Cambodia Royal Army would closely co-operate with the Vietnamese Army to keep peace, stability and development in the region and all over the world.

Yesterday, Yan had a meeting with Nghien in which the senior lieutenant general affirmed that the visit would contribute to promoting mutual understanding to develop the long-standing relationships between the two armies and peoples.

In return, Yan stressed that the Cambodian people always remember and are grateful to the Vietnamese State and Army for helping Cambodia escape from Khmer Rouge genocide as well as supporting the process of building up Cambodia.

At the meeting, the two sides informed each other about the two countries’ situations regarding security, national defence, socio-economic development and army expansion.

The two generals agrees to promote co-operation by exchanging military staff and defence information, training and searching for and returning the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during wars.

The two armies will contribute to fostering the long-standing relationship and friendship between the Vietnamese and Cambodian armies and peoples, with the motto "good neighbour, traditional friendship, comprehensive co-operation and long-lasting stability", for the sake of peace, stability and development of each country and the world, the leaders agreed.

The Cambodian delegation also visited and presented gifts to 12 experts who used to work in Cambodia. — VNS
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UNCTAD launches World Investment Report 2007 in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched the World Investment Report 2007 here on Wednesday.

This is the third time for Cambodia to host the launch of the World Investment Report, Cham Prasidh, Cambodian Minister of Commerce, said while addressing the launching ceremony, which was held at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

Sven Callebaut, regional expert for the UNCTAD for Cambodia and Laos, presented a copy of World Investment Report 2007 to Cham Prasidh after officially launching the book during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Cham Prasidh delivered some figures about the investment in Cambodia during his speech.

So far, the total investment in Cambodia registered at the CDC has been amounted to about 10,000 million U.S. dollars, including 9,417 million U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI), Cham Prasidh said.

The total investment was composed of 1,091 million U.S. dollars of investment in agriculture, 1,848 million U.S. dollars of investment in industry and manufacturing, 2,689 million U.S. dollars of investment in tourism industry and 4,380 million U.S. dollars of investment in infrastructure and service, he said.

From January to September this year, the total investment in Cambodia has been amounted to 1,812 million U.S. dollars, including 861 million U.S. dollars of FDI, Cham Prasidh said, adding that the investment in Cambodia was composed of 56 million U.S. dollars of investment in agriculture, 249 million U.S. dollars of investment in industry and manufacturing, 934 million U.S. dollars of investment in tourism industry and 572 million U.S. dollars of investment in infrastructure and service.

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Russian-made cargo plane crash-lands soon after takeoff from Cambodia's capital

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A Russian-made cargo plane crash-landed in a rice field Wednesday night shortly after takeoff from Phnom Penh International Airport, a Cambodian aviation official said.

Police said one crew member was injured.

Him Sarun, Cabinet chief for the Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said the plane took off at about 9 p.m. and was headed to Singapore when it crashed about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the airport. He said the plane was an Antonov AN-12, but he had no details about its crew or ownership.

A senior police official at the airport said the plane had an engine problem which forced the crew to make the crash-landing. The officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said a crew member, who appeared to be from a former Soviet republic, was injured, but he did not know to what extent. The total number of crew aboard was unknown.

The officer said the plane was exporting clothing — Cambodia's biggest export.

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Public Bank third quarter profit jumps 25%

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd's third-quarter profit jumped 25% as contribution from overseas operations and the performance of its mutual funds grew strongly.

The banking group, which also saw strong growth in net interest income, is projecting to maintain its earnings momentum in its final quarter.

“The group will also continue to expand its overseas operations,'' Public Bank chairman Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow said in a statement yesterday.

“The group targets to increase its fee-based activities, particularly in fund management, bancassurance and other wealth management services, by launching new products to meet the diverse investment needs of the group's customers,'' he said.

Public Bank posted a net profit of RM543.6mil, or 16.21 sen a share, for its third quarter ended Sept 30, compared with RM436.3mil, or 13.16 sen a share, in the previous corresponding quarter.

