Fair aims to expand market share of VN goods in Cambodia

An annual fair showcasing high-quality Vietnamese goods and exports will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from April 3-7.

The event aims to increase export turnover, expand market share, and affirm quality and position of Vietnamese goods in Cambodia.

Now in its ninth year, the event has helped earn Vietnamese products a good reputation throughout Cambodia, thanks in part to a “high-quality product” logo affixed to Vietnamese items.

Moreover, the Cambodian border is situated just 240 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, so Vietnamese goods are thus able to be kept fresh during the journey into the country.

The domestic Vissan Company says two of its products are now very popular in Cambodia: pork pâté and liver pâté. This year, the company says it will introduce several other products such as nutritional sausage and stewed beef cubes at the fair.

Vinamilk Company is also planning to showcase many kinds of yoghurt and condensed milk at the event, and will provide refrigerators at all distribution centers to ensure product quality.

The company said it also targets building a processing factory in Cambodia in the near future.

In June 2009, Saigon Industrial Commercial Bank opened a branch in Phnom Penh offering simple, low-cost, one-hour money transfer services between Vietnam and Cambodia.

In August 2009, An Giang Province opened the Tinh Bien Trade Zone, creating new opportunities for businesses in the two countries to carry out trade activities.

Currently, Vietnam exports mainly instant noodles, plastic products, cigarettes, confectionaries, maize seeds, household goods, and vegetables to Cambodia. It imports textile and garment materials, wood and rubber from Cambodia.

The Cambodia government, meanwhile, is in the process of reforming administrative procedures to create advantageous conditions for foreign countries to do business in the country.

Cambodian commercial counselor Yeav Kim Hean said Cambodian people are now shifting away from Thai goods and are instead using more Vietnamese products.
Vu Kim Hanh, director of the local BAS Company, said that this year the fair has attracted more businesses than last year with a diversified offering of products and services.

Numerous cultural and sports activities will also be held at the fair including a friendly cycling race between Vietnam and Cambodia as well as art performances. Free medical exams and medicines will also be provided for three poor Cambodian provinces during the event, said Hanh.

Cambodia is among the top three investment destinations out of 50 countries and territories Vietnam has targeted. Two-way trade between the countries this year is expected to reach around US$2 billion.

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Work starts on hydropower project in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A Chinese company began work Thursday on a hydroelectric dam in Cambodia, the second Chinese dam project launched this week in the country where only about a quarter of the population has electricity.

The two projects are among several hydroelectric dams planned to reduce power shortages in Cambodia although activists warn they could cause environmental harm.

State-owned China Huadian Corp., one of China's biggest power companies, will build the 338-megawatt dam on the lower Russei Chrum river in Koh Kong province, with an investment of about $500 million. The project is due for completion by 2014.

A project launch ceremony was held in the capital, Phnom Penh, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of Koh Kong province.

Industry Minister Suy Sem said the power generated from the dam will be distributed to neighboring provinces and the capital.

"Cambodia will benefit greatly from this dam. It will provide us with a huge power capacity and help us to reduce the use of oil for producing power," Suy Sem said.

Cambodia's economy has grown rapidly over the past decade but poverty remains widespread.

Electricity generation is underdeveloped, and most power plants use fossil fuels. Cambodia also buys electricity from neighboring Vietnam and Thailand. Many people rely on generators.

By 2009 some 26 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people had access to regular electricity, said Heng Kunleang, director of the electricity division at the Industry Ministry.

Its electricity prices are among the highest in the world, which is also a major source of complaint from investors in Cambodia.

In a bid to meet future electricity demands, the government has identified 21 potential hydroelectric dam sites across the country.

But environmentalists have voiced concerns about the impact those projects will have.

In a 2008 report, the U.S.-based International Rivers Network said "poorly conceived hydropower development could irreparably damage" Cambodia's environment and also extract a social cost.

On Monday, the China National Heavy Machinery Corp. started building a $540 million hydropower plant in the Koh Kong province that will generate up to 246 megawatts. It is also due for completion by 2014.

China is a leading foreign investor in Cambodia.

Some 349 Chinese companies have been invested in Cambodia mainly in agriculture projects, construction and dams, the Chinese Embassy said recently.
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