special report: garmentsirm.p5w.net/rsc/2013/316030/01/images/01.pdfbora’s acclaimed film “lost...

Volume 6, Number 135, September 3 - 9, 2012 www.etmcambodia.com US$2.50

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The signs are good for further growth in Cambodia’s garment industry

Special report: Garments

■■ New bidder for troubled rail project

■■ ASEAN ministers urge narrowing of development gap

■■ Labor migrant exploitation

■■ Business and regional briefs

ON THE COVERCONTENTS

IN THIS ISSUE

Special report: GarmentsThe signs are good for further growth in Cambodia’s garment industry

Call for more equality (Page 6) ID failure (Page 7)

In this special issue, Economics Today takes an in-depth look at a key pillar of the Cambodian economy: garments. Despite the global economic downturn, the King-dom’s garment sector continues to attract investors and exports are growing. Why? Mainly it’s due to low labor costs and pref-erential trade agreements with the sector’s key markets. (page 16)

The garment sector in

Labor expert Moeun Tola on the exploitation of labor migrants

Cambodia is going strong, andexperts see more potential

indicators

Politics in Brief6 Pull-Quotes

7 Briefing: News

Economy and Business

10 Briefing: Business

16 Special report: Garments

24 “The abuses and violations have increased”

22 Rail switch

34 Notable books

Economic & Financial Indicators

35 The week at the CSX36 Cambodia investment & trade

36 Cambodia market news

37 International main economic indicators

37 International market news

38 Rice, inflation, crude oil, exchange rate, gold price, stock exchange

Common economic fallacies; Real estate secrets

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project may have a new savior

Cambodia’s troubled rail

Regional News26 Briefing: Regional

4 ECONOMICS TODAY September 3-9, 2012

CONTENTS Volume 6, Number 135

I am not an animal. I am a human being, so I would not destroy my honor.” Heng SampHorS, an employee at the Ocean Garment Factory, whose workers have been on strike supporting allegations by six women, including Heng Samphors, of sexual abuse and intimidation.

Although the development gap among ASEAN members has been narrowed

down over the years, it is still huge.” prime miniSter Hun Sen speaking at the opening of the 44th ASEAN Economics Ministers Meeting in Siem Reap.

My impression is that a lot of the crime is being led by lower-level loan sharks and there’s not much you can do about that.”Ben Lee of the casino consultancy IGamiX on calls by police for casino owners to do more to crack down on crimes around their businesses.

If Cambodian students can’t complete with other ASEAN countries, maybe in the future [Cambodians] will be jobless after ‚ASEAN-ization‘.” Business student CHan KaKada, 22, expressing fears about what might happen after the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, when new rules on the free-movement of skilled labor go into effect. We built this

to reflect all their great achievements for the country and to show our gratitude to them.” Long dimanCHe, spokesman for the municipality of Phnom Penh, on statues of 17th-century Khmer heroes that have been erected on the riverfront. The two figures—Techo Yort and Techo Meas—share the same honorific as Prime Minister Hun Sen.

He said there were only four Western prisoners at S-21, and he didn’t really remember the faces of those people.”Savina SiriK of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, who interviewed former S-21 jailer Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, about photos of two westerners which were among pictures in an anonymous donation.

Pull-Quotes


Politics in brief Volume 6, Number 135

Date at which the government’s ban on the adoption of children by foreigners will reportedly be lifted. The ban came into effect in 2009 following the enactment of a new adoption law. However, the Social Affairs Ministry requested postponing its imple-mentation to get ready for enforcement.

Quantity of milled rice the government has stored in prevision of floods later this year. About 3,500 armed forces have also been put on reserve to provide assistance to potential flood victims.

January 2, 2013

16,000 tons

Court charges local police official in worker shootings

Former prison chief no help in identifying prisoners

The Svay Rieng Provincial Court recently charged a local police of-ficer with causing “unintentional injuries” to garment workers who were shot during a demonstra-tion in February this year at the Kaoway Sports Ltd. factory in the Manhattan Special Economic

Zone in Bavet. The shooting was widely attributed to former Bavet City Governor Chhouk Bundith, who had been charged with the same offenses in April. The police official, Sar Chantha, who is chief of Bavet City penal police section, claimed his innocence, denying

that although he was deployed at the SEZ, he was not at the Kaoway factory at the time. Sar Chantha was summoned to court in April and May for questioning, and last month was told by the court that his witness testimony had incrimi-nated him. ■

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch and the former director of the Khmer Rouge S-21 prison, was unable to identify the two Western pris-oners whose photographs were among a batch of almost 1,500 pictures taken at the prison that were donated to the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). Duch told two researchers from DC-Cam, who interviewed him in the hope he could help identify the two men, that he had never seen their faces. According to the former Khmer Rouge official, there were only four Western prisoners during his manage-ment of the prison, although DC-Cam records show there were as many as eleven. Duch insisted that the photographs of the two men did not belong to S-21 prisoner records.

However, the donation of the long-kept photographs of Cambodian prisoners, with their names written on the back, helped many families learn about the fate of their loved ones. ■

Briefing: News

Bavet FaCtory SHooting

KHmer rouge-era pHotoS

September 3-9, 2012 ECONOMICS TODAY 7

Politics in briefVolume 6, Number 135

Sum paid by the owner of Cadillac Escalade SUV to the Phnom Penh municipal transportation department to obtain the li-cense plate number “9999.” More Cambodi-ans are willing to pay sometimes astronomi-cal sums to obtain digits, for license plate or phone numbers, which they consider lucky.

Number of years since Cambodia last sub-mitted a film to the Academy Awards. Chhay Bora’s acclaimed film “Lost Loves,” which tells the story of a middle-class woman during the Khmer Rouge regime, was selected by the Cam-bodia Oscar Selection Committee to compete in the best foreign-language film category.

US$10,000 18 years

Election committee dismisses UN envoy assessment

eLeCtion SyStem CritiCiSm

The National Election Commit-tee (NEC) rejected conclusions made by Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Cambodia, who voiced concerns that a lack of voter confidence in the electoral system could “run the risk of a return to violence.”

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha shrugged the statement off saying “this is just his conclusion,” while Council of Ministers Spokes-man Phay Siphan questioned the source of Subedi’s information for his assessment. Still, Tep Nytha ad-mitted that some issues raised by

the special envoy, such as voter registration, needed to be addressed. Accord-ing to independent politi-cal analyst Chea Vannath, the issue of the electoral system alone would not result in violence as much as the problems of fi-nancial hardship, a lack of jobs and poor educa-tion, predicting that the regional integration in 2015 could bring signifi-cant changes in the social, economic and political aspects of the country. ■

Boeung Kak protesters on the streets again

The 13 Boeung Kak women pro-testers who were arrested, convicted, and sentenced in a matter of days earlier in May took to the streets again, leading about 50 women and children to a demonstration at Phnom Penh City Hall last week. The protesters demanded that au-

thorities clearly demarcate the 12.44 hectares of land that Prime Minis-ter Hun Sen ordered set aside for Boeung Kak’s legitimate residents. However, two letters issued by the Phnom Penh Municipality on August 17 have sown confusion among residents and reportedly divided

the villagers. One letter stated that the land would be demarcated once the land title is handed over to the community, while the other letter informed 15 residents that City Hall had already measured and issued the 12.44-hectare land title back to the community. ■

Boeung KaK Women proteSt


Politics in brief Volume 6, Number 135

Photo of the Week

Another pretty faceA model holds up her number at a semifinal runway competition in Phnom Penh. She was one of 50 physically blessed individuals chosen to complete for a top modeling prize, which includes a one-year contract, a trip to Singapore, a spread in a magazine and cash. The runway competition was one of several fashion events leading up to Cambodia Fashion Week, which will be held on Dec. 5-8.

banks in the region and recently inked a deal to provide technical assistance to Myanmar and Laos. ■

CSX sees first day without any trades

Briefing: Business

Thai-Cambodian central banks sign MoU The Bank of Thailand has signed a mem-

orandum of understanding (MoU) on an Exchange of Banking Supervision Informa-tion with the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) that formalizes cooperation between the two authorities. The MoU addresses information sharing and communication during the licensing process and ongoing supervision of banks operating under their respective supervisory responsibilities. The MoU was signed by Chea Chanto, governor of the NBC, and Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul. The Bank of Thai-land has signed MoUs with several central

reflecting the reluctance of holders of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority stock to sell at KHR 6,450 (US$1.58), just slightly above the initial public offering price. “It is the first time this has happened in this stock market,” Acleda Securities President Svay Hay told the Cambodia Daily, adding that since there is only one listed company on the exchange, instances like this could happen in the future when buying and selling prices do not match. For over a month, prices of the stock have floated between KHR 6,600 and KHR 6,400. ■

doing BuSineSS in tHe Kingdom

China’s Export-Import Bank has pro-posed providing US$70 million in loans for rice milling, which would boost produc-tion and help Cambodia accelerate the rice sector and meet a goal of one mil-lion tons of exports by 2015, government officials said. The loans could help boost production by at least 270,000 tons, of which 210,000 tons of milled rice would be exported to China, the remaining going to world and domestic markets. The pro-posed loans would see rice mills estab-lished in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces. Despite the proposals, the date of the actual loans

On Kampuchea Krom Blvd. pet owners will find a modern shop that offers everything their beloved cat or dog could want.

The store, Happy Dog, was founded by Ngov Sokchhay, a 29-year-old Cam-bodian who was educated abroad. After coming back home, he decided he didn’t want to work for the family business, but start something new.

His family wasn’t supportive, but in 2009, he poured his savings of just under US$10,000 in a sector he sus-pected had a future.

Although he called his shop Happy Dog, he sells many kinds of pets imported from around the world, as well as pet-related products like dog clothes, beds, toys and pet food. Many of the products are imported and Ngov Sokchhay says he sees on average 80 customers a week.

In addition to all the accoutrements, Happy Dog offers special services such as grooming, funeral services and even doggie dating.

For customers eager to have a pure-bred or just a pretty puppy, Ngov Sok-chhay can arrange a meeting with other customers who own the type of pet that fits a certain profile. Then, he lets nature take its course, and gets a com-mission as well.

Dog grooming, however, is his most popular service with prices ranging from US$5 to US$40.

His idea caught the attention of others, and competition has become stiff, especially around pricing. Still, Ngov Sokchhay is optimistic about his business since he offers top-quality products. And, he says as Cambodia continues to develop, people will have more money to spend on spoiling their pets. ■

–Sann Sethvitou

is still unclear. Chinese bank officials had visited Cambodian previously to look at the situation and had asked for the gov-ernment to guarantee any loans they made. The government expressed some resistance to that idea but is examining the proposals. Approval would also have to be gotten from the National Assembly. ■

Chinese bank proposes loans to rice millers Happy Dog

On Friday, Aug. 24, no trades took place on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), although the bourse was open for business,


Economy & BusinEss Volume 6, Number 135

Officials call on casinos to crack down on law-breakers

breaking the law, and allowing Cambodi-ans to gamble, punishable by imprison-ment. In the first eight months of this year, police recorded seven criminal cases occurring in casinos, resulting in the arrests of 14 people. ■

Doubts about efficacy of telecoms regulator

Inexpensive equipment as solar subsidies end in the US, Europe and Australia are resulting in a dramatic drop in the price of solar energy, which Cambodia is taking advantage of, industry insiders told the Phnom Penh Post. “Solar is coming of age,” Andrew Wallace, CEO of PowerTopia Cambodia, told the paper. Cambodia is well suited for solar energy given its latitude, the num-ber of daylight hours and its need for cheap energy. Some experts say the dip in prices, especially for American and European equipment, could be temporary. But they say Chinese products, which often don’t have the same level of quality as others, could remain cheap in the long run. ■

A lack of a “concrete, overarching regulatory framework,” as well as inac-curate data and disputes among telecoms companies could stymie the work of the proposed Telecom Regulator of Cambo-dia (TRC), according to a report from a leading market research firm. Unless the telecommunications law, currently at the Council of Ministers although first drafted in 2000, is enacted, the TRC would have a “lot on its hands,” without possibly having the power to enforce its policies, accord-ing to Business Monitor International. The TRC was proposed by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in March

as a gov-ernment-endorsed, indepen-dent body w h i c h would reg-

ulate the sector, but it is still not known when the TRC will begin its work. When it does launch, it will have a lot on its plate, as Cambodia’s 10 mobile phone compa-nies have accused each other of unfair business practices such as price dumping, lack of payment of fees and inflating sub-scriber numbers to placate shareholders. ■

Deal signed for rice exports to Indonesia Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham

Prasidh signed an agreement with Indo-nesian Trade Minister Gita Wijrawan to export 100,000 tons of Cambodian milled rice to Indonesia annually, officials said. The deal, signed on the sidelines of the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting, represents a jump in rice exports. Last year, 170,000 tons were exported in total. Details, such as when the exports would begin and where the rice will come from, have yet to be determined. Still, Thom Virak, general director of Green Trade Co., a state-owned rice exporter, said the

100,000-ton order should be easy to fill since Indone-sia needs w h i t e

rice, which is what Cambodia produces. Indonesia currently needs to import around 400,000 tons of milled rice a year to fill its reserve stocks, Lim Bunheng of the Cambodian Rice Exporters Associa-tion told the Cambodia Daily. ■

Officials from the Cambodian Interior Ministry have called on casino operators to improve their security measures in light of kidnappings, drug trafficking, torture because of unpaid debts and even murders taking place at the country’s more than 60 gambling halls. One of the primary measures needed, according to General Sok Phal, deputy national police chief, was strict enforcement of the ban on gambling for Cambodian citizens. He said rampant criminal activity was hav-ing a detrimental effect on the security, safety and public order of the country. A draft law on casino management now in the Council of Ministers would make

Cheaper equipment behind Cambodian solar boom


Economy & BusinEssVolume 6, Number 135

Experts say accounting standards must be improved

Businesses in Cambodia need to dra-matically improve their accounting stan-dards if they hope to attract interest from foreign investors and list on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), experts and government officials said at an account-ing conference in Phnom Penh. Managers, economists and others said there are simply not enough qualified accountants in the country to satisfy the need. In addition, large, family-owned companies are reluctant to meet international standards in auditing and accounting. While the Finance Ministry passed a series of proclamations in 2007 requiring businesses to submit financial

Microfinance institution Prasac has signed a deal with the DEG German Investment Corporation for a US$15 million loan which brings Prasac’s assets to US$210 million, officials said. The seven-year agreement at an annual interest rate of 5.5 percent will help

reports, many have not complied. Ngy Tayi, secretary of state in the Finance Min-istry, said accounting firms also needed to improve their standards and level of inde-pendence. ■

Prasac serve loan clients, the compa-ny’s CEO said, especially for small and midsized businesses. DEG finances investments of private companies in developing and emerging economies and is one of Europe’s largest develop-ment finance institutions. ■

Angkor Wat could get intellectual property protection

Prasac gets cash infusion from Germany

If a treaty by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is final-ized, Angkor Wat could become a pro-tected intellectual trademark. The issue was set off when earlier this year an Indian group announced plans to build an exact replica of the 12th-century Hindu temple, Cambodia’s top tourist attraction, in the Indian state of Bihar. While the president of WIPO, Francis Gurry, did not broach that issue directly, he did tell reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in Siem Reap that Cambodia “had a unique cultural heritage” that “nobody else can produce.” The challenge now, he

said, was finding a mechanism for putting Cambodia in complete control of what he called the country’s “intellectual and cultural heritage.” The treaty under discussion could become international law within a year and would provide a framework for protecting a country’s patrimony against domestic and international forgeries. ■

Income from migrants to Korea expected to jump

Remittances from Cam-bodian migrants working in South Korea are expected to reach up to US$80 million this year as the number of people heading to that country to work has jumped 40 percent, according to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Train-ing. At least 7,000 Cambodi-ans will go to South Korea in 2012, which is considered a safer and more lucrative des-tination for overseas workers. There are now about 13,000 Cambodians working in the country, which has a reputa-tion for higher pay and few of hazards that work in Malay-sia does, where rights groups have reported the abuse of maids. Cambodian migrants in Korea mostly work in heavy industry, agriculture and fish-ing. ■



HENG SOCHEAT | ECONOMICS TODAY

ASEAN should try to balance the development gap between member states in order to achieve real eco-nomic integration in 2015. That was the message from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen who addressed the Aug. 27 opening session of the week-long conference.

“The big development gap is an obstacle for ASEAN Economic Inte-gration in 2015. It poses a great threat to sustainability of socio-economic development of ASEAN, so narrowing the gap is very important,” he said. “It is not only to guarantee fair competi-tion and reduce poverty levels among the member states, but it is to share equally the fruits of growth on both the regional and international level.”

At the meeting, economics and trade ministers from the 10 ASEAN member countries with dialogue partners from China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, Russia and the United States gathered to discuss ways to enhance economic cooperation and trade lib-eralization between ASEAN mem-ber states and foreign partners. But unless the development gap issue is addressed, economic development could remain unbalanced.

According to data from the Eco-nomic Institute of Cambodia, an average Cambodian will earn around US$955 in 2012, while in Vietnam that number is US$1,521. In Thai-land, the average worker earns around US$5,865, while in Singapore average income jumps to US$53,072.

Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute

for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) told Economics Today that narrow-ing the gap must be dealt with. He says a yawning gulf between richer and poorer states makes the bloc more vulnerable to economic crises and can create social and political instability.

“For economic development and integration, all the members need to move together at similar pace, other-wise they cannot move,” he said. “It is ten horses pulling the cart. The ten economies need combined strength.”

However, narrowing the gap is not an easy task and requires a big effort from all member states. The CLMV group (Cambodia, Laos, Myan-mar and Vietnam), the four newest ASEAN members and the least devel-oped ones, worked during the meet-ing to draw up a development plan to enhance economic cooperation and seek financial support from develop-ment partners.

“We, the CLMV countries, need to push our development to narrow the gap with the old ASEAN member states,” Cham Prasidh, Cambodian

Minister of Commerce said during a CLMV meeting.

Hun Sen said that ASEAN should focus on connecting both physical and institutional infrastructures, and promote the role of SMEs in regional economic development with capacity-building initiatives.

Chheang Vannarith would like to see the creation of regional and national social protection policies that would provide workers and farmers such things as a guaranteed minimum wage, health care and pension plans. He also said more investment was needed in the education and health care sectors.

ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, has evolved into an influential global player. Its economy grew by 4.7 per-cent in 2011 and it had a trade surplus of US$98.5 billion. The bloc has gotten the attention of the United States, whose top trade official on Thursday in Siem Reap said he saw "explosive" growth opportunities in Southeast Asia and that the US wanted to deepen trade and investment ties. ■

ASEAN economic ministers address development gap at Siem Reap meeting

Mind the gap



BY TIM VuTHA | ECONOMICS TODAY

After two months of operations in the Kingdom, Manulife Cambodia Plc recently congratulated its first 10 policy holders.

The life insurer, which was founded in Canada in 1887, opened its busi-ness in Cambodia in June this year honor its first group of 10 customers, although so far the company has sold more than 50 policies, with roughly about US$20,000 in total premiums.

The firm’s entry to Cambodia marks its 7th market in ASEAN, and 11th in Asia.

“In any previous mar-kets, the company tends to grow slow in the beginning, stressing education and pro-motion campaigns as life insurance is still something new to a lot of people, but the harvest will be fruitful later,” company Chairman David Wong told Economics Today.

Manulife Cambodia expects to have about 100 customers by the end August, while so far, there have been no payouts to pol-icy holders or their families.

Currently, Manulife sells only term life insurance, although on August 29, the

government approved several other products for the market. Still, the company does not plan on introducing them yet, saying that time is needed to introduce new products and the whole idea of insurance in Cambodia to avoid confusion.

“Life insurance is a new industry in Cambodia. It provides an important means by which Cambodians can take more control of their own and their families’ future,” Wong said.

Manulife Cambodia invested US$7 million in start-up capital and will increase that to up to US$20 million

over the next five years. The company has trained about 300 insurance advi-sors so far, and has plans to have about 500 trained by the end of this year, Wong said.

Currently, Manulife and Cambodian Life dominate the market. British life insurer Prudential has just received approval in principal, but does not yet have an operating license. Wong says despite the three firms coming online at around the same time and the tough overall market competitiveness, he still believes there is room in the market for healthy growth. ■

Welcome aboardManulife insurance congratulates its first 10 customers

Manulife’s David Wong thanks an early customer



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BY TIM VuTHA | ECONOMICS TODAY

The UK Embassy in Cambodia has launched a new five-year strategic plan aimed at raising awareness of the value of international and national volun-teering to foster its development in the Kingdom.

Through the international Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) program, an international development charity, the British government has set out plans for its voluntary missions over the next five years (2012-2017) to improve the quality of life for Cambodia’s most dis-advantaged, including rural and ethnic populations, women, girls and youth.

The new strategy focuses on educa-tion, health, livelihood and governance, especially in Cambodia’s poorer north-eastern provinces, where VSO feels the biggest impact can be achieved.

Speaking at the kick-off event on Aug. 27, UK Ambassador Mark Good-ing said “VSO is a top UK development organization. I have met many of their volunteers in my career and know what a valuable contribution they make in many fields in Cambodia and around the world.”

VSO primarily focuses on capacity

building with partner orga-nizations and its volunteers are usually experienced pro-fessionals, generally from EU countries. They nor-mally come for periods of up to two years to transfer knowledge and skills that aren’t available locally. In Cambodia, the idea is to act as a catalyst for improving the Kingdom’s own prac-tices toward poverty reduc-tion and development.

“We plan to place approx-imately 60 professionals per year work-ing with our partners in health, edu-cation, secure livelihoods and gover-nance,” said Dawn Hoyle, programme support manager for VSO Cambodia. “Our strategy is aligned with the gov-ernment’s plans for the next few years.”

VSO believes that volunteer agen-cies, NGOs, the government and the private sector need to work in partner-ship to increase volunteering opportu-nities and recognize the value of volun-teering in Cambodia.

“We encourage all Cambodians to become active in their local communi-ties, even if they only have a few spare hours per week, said Hoyle. “Everyone can make a small difference.”

VSO is one of the world’s leading international development organiza-tions, active in 36 countries, and the largest volunteer-sending agency in the world. It mobilizes both international and national volunteers to strengthen the work of national partners, govern-ments and civil society organizations.

VSO has been operating in Cambodia since 1991, responding to local needs and government strategies, and has placed 675 volunteers in 152 partner organizations in the nation so far. ■

Good deedsUK announces priorities for five-year volunteer program in Cambodia



The future of fabricsThe signs are good for further growth in Cambodia’s garment industry

SANN SETHVITOu AND HOR KIMSAY | ECONOMICS TODAY

Cambodia’s National Road number 2 from Phnom Penh to Takmao city is dotted with garment factories from which thou-sands of garment workers come and go every day. National Road number 2’s strip consists of the pioneering garment factories that first came to Cambodia and while factory buildings are still in abundance, it’s not the only place where sewing, dyeing and ironing are being done these days. Garment factories have mushroomed in other parts of the city, especially in the western and northern parts of the capital.

The present article is the first of a series of monthly special cover-age articles in which Economics Today will take a deeper look at a sector of the economy or at an issue of special significance for the development of Cambodia. This September, Economics Today takes an in-depth look at Cambo-dia’s garment industry. This report is the first to two articles about this important sector and gives an overview of the strengths of this economic growth engine. The second part, to be published in several months, will examine the factors that contribute or threaten the sustainability and competitiveness of the country’s garment and textile sector.



The garment industry is the largest industry in Cambodia and also one of the key drivers of annual economic growth over the past decade.

The sector represented about 17.4 percent of Cambodia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 and accounted for nearly US$5 billion or 80 percent of total exports in 2011, according to data compiled by the General Depart-ment of Custom and Excise.

Currently, the Garment Manu-facturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) counts 338 garment facto-ries—which are all export-oriented factories—employing about 350,000 workers, the majority of whom are women.

According to data from the Cam-bodian Investment Board (CIB), a total of 72 projects were approved in the first half of this year. Of those

projects, 49 are in the garment sec-tor, whose exports have grown by 8.7 percent to US$2.1 billion in the first six months of the year.

Despite the global economic down-turn, the Cambodian garment sec-tor continues to attract investors and experience export growth. There are two main reasons for this: low labor costs and preferential trade agree-ments with the sector’s key markets.

Since the industry began flourish-ing in the 1990s, labor costs in other countries in the region with strong garment sectors have risen while Cambodia’s have remained low. In addition, preferential trade treatment that provides the Kingdom duty-free and quota-free access to markets in the European Union and the United States has given a crucial boost to the sector.

Development of Cambodian garment industry: exports, number of

factories and workers.

Rising cost of laboR outside cambodia

Global manufacturers have felt the pinch of rising labor costs not only in China but also in some major ASEAN countries. Thus, some companies have sought to relocate their factories to lower-cost countries.

By February this year, the minimum wage in China had risen to 1,500 yuan (US$240) per month in regions such as

Shenzhen. According to Shaun Rein, manag-

ing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group and the author of “The End of Cheap China,” while 21 of China’s 31 provinces increased the minimum wage by 22 percent in 2011, the trend toward higher labor costs is continuing. The government has set a plan to raise the minimum wage by 13 percent annually for the next five years to spur domestic consumption and wean

1,156 1,2911,580

1,9692,197

2,6232,839 2,879

2,425

3,013

3,937

185 188 197215

247

290 292 284

243262

300

187

210

234

270284

334353

325

282

319 327

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Export (US$ million, Left axis)

Number of Factories (right axis)

Number of workers (in thousand, right axis)

Source: Data compiled from Ministry of Economy and Finance for export and Ministy of Commerce for number of factories and workers, Graphic by Economics Today

Development of Cambodian Garment Industry in terms ofExports, Number of Factories and Workers

Source: Data compiled from Ministry of Economy and Finance for export and Ministy of Commerce for number of factories and workers, Graphic by Economics Today



the country off its reliance on exports. In fact, the world’s second-largest

economy is not alone; the minimum wages in several major Asian countries are heading upward. Several countries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Indo-nesia, the Philippines and even Viet-nam are increasing minimum wages for workers, limiting the options of some labor-intensive factories. That could put Cambodia even more firmly in the sights of investors.

According to Thailand’s Employment Committee, effective April 2012, the min-imum daily wage in Bangkok was 300 Thai Baht (about US$9.5, representing an increase of 39.7 percent from the last minimum wage), which equals US$250 per month.

In April this year, the Survey of Invest-ment-Related Costs in Asia, conducted by the Overseas Research Department of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), revealed that the minimum wage in Jakarta is US$167, the mini-mum wage in Manila (the Philippines) is US$7.67 per day (about US$199 per month), while Vientiane, the capital of Laos, set a minimum wage US$78.2 per month starting in January this year.

Vietnam, which has also seen a wave

of manufacturers set up shop there, was pushed to substantially raise the mini-mum wage. In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s two major cities, the minimum wage was raised in 2011 to US$95.10, a 19.6-percent increase from the previous rate. A second increase will go into effect at the end of this year. (See graphic of monthly minimum wage by country in Asia)

According to the above data, labor costs in China and Thailand are triple those of Cambodia. And labor costs in Indonesia can be nearly two times more than in Cambodia while the Kingdom’s labor costs are half of those in neighbor-ing Vietnam and slightly lower than the minimum salary in Laos.

According to Economics Today inter-views with garment factory owners and independent analysts, China cannot continue to dominate in apparel manu-facturing and many factories are relocat-ing their operations to Cambodia. Fur-thermore, due to the rising cost of labor and difficulties in recruiting workers for the garment industry in other major ASEAN countries, some garment facto-ries already established in the bloc are also attempting to move to the Kingdom.

“Manufacturers in labor-intensive

industry are facing squeezed margins and might be forced to relocate manufac-turing to lower-cost countries like Cam-bodia and Vietnam,” Rein told Economics Today in an e-mail. “Cambodia could do very well in the coming decade.”

cambodian laboR Remains competitive, in theoRy

Currently, Cambodian garment work-ers get a minimum wage of US$61 per month. But starting this year, garment factory workers are gaining more and more mandatory welfare benefits. It simply shows that market forces are pushing employers to pay more than the minimum wage as an increasing number of Cambodian workers have migrated to other countries where they can earn more.

Starting from January, an additional US$5 per month for health care was offered, and in mid-July, the Ministry of Labor agreed to make it mandatory for employers to provide a US$7 stipend for housing and transportation. From the 1st of September, another US$3 in addi-tion to the existing US$7 will be given to workers as an attendance bonus.

This minimum wage plus the various

C o u n t r yA v e r a g e M i n i m u m

W a g e ( U S $ / y e a r )M a n d a t o r y W e l f a r e

( % a g a i n s t M W )T o t a l L a b o r C o s t

( U S $ / y e a r )

Myanmar MMM M.M MMM Cambodia MMM M.M MMM Bangladesh MMM MM.M MMM India MMM MM.M M,MMM Laos M,MMM M.M M,MMM Mietnam M,MMM MM.M M,MMM Indonesia M,MMM MM.M M,MMM Thailand M,MMM M.M M,MMM Philippines M,MMM M.M M,MMM China M,MMM MM.M M,MMM Malaysia M,MMM MM.M M,MMM Mong Mong M,MMM M.M M,MMM S ingapore MM,MMM M.M MM,MMM

M i n i m u m W a g e A c r o s s C o u n t r y

Source: Thai Garment Manufacturers Association (TGMA), 2011.

Minimum Wage Across Country

CountryAverage Minimum Wage (uS$/ year)

Mandatory Welfare (% against MW)

Total Labor Cost (uS$/ year)

Myanmar 401 0.0% 401

Cambodia 732 0.1% 733

Bangladesh 798 10.0% 878

India 884 15.0% 1,017

Laos 1,057 9.5% 1,157

Vietnam 1,108 20.3% 1,333

Indonesia 1,344 10.6% 1,486

Thailand 2,402 6.2% 2,551

Philippines 2,764 9.0% 3,013

China 2,132 50.0% 3,198

Malaysia 4,735 23.0% 5,824

Hong Kong 8,154 0.0% 8,154

Singapore 22,200 0.0% 22,200



incentives bring the minimum revenue of workers to US$83 per month, a sig-nificant increase from 2008, when the minimum wage was US$50, plus US$11 for attendance bonus and a cost-of-living allowance.

However, research findings from the Society of Human Resource Manage-ment (SHRM&P) show that based on the legal minimum wage, a senior garment worker, eligible to all known bonuses can take home a maximum of US$130 per month. But reality can reach slightly higher levels as a number of factories agree to pay higher salaries than the legal minimum as workers come in short sup-ply or demand higher pay if they have experience and better skills.

According to last year’s data from the Thai Garment Manufacturers Asso-ciation (TGMA), with the exception of Myanmar where the minimum salary is quite low at the moment but might rise in the future, Cambodian garment sala-ries were about 20 percent lower than in Bangladesh, its top competitor in terms of attracting foreign investment, and half the level of wages paid in Vietnam and Indonesia.

As this article went to press, Economics

Today could not find an updated mini-mum wage or other additional welfare rates for Bangladesh. On the assumption that the wages of Bangladeshi garment workers remained the same as in 2011, the basic salary of a Cambodian worker could be the same or slightly higher than what a worker in Bangladesh gets due to the increase in welfare benefits this year.

Cambodia, Bangladesh and Myanmar have similar labor costs that are still rela-tively inexpensive and attractive to new investors. However the three countries have different advantages and disadvan-tages in terms of doing business. While Myanmar has just opened its economy to the world, many experts believe that it will need at least five more years to reach Cambodia’s current situation.

While Bangladeshi workers’ wages are very competitive with Cambodia, some investors said its business infrastructure and political stability are less developed in comparison to Cambodia. Moreover, the culture, religion and lifestyle in Ban-gladesh are more difficult for investors while in Cambodia businesses find it easier to adapt.

“Among these three countries, Cam-bodia is more competitive in terms of

growing the garment industry,” said David Liu, senior manager of QMI Group, which currently has factories in Taiwan, China, Vietnam and two factories in Cambodia, employing about 10,000 Cam-bodian workers. “We are busy respond-ing with information about investing in Cambodia to our partners and they will expand their factories into Cambodia shortly.” (See graphic about improve-ments in Cambodian productivity.)

After about 15 years of experience in investing in Cambodia (he established the first factory in 1997) Liu has been surprised at the development of his employees’ capacities and appreciates the willingness of Cambodia workers to learn new skills and procedures.

While Cambodian workers need lon-ger to learn, Liu said they are only less efficient directly after being hired. Fol-lowing training, they are more produc-tive and come closer to the level of Thai and Vietnamese workers.

“The labor productivity in my factory is much improved,” Liu told Economics Today “My view is that a competent man-ager can exact high productivity from workers.”

For him, while workers need skills to

96

160

180

100

120

140

80

60

40

20

2008 2011 2012 2012MarketReality

Income Including Performance Bonus

Seniority Bonus (3 years seniority)

OT 2 hours per day

Transportation & Housing Allowance

Meal/Health Care Allowance

OT Meal Allowance

Attendance Bonus

Cost of Living Allowance

Basic Wage

Maximum Take-Home Earnings in USD (Including estimated productivity pay, excluding social insurance and medical coverage)

0

113

130

158

Source: Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM&P) Note: The calculation is based on 24 working days per month with an estimated 15 percent of minimum wage productivity pay. Attendance bonus is considered for a period of 3 years of work in this calculation and the general two hours overtime that people work per day.



Export Volume in 2003 Export Volume in 2007 Export Volume in 2011

ASEAN 1.2% 0.3% 0.4%

US 66.5% 72.6% 59.2%

EU 25.7% 17.7% 24.9%

Japan 0.4% 0.3% 1.5%

Others 6.1% 9.1% 14.0%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance, Customs Department, compiled by Economics Today

perform their jobs well and productively, at the same time, managers and supervi-sors must have the right skills to lead. Thus, instead of blaming workers for low productivity, companies should look at managers’ competence.

pRefeRential tReatment

Besides competitive labor costs, Hing Thoraxy, secretary of state in charge of economic and investment at the Coun-cil of Ministers, believes the sector will continue to grow in the next five to ten years largely due to preferential trade programs from the United States (US) and the European Union (EU).

The garment industry emerged in response to trade privileges established

under the Generalized System of Prefer-ences (GSP), a program designed to pro-mote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 5,000 products when imported from one of 128 designated beneficiary countries and territories, in 1996 by the US and in 1997 by EU.

Liu said that his company came to do business in Cambodia because of Cam-bodia’s GSP status and its free-market economy.

In 1998, the Clinton administration initiated the US–Cambodian Trade Agreement on Textiles and Apparel, which ran from 1999 to 2004. It linked market access with an increasing quota for Cambodian textile products to labor standards. Cambodia is the only country

where a trade-labor arrangement was agreed to and implemented in order to secure a quota for exports to the US. In 1999, the US imposed new quotas on all textile-exporting countries except Cambodia.

In the meantime, the textile agree-ment between Cambodia and the EU entered into force on 1 July 1999. This agreement formalized the principle of unlimited access of Cambodian textile products to the EU market. The privilege of unlimited access was supplemented by a liberalization of the conditions of access to the EU’s GSP scheme, which grants an exemption from custom duties to Cambodian exports entering the EU market. The first measure of liberaliza-tion under the agreement included the indefinite granting to Cambodia in Sep-tember 1999 of the benefit of “regional accumulation.”

In 2001, Cambodia gained preferential treatment under the EU’s “Everything but Arms” initiative for UN-designated least-developed countries. This treat-ment provided Cambodia another oppor-tunity for duty-free export its garment products, although the products needed to satisfy the rule of origin.

Thanks to the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the problem of certificates of origin of Cambodia was solved when early last year the EU relaxed its rule of origin in Everything but Arms. With this privilege, unfinished textile products imported by Cambodia from another member of ASEAN and then exported to the EU are considered to be of Cambo-dian origin, allowing Cambodia to more easily satisfy the GSP rules of origin.

Percentage of garment export volume to significant markets

3.43.6

4.6

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

1995-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010

Labor Productivity GrowthAverage annual growth rate of GDP at constant basic prices per worker, using 2005 PPPs

(in percent)

Source: APO Productivity Databook 2012, Asian Productivity Organization, Graphic by Economics Today

Labor Productivity Growth

Average annual growth rate of GDP at constant basic prices per worker, using 2005 PPPs (in percent)

Source: APO Productivity Databook 2012, Asian Productivity Organization, Graphic by Economics Today



According to the table on page 20, the share of the market of garment products has evolved. The EU market has gained ground as a destination for Cambodia’s garment exports in the last few years at the expense of the US mar-ket. Export share to the US decreased, although it still remains Cambodia’s main export market. The share of exports to Japan slightly increased but remains minimal, while the share of exports to other markets expanded to close to 15 percent last year.

In 2007, the share of Cambodian exports to the EU decreased sharply due to the end of the quota system for the textile and clothing sector in 2005, allowing China to grab some of the mar-ket share in this region.

domestic investment incentives

Besides the external factors, invest-ment projects that meet the govern-ment’s requirements for incentives and are designated as qualified investment projects (QIP) can enjoy tax holidays of up to nine years before they are required to pay the standard 20-percent corporate income tax. Moreover, they don’t need to pay import duty for their

input. Profits earned in the Kingdom can be repatriated after paying with-holding tax.

All garment factories are QIP that get the three to four-year tax holiday and do not need to pay the 20 per-cent corporate tax, according to Hing Thoraxy.

Besides the incentives, investors in Cambodia are protected as there are no requirements for local equity partici-pation and the government does not control the price. In addition, there is no restriction on foreign exchange convertibility and free remittances of foreign currencies abroad.

These attractive incentives will increase profitability, and likely allow Cambodia to attract more and more investors, especially in the garment sector.

can gRowth last?

Although the Kingdom has recorded a big jump in the number of new facto-ries and enjoyed an increase in exports in the first half of 2012, a significant number of Cambodia’s garment workers are not completely satisfied.

A large number of strikes, around 60, have hit the country’s garment industry

during the first six months of this year, with workers demanding better pay. It appears that Cambodian workers are demanding more for their labor. So, what will happen if Cambodian salaries increase to the levels of its main com-petitors, or even surpass them?

Furthermore, as preferential trade programs are a strong source of growth, the graduation from least-developed country status looks like a black cloud over the future of the industry. Without these trade preferences, will existing investors continue their operations in Cambodia? And will new investors come to the Kingdom to set up shop?

These are big question marks over the industry’s future. While the sewing machines are humming away right now, if too many things change, Cambodia’s leading economic sector could start to look somewhat tattered. ■

Look out for the second article of this special coverage about the garment sector early next year. Economics Today will analyze the factors con-tributing to or threatening the com-petitiveness and sustainable growth of this pioneering sector.



KHLEM CHANREATREY | ECONOMICS TODAY

On recent afternoons, people driving to Sihanoukville have had their journeys interrupted by an unusual occurrence—a train actually rolling down the tracks. Toll Royal Railway (TRR), a joint ven-ture between Australia’s Toll Holdings and Cambodia’s Royal Group, resumed regular freight service on August 22.

After TRR decided to stop all train operations at the end of March due to repeated delays that had made opera-tions unprofitable, its trains are now transporting between 1,000 to 1,200 tons of cement to Kampot province while further transport services along the southern line to Sihanoukville will begin later this year, according to David Kerr, CEO of TRR.

But its return comes while the gov-ernment considers a new proposal by another joint venture to complete the

troubled train rehabilitation, which could see TRR lose the 30-year conces-sion to operate the train system it was granted in 2009.

The new proposal for “Kampuchea Rail” by Rail Services (Cambodia) Ltd., which was sent to the government on Aug. 3, sees the consortium of companies backed by one of the largest firms in China, China State Construction Engi-neering Co., paying up to US$90 mil-lion to cover a shortfall in track rehabilitation funds. The proposal also includes US$750 million to build a rail-way link from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City, according to a company statement.

Although the return of TRR’s train opera-tions comes just shortly after discussions began between the govern-ment and Rail Ser-vices, Kerr denied that the renewed activity is a response to the new proposal. He said the plan to restart opera-tions had already been in the works since July.

He added that he can’t worry about what

he doesn’t know. “I only got the news from the media since nobody has spoken about anything with us yet.”

The rail rehabilitation project covers 650 km of railway, including stations and terminals, which had fallen into disrepair after decades of conflict. The track’s reno-vation and construction are being carried out by two subcontractors: France’s TSO Cambodia Co. Ltd. and Japan’s Nippon Koei Co.

Rail switch Toll trains are rolling again, but another company has its eyes on the rehab project



money matteRs

So far, most of the work on the two railway lines—from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh and from Phnom Penh to Poipet on the border with Thailand—remains unfinished, largely due to lack of funding.

While around 60 percent of the south-ern line from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville is complete, just under 28 percent of the northern line has been finished.

Experts say the completion of the railroad rehabilitation project will require an additional US$60 million to US$100 million, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which contributed US$84 million to the US$143 million project, has refused to come up with any more funds.

ADB supports a deal to change the current railway operator if it means the new concessionaire would foot the bill for the project’s completion.

“ADB welcomes any construction options to raise additional finance for the upgrading of the northern line and to build the missing link to Vietnam,” Peter Brimble, deputy country director of ADB in Cambodia, told the Cambodia Daily.

According to Ly Borin, director of the Transport Ministry’s Railway Depart-ment, the new Kampuchea Rail proposal is a good option since the government would not need to borrow money to complete the project.

“If the [ADB] officially announces they will not give any more money, the government needs to consider new options,” he said.

Daryl C. Dealehr, who represents the Kampuchea Rail project in Cambodia, declined to comment on specifics. But he told Economics Today: “The govern-ment is pleased with our proposal and they are committed to improving rail-way development.”

The plan to create a rail link to Viet-nam would by in sync with government preparations for the ASEAN Economic Community, planned for 2015. The AEC is meant to spark a freer flow of goods and Cambodia would be in a strong posi-tion to act as a subregional transport hub, Ly Borin claimed.

However, the Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh line would not be completed by 2015 since “it is a new route, so it is a bit challenging as it would take many years to complete,” he said.

Hiroshi Suzuki, CEO of the Business Research Institute for Cambodia, said that a functioning rail system would be good for Cambodian exports and would attract foreign investment since trans-port by rail is cheaper than by road.

The Kampuchea Rail plan would also establish a railway mechanical and tech-nical trade school at Bat Doeng, as well as train maintenance and repair facili-ties at Samrong and Bat Doeng. ■

Toll trains are rolling again, but the 30-year concession it was granted is now in doubt if a new player is successful



“The abuses and violations have increased”Labor expert Moeun Tola on the continuing problem of the exploitation of Cambodian migrants abroad, and what should be done about it

Reports appear frequently the Cam-bodian media about labor migrants who have gone abroad for work and have been exploited, abused or worse. In August, 26 Cambodian men and women were repatriated from Malaysia, the latest victims of mis-treatment who were subjected

to non-payment of wages, overwork, beatings, attempted rape and virtual starvation. Four people posing as job brokers were arrested last week for lur-ing 30 people, including 10 underage workers, to Thailand under false pre-tences. They are suspected of human trafficking. A new draft law to send

workers to Qatar has rights activ-ists questioning whether it contains adequate protections.

Despite the cases, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians have crossed the nation’s bor-

ders, legally and illegally, look-ing for work (see ETM issue 130). To better understand the current

situation, Economics Today spoke to Moeun Tola, head of the

labor program of the Community

Legal Education Center (CLEC).

The organization provides legal infor-mation and assistance to disadvantaged groups, including labor migrants.

Which countries do Cambodian migrants go to most often?

Cambodians are recruited to work in Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Middle Eastern countries, such as Qatar and Kuwait. But some-times women and men are sent onto fishing boats to South Africa, Indonesia, India, China, Taiwan and other coun-tries, sometimes working without pay.

Which receiving countries have good reputations regarding the treatment of Cambodian migrants? Which have poor records?

So far, there are fewer reports of abuse of Cambodian migrant workers working in Japan and South Korea. It should be noted that those working in Japan and South Korea often have higher education levels than those sent to Malaysia or Thailand, who sometimes cannot even read their names.

We read tragic stories about migrant abuse in the press in receiving coun-tries. How common is this?

The abuses and violations have increased recently. CLEC, along with its partners around the world, has managed to rescue and repatriate 725 Cambo-dian workers from Thailand, Malaysia,



South Africa, Taiwan and China. Some migrant workers were originally legally recruited, but they were and are being trafficked. Last year, 11 Cambodians died during employment in Malaysia. Our cases vary in severity from non-payment of wages, forced labor and illegal confinement to physical, sexual and psychological abuse, rape, torture and death. This year, we have had over 1,750 requests for assistance. Lots of things need to be done to improve the conditions and status of migrant work-ers, include both policy development and policy enforcement.

Why does this kind of abuse happen?

There are two main issues. One, there is a lack of policy or a legal framework to protect migrants in the receiving countries. Two, the enforcement of domestic laws and legal agreements between countries are not transparent. Some recruitment agencies are linked with high-ranking officials in the gov-ernment. Due to the absence of these two main protection tools, Cambodian men and women are being trafficked and exploited. They work in slave-like conditions.

Some labor recruitment agencies have received a lot of criticism for sending migrants into dangerous situations. Are these just a few bad-faith actors or is the field as a whole exploitative?

We have yet to find a single agency which follows good policy or strictly adheres to the legal requirements. Based on the cases we have seen so far, it seems that all the agencies are involved in violations and exploitation.

How does your group help migrant workers who have faced abuse abroad, or are in abu-sive situations?

Sometimes we receive

verbal complaints from the victims themselves and sometimes the com-plaints are brought by their families or guardians. As soon as we receive complaints, we work out with our part-ners in each receiving country a strat-egy to rescue the victims. CLEC also sends appeal letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation for Repatriation as well the Anti-Trafficking and Juvenile Pro-tection Department of the Ministry of the Interior.

On the ASEAN level, labor ministers have talked about safe migration and the welfare of migrants. Is any-thing being done about it?

ASEAN countries have not yet taken any concrete steps to end labor traf-ficking and exploitation. There is a lack of transparency in the process of discussion about a legal framework to promote, respect and protect migrant workers. For example, the draft of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration has not yet been shown to any civil society organization.

What would you like to see done to make migration safer?

On the ASEAN level, the legal frame-work within the bloc should be open for

consultation to make sure it benefits grassroot workers.

On the country level, each ASEAN member should start now amending its local laws and policies to recognize, respect and make sure workers have access to fair remedies as stated in the United Nations’ Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights.

The Cambodian government should hold the recruiters more responsible and accountable for the recruitment process. There is a need to change the current recruitment mechanism. An effective way to mon-itor the situation of migrant workers in the destination countries must be put into place.

Programs to create more jobs within [Cambodia] should be estab-lished as well, making sure that decent working conditions are respected and promoted. The gov-ernment should also consider teach-ing vocational skills to both indus-trial workers and farmers, and then provide social land concessions and micro-finance support for them to be suppliers to manufacturers. That must be better than turning them from farmers to laborers. The lives and livelihoods of laborers are not stable at all. ■

--interview by Tim Vutha



Briefing: Region

Gulf ofTonkin

Gulf ofThailand

LAOS

VIETNAM

THAILAND

MYANMAR

tHaiLand

vietnam

A number of European automakers plan to shift their production bases to Thailand thanks to the country’s strong auto parts production base and standard production technology, the chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries said. The unnamed automak-ers are eyeing the production of trucks,

in anticipation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. Thailand’s auto production this year is projected to hit a record 2.3 million units, exceeding earlier projection of 2.2 million units. Total production from January to July reached 1.27 million units, up 32.6 per-cent from the same period last year. ■

European carmakers to move production base to Thailand

The southern province of Kien Giang will inaugurate the first phase of completion of the Phu Quoc International Airport this December. The 900-hectare airport, located in Duong To commune on Phu Quoc island, started construction in 2008, with total investment of US$771 million, half of which is funded by the Southern Airports Corpora-tion. The airport will accommodate domestic flights between Phu Quoc and Ha Noi, HCM city and other destinations and aims to connect the island to the region and the world, to contribute to economic develop-ment, investment and the eco-tourism sector. The airport is planned for completion by 2020. So far, the main components of the airport runway, taxiway, aircraft parking and passenger terminal are operational. ■

Phu Quoc island airport moves forward


REGIONAL NEWS Volume 6, Number 135

Gulf ofTonkin

Gulf ofThailand

LAOS

VIETNAM

THAILAND

MYANMAR

myanmar

Local rubber production expands

Local and Vietnamese entrepreneurs meet in business matching

Myanmar’s rubber production totaled 100,000 tons in the fiscal year 2011-12 from around 60,000 tons in 2005-06, allowing

the country to meet its export target of 70,000 tons that year. Rubber production is flourishing in many regions of Myanmar, where rubber plan-

tations are upgrading from small scale operations to commercial ones, officials said. The country’s main buyer is China, followed by Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand,

Indonesia, South Korea and India. To further boost rubber production, a workshop on growing techniques is in the works for September. The price of rubber has been reported as being quite low, but is expected to rise toward the end of the year. Rubber is Myanmar’s major crop alongside jute, cotton, and edible crop. ■

Vietnam and Myanmar organ-ized a business matching meeting in Yangon last week at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. During the meeting, topics for discussion included natural cosmetic products, fruits and vegetables, construction materials, home decoration prod-ucts, textiles, footwear, stationery, chemicals and laboratory equipment. Bilateral trade between the two coun-tries in 2011 was worth more than US$167 million, up 9.8 percent from

2010. Major exports from Myanmar to Vietnam are forestry products, marine products, vegetables and rubber while Vietnam mostly exports to Myanmar iron products, machines and spare parts, plastic, textile and clothing. Vietnam is also eyeing investment in the hotel sector in Yangon in response to rising demand for hotel rooms and an increasing number of tourists. According to of-ficial statistics, Vietnam’s investment in Myanmar was valued at US$23.6 million as of November 2011. ■

Laos joins regional rice stockpiling plan

Laos’ National Assembly has ap-proved the Lao government’s move to join the rice reserve to be established by ASEAN and three other partner countries, namely China, Japan and South Korea, to ensure food security in Southeast Asia. The ASEAN plus three group agreed to establish this regional rice reserve at the end of last year as the parties to the agreements are both major producers and consumers of rice. Two-thirds of the global output of rice is produced in this region, and over 50 percent of world’s rice ex-ports are sourced from there. The Lao government has itself stockpiled rice to ensure food security following rice price instability in the past few years. Economists warned that a rice reserve was crucial as rice production did not meet output targets due to floods last year. ■


REGIONAL NEWSVolume 6, Number 135

tHaiLand

SourCeS: Mizzima – Bangkok Post – MCOT Online News

Domestic crude exports will come to an end by the third quar-ter of next year in an attempt to reduce oil imports, said the Petro-leum Institute of Thailand. Get-ting resources mainly from Gulf of Thailand, PTT Plc, the national oil firm, will be tasked with mixing domestically produced crude with imported crude to meet standards. In the past, Thailand exported the portion of crude oil that failed

Thailand’s rice exports and global rice prices tend to be lower this year, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics, adding that Thai rice prices have increased 20 percent to US$ 671 a ton on aver-age. Thai rice exports tend to be as low as 6.5 million tons, as a result of India’s huge rice stock of 30 million tons, a falling demand for rice and Vietnam’s low rice prices. However, positive signs in favor of Thailand include increasing Thai rice demand

from China and droughts in India and Vietnam. The office advised the government to consider a policy for the country’s long-term com-petitiveness in the rice market. It is expected that rice prices for export next year will not be as high as this year, and farmers should adjust to lower prices, while the government should refrain from intervening in the market. ■

to meet the quality required by oil refineries. PTT Plc and the Mineral Fuels Department have agreed to cut crude exports from 35,000 barrels per day at present to zero by next year’s third quarter, reducing volume of exports to 25,000 barrels per day this year and 20,000 barrels per day next year. Currently, Thailand produces 207,000 barrels per day of oil, while local demand is 800,000 barrels per day. ■

No more crude oil exports in 2013

Thai rice exports and global rice prices on a downward trend

SourCeS:Vientiane Times – Viet Nam News

The boom in Laos’ resource sector is creating challenges for exporters of other goods in the country, a senior of-ficial in the Ministry of Plan-ning and Investment warned. The Dutch disease, which coins the economic phenom-enon in which revenues from natural resources or inflows of foreign aid strengthen the country’s currency, leading exports of non-resource items to be become more expensive, is already started to shape the Lao economy, the official said. The value of the Lao kip has increased from 10,000 kip per US dollar to around 8,000 kip per US dollar in the last five years, posing problems for the tourism and garment indus-tries, which are the country’s major foreign income earners. Mineral resources such as gold and copper also contribute to the Lao economy, averaging 7.5-percent growth per year in the last five years. To mitigate the negative effects of the Dutch disease, the govern-ment has adjusted its invest-ment promotion law, reduced tax and land concession fees, especially in remote areas, to improve the number of invest-ments. ■

Dutch disease a threat to Lao economy



vietnam myanmar

Tax lost to illegally imported beer

Myanmar faces a loss of about US$27 million a year in taxation to illegally imported beers, local media reported. Imports of some food and beverages, excluding beer, have been allowed since December 2011, but beer and other items banned for import, such as liquor, cigarettes and chocolate, still freely flow into the country. Close to 30 different brands of beer are illegally imported and sold in Myanmar and sold cheaper than the locally produced and taxed Myanmar or Mandalay beers. The country’s two major beer producers, Myanmar Brewery Ltd. and Dagon Beverages Ltd., paid a combined US$67.3 million in com-mercial tax in fiscal year 2011-2012, local media reported. The problem of beer smuggling is hurting invest-ment in the sector as no foreign company has sought to invest in a brewery in Myanmar. ■

Tourist arrivals in Vietnam reached 4.38 million in the first eight months of the year, repre-senting an increase of 9.4 percent, thanks to a surge in the number of visitors from the Asian region. The number of visitors from South Korea increased 34.4 per-cent in the period in comparison to last year, Malaysia 23.2 percent, Thailand 19.6 percent, and Japan 18.9 percent. However, the number of visitors from Cambodia dropped 23.9 percent, Australia 4.6 percent, China 1.9 percent, and the United States 0.8 percent. The number of visitors might reach the country’s target of 6.5 million by the end

Vietnamese entrepreneurs have been told that Vietnamese items such as garments and textiles, footwear, wooden furniture and toys have the advantage of cheap labor costs to export to the United States at a conference on mar-ket opportunities in the US. The conference held in Hanoi aimed to advise Vietnamese businesses about penetrating the market. Since US enterprises focus on high-tech products, they often outsource their manufacturing in other countries or import labor-intensive goods, a Ministry of Industry official said.

Trade opportunities also lie in the significant Vietnamese community in the US (around 1.7 million) which could spur demand for Vietnamese products, the director of the Trade Promotions Department’s Export Support Center said. He added that Vietnamese food supply in the US was still limited and immigrants often resort to buying products from China, Thailand and South Ko-rea. Experts suggested businesses improve designs and packaging to reduce transportation costs, as well as using online services to penetrate the market. ■

of the year. In addition, domestic tourists hit 20.5 million, a 6-percent year-on-year increase. The increase is attributed to the efforts in tourism promotion, improvement of tourist product quality and services, and the development of infrastructure such as high-class resorts in Da Nang City and Binh Thuan province. ■

Asian tourists boost visitor numbers

Businesses taught about US market potential



CHinaCHina

Commerce official says processing trade vulnerable

China’s processing trade situation may significantly be affected in the second half of 2012 due to the bleak global economic outlook, said Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping, at a news conference about a coming China Processing Trade Products Fair. The announcement of the coming fair comes as the debt crisis in Europe is crippling demand and a slow recovery

Chinese entrepreneurs were urged to continue exploring opportunities in Africa and supporting the development of the Sino-African cooperation at the first Forum on China-Africa Local Government Coopera-tion in Beijing. An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on China’s businesspeople to help boost relations between the two regions. The forum aims to improve communication and cooperation and expand people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa. Around 1,700 delegates from 40 African countries and 29 Chinese provinces and cities participated in the forum. Trading volume between the two regions climbed to US$166.3 billion in late 2011, 63 percent higher than in 2009. Chinese investment in Africa totaled US$14.7 bil-lion at the end of last year. ■

of other major economies weakens trade abroad. Exports for processing trade in July slipped by 5.6 percent while imports slowly climbed 0.2 percent. The processing trade products fair, to take place from Sep. 16 to 19 in China’s Guangdong province, aims to be a platform to communicate with export companies about the necessity of focusing on local markets. ■

Offshore blocks open for foreign cooperation

Ministry urges entrepreneurs to seize opportunities in Africa

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the country’s largest off-shore oil and gas producer, has opened 26 new offshore blocks available for cooperation with foreign firms. This is the second time that CNOOC has al-lowed foreign companies to operate in offshore oil and gas blocks. Covering a vast area of 73,754 square kilometers, the blocks are located in Bohai Bay, the east China Sea, and the South China

Sea. Last June CNOOC’s first batch of offshore blocks were opened for coop-eration in the South China Sea over an area of 160,124 square kilometers. CNOOC seeks to reach a production target of between 330 million and 340 million barrels of oil this year, according to its semiannual report. In the first half of the year, production hit 160.9 million barrels, down 4.6 percent from last year. ■



Japan Korea

Japan acquires strategic stake in Indian firm

South Korea, Vietnam start FTA talks

South Korea and Vietnam are set to start free-trade talks in the first-round meeting which will last two days this week. The meeting in Seoul aims to discuss the proceedings of the free-trade negotiations, according to Seoul’s Trade Ministry. Al-though South Korea already is part of a free-trade agree-ment (FTA) on goods with ASEAN, of which Vietnam is a member, the two countries have been seeking to finalize a bilateral free-trade pact. A joint feasibility study about the FTA between the coun-tries was already done in Oc-tober last year. South Korea’s exports to Vietnam in 2011 totaled US$13.55 billion, up 40 percent from a year ear-lier, while imports soared 53 percent to US$5.08 billion. ■

Cabinet office releases bleaker assessment of economy

Japan’s government lowered its as-sessment of the export-reliant economy owing to slowing global growth that affects exports and factory output. The European debt crisis as well as slowdown in the United States and China will affect Japan as the country is still struggling to recover from last year’s earthquake and tsunami, and leave it vulnerable to sharp market swings. The Cabinet Office noted in its monthly report that Japan’s economy

was helped by reconstruction demand but that personal consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the economy, may decelerate. Car sales are stabilizing after a rapid increase earlier this year, and poor weather in June has hurt consumption of clothing, beverages and air-conditioners. Japan’s growth recorded only 0.3 percent in the April-June quarter and July trade data showed a sharp drop in exports since January. ■

The Japan Bank for International Coop-eration (JBIC) is set to purchase a large stake, as much as 26 percent, in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corp. (DMIC), Japan’s In-dustry Minister Yukio Edano announced. DMIC is in charge of an important infrastruc-ture building project, including the construc-tion of a freight railway between Delhi and Mumbai, industrial parks and power sta-tions. The government-linked JBIC will spend US$4.7 million on the purchasing deal. Late last year, Prime Min-ister Yoshihiko Noda pledged around US$4.5 billion as financial support for the infrastructure project. Japan is seeking to expand its invest-

ment in Asia’s biggest democracy amid souring relations with China and South Korea. ■

SourCe: Xinhua – Agence France Presse – Reuters – Yonhap News Agency



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CULTURE & TOURISMVolume 6, Number 135

t

Notable Books

monument books pRice: us$19.50 (papeRback)

monument books pRice: us$23.50 (papeRback)

In “Economic Facts and Fallacies,” Thomas Sowell exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues in a lively manner that does not require any prior knowledge of economics. These fallacies include many beliefs widely disseminated in the media and by politicians, such as fallacies about urban prob-lems, income differences, male-female economic differences, as well as economic fallacies about academia, about race, and about Third World countries.

Sowell shows that fallacies are not simply crazy ideas but in fact have a certain plausibility that gives them their staying power-and makes careful examination of their flaws both necessary and important.

The Real Book of Real Estate is the one book every investor needs to navigate through the ups, downs, and in-betweens of the real estate market and come out on top.

The only thing better than one real estate expert helping you invest and win is twenty real estate experts with that same mission. For the first time ever, Robert Kiyosaki, bestselling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, has assembled in one big book a star-studded cast of real estate wizards and trusted advisors with one purpose in mind: to share their knowledge to help you win in real estate.

This is the ultimate real estate desk reference you’ll come back to again and again. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or buying your first prop-erty, the book shows you how to value a property, handle leases, manage tenant relationships, get financing, even establish your own team of advisors, and much more. You’ll hear from the insiders and learn from their wins as well as their losses. ■

economic facts and fallacies

the Real book of Real estate

Author: Thomas Sowell

Author: Robert Kiyosaki

Second Edition


CULTURE & TOURISM Volume 6, Number 135

The Week at the CSXAugust 23-29, 2012

BY SANN SETHVITOu | ECONOMICS TODAY

The price of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority stock over the Aug. 23-29 period fluc-tuated between KHR 6,350 (US$1.57) to KHR 6,450 (US$1.59), but trading volume went down to zero for the first time in the exchange’s his-tory on Aug. 24.

The price on Aug. 23 and 24, KHR 6,450, fell to KHR 6,400 (US$1.58) on the next day before drop-ping to KHR 6,350 on the following trading day, Aug. 28. Then it rose slightly to KHR 6,400, according to data from the Cambodia Securi-ties Exchange (CSX) website.

With the price at KHR 6,450 on Aug. 23, a volume of 17,616 shares generated about KHR 113.6 million (US$28,000). Then, on Aug. 24, trading volume was zero.

A report from Phnom Penh Securities explained the zero-trading volume day say-ing that on Aug. 24, although investors had ordered about

84,000 shares to the market, the market could not reach the executed price because the minimum price offered by sellers was KHR 6,500 (US$1.60) and the maximum price bid by the buyers was only KHR 6,450.

The report stressed: “It was like a cool war between buyers and sellers.”

T h e n e x t trading day, trading volume climbed to around 18,900 shares, generating about KHR 121 million (US$29,800). One day later, the number of stocks traded rose to around 33,800 shares, producing around KHR 215 million (US$53,000). On the last day of the period, trading volume fell sharply to around 1,627 shares equaling around KHR 10 mil-lion (US$2,500).

The main players of the week were Golden For-tune Securities and Acleda Securities. ■

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

1,000,000

18-A

pr-1

223

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-12

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202

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-12

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ay-1

217

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22-M

ay-1

225

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213

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8,500

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10,500

11,000

PPWSA Share: Closing Price and Trading Volume

Trading Volume (in shares, left axis) Closing Price (in KHR, right axis)

Source: Cambodia Securities Exchange, Economics Today Graphic



Cambodia Investment & TradeFDI Approvals (last 12 months) Jun 12 Year Ago % chg

Total Fixed Assets (US$ mn) 5,088 4,469 +13.8

Agro-Industry 246 349 -29.6

Garments 508 260 +95.7

Hotels 607 2,353 -74.2

Other 3,727 1,507 +147.2

Total Projects (number) 178 111 +60.4

Agro-Industry 10 12 -16.7

Garments 95 62 +53.2

Hotels 8 4 +100.0

Other 65 33 +97.0

Source: E-data, CDC

External Trade (last 12 months) Jun 12 Year Ago % chg

Exports (US$ million) 5,303.2 4,265.2 +24.3

Garments (US$ million) 4,174.9 3,453.6 +20.9

Rice (US$ million) 113.5 68.5 +65.8

Rubber ('000 mt) 48.8 39.7 +23.0

Imports (US$ million) 6,742.8 5,955.8 +13.2

Gasoline 303.7 197.1 +54.1

Diesel 491.7 321.3 +53.0

Cement 67.7 50.1 +35.2

Steel 99.9 82.0 +21.7

Car 201.2 139.0 +44.7

Imports (Quantity)

Gasoline ('000 mt) 408.2 386.9 +5.5

Diesel ('000 mt) 838.6 783.2 +7.1

Cement ('000 mt) 982.2 775.2 +26.7

Steel ('000 mt) 263.8 132.8 +98.7

Cars ('000 unit) 23.2 17.9 +29.9

Source: E-data, CED

Garment Exports (last 12 months) Jun 12 Year Ago % chg

Total Quantity (million dozs) 112.6 103.6 +8.7

USA 64.3 66.4 -3.1

EU 29.7 21.9 +35.5

Others 18.6 15.3 +21.7

Total Value (US$ million) 4,174.9 3,453.6 +20.9

USA 1,997.1 1,931.4 +3.4

EU 1,303.2 887.6 +46.8

Others 874.5 634.5 +37.8

Source: E-data, CED

Cambodia Market News

General Items 27 Aug Year Ago % chg

Gasoline (riel/liter) 5,450 5,220 +4.4

Rice (riel/kg) 3,000 2,700 +11.1

Fish (riel/kg) 14,300 15,140 -5.5

Beef (riel/kg) 33,700 29,260 +15.2

Pork (riel/kg) 16,700 21,640 -22.8

Chicken (riel/kg) 17,000 18,400 -7.6

Source: EIC survey in Phnom Penh markets

Local Commodities (wholesale, riel/kg) Jul 12 Year Ago % chg

Black pepper (Kampong Cham) 25,250 22,250 +13.5

Cashew nuts (Kampong Cham) 4,000 4,500 -11.1

Cassava (Kampong Cham) 863 980 -12.0

Maize (Phnom Penh) 1,500 1,500 0.0

Paddy (Kngork Pong, Kg Cham) 1,350 1,280 +5.5

Sesame (Banteay Meachey) 4,500 6,000 -25.0

Soybeans (Kampong Cham) 2,800 3,433 -18.4

Source: E-data, MAFF

Cambodia Inflation (% YOY) Jul 12 Year Ago % chg

All items 1.3 7.1 -5.8

Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages 1.3 8.6 -7.3

Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco,... 1.3 1.2 +0.1

Clothing and Footwear 3.5 3.8 -0.3

Utilities (1) 0.5 4.8 -4.3

Other Housing (2) 3.4 1.8 +1.6

Health 0.7 -0.3 +0.9

Transport 0.3 8.1 -7.9

Communications 0.1 0.8 -0.7

Recreation 1.8 -2.2 +4.0

Education 4.2 -1.1 +5.3

Restaurants 2.6 11.3 -8.7

Miscellaneous 2.8 10.2 -7.4

Source: E-data, NIS

(1) Utilities = Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels

(2) Other Housing = Furnishings, Household Equipment

& Routine Household Maintenance


Volume 6, Number 135ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL INDICATORS

Main International Economic IndicatorsInflation (% YoY) Jul 12 Year Ago % chgCambodia 1.3 7.1 -5.8

China 1.7 6.5 -4.8

India * 10.1 8.6 +1.4

Indonesia 4.6 4.8 -0.2

Japan * -0.1 -0.4 +0.3

S. Korea 1.3 3.9 -2.6

Malaysia