Revenue rose 15.4% to RM2.41bil against RM2.09bil previously while pre-tax profit improved 27.7% to RM774.4mil from RM606.3mil.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, Public Bank posted a 20.5% growth in net profit to RM1.54bil, or 46.02 sen a share, from RM1.28bil, or 38.74 sen a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 26.4% to RM6.98bil from RM5.53bil while pre-tax profit increased 23.5% to RM2.18bil from RM1.77bil.

Public Bank said total loans expanded by an annualised rate of 19%, higher than the 17% experienced in the first half this year.

The cost-to-income ratio fell to 32.2% in the third quarter compared with 34% in second, while net non-performing loans was 1.4% at the end of the third quarter. Loan loss coverage ratio was 112%.

Public Mutual Bhd's total assets under management expanded by 52% from RM16.2bil at end-2006 to RM24.54bil at the end of September. Of that amount, 77% were equity-linked funds.

Public Bank said its market share of the private unit trust industry was 36.4%.

Public Mutual's unit trust management fees and income from the sale of trust units was RM196mil and RM133mil respectively, which were 57% and 214% higher compared with the previous corresponding period.

In the nine months to Sept 30, trust unit sales reached a record RM8.39bil, three times more than the RM2.77bil recorded in the previous corresponding period in 2006 and more than double total sales for the whole of last year.

Loans given by Public Bank remained focused on small and medium-scale enterprises, residential properties and passenger vehicles as these three sectors accounted for 70% of the group's total loan portfolio.

The bank's overseas operations continued to expand rapidly as Public Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd saw loans and deposits grow by 47% and 38% respectively.

The strong loan and deposits growth were backed by a major expansion in the branch network and brand name. Public Bank HK now has 24 branches, an increase of 11 from the 13 branches its acquired in May last year.

In Cambodia, Cambodian Public Bank Ltd registered loan growth of 68% in the nine months to Sept 30, and opened three more branches to bring the total to eight. Public Bank also commenced its insurance operations in Cambodia during the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Public Bank intends to open five more branches in Hong Kong, one in Shenzhen (China), two in Cambodia, two in Laos and one in Vietnam. Read more!

ARINC partners with Cambodia`s two largest airports

Cambodia Airport Management Services (CAMS), operator for Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA), has selected ARINC Incorporated to provide common-use passenger check-in and boarding capabilities for Cambodia’s two main airports.

ARINC will deploy its industry-leading iMUSETM passenger system at Siem Reap International Airport, a busy tourist destination, and at Phnom Penh International Airport, the country’s largest airport.

Common-use passenger systems allow multiple airlines to share check-in desks and boarding gates, reducing overall airport costs and making more efficient use of airport infrastructure investments. Once used only at the largest terminals, common-use has recently become a cost-effective choice for today’s mid-size airports as well.

Antoine Seguin, CAMS Information Technology Manager, stated, “We expect the ARINC common-use technology to help our customer service agents raise their productivity, as they will only have to learn one program to provide check-in services for all airlines. In addition, we can enhance our airport operations by maximizing the use of available counter space.”

“ARINC is very pleased CAMS has chosen our implementation of common-use to meet their operational requirements and achieve their project objectives,” stated Randy Pizzi, ARINC Vice President & Managing Director, Asia/Pacific. “The ARINC iMUSE passenger system has been specifically designed to bring the benefits of common-use to airports of all sizes.”

A subsidiary of Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA), a joint venture of French Group Vinci and Malaysian Muhibbah, Cambodia Airport Management Services Limited (CAMS), operates Siem Reap International Airport, the second largest airport in Cambodia, located near the Angkor Archeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Airport`s new international terminal was built in 2006 and handled 1.4 million passengers last year. Phnom Penh International Airport, located outside the capital city caters to both tourism and business travelers. Its domestic and international terminals serve 23 airlines and have a total capacity of 5 million passengers a year.
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