Cambodia attracts $476 M investments from ASEAN in 9 months

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - Cambodia had received the fixed asset investment of $476 million from its ASEAN member countries in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 66 percent versus the same period last year of $287 million, according to the government's reports on Thursday.

From January to September this year, the country had granted licenses to Vietnam's investment projects worth $246 million and to Malaysia's projects of $230 million, showed the reports from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

During the first 9 months last year, the country received the fixed asset investment of $287 million, of which, $152 million from Malaysia, $114 million from Vietnam and $19 million and $2 million from Singapore and Thailand respectively.

The reports recorded that the ASEAN countries investing in Cambodia are only Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.

From 1994 to September 2011, among ASEAN, Malaysia is the largest investor in Cambodia with the accumulative investment of $2.6 billion, followed by Vietnam at $812, said the CDC's data.

Thailand and Singapore are the third and fourth with $746 million and $636 million respectively.

They invested in various sectors of businesses here including agriculture, especially rice mill and rubber plantation; industries, garments and construction materials; mineral resources; tourism; aviation; telecommunications; and banking and finance.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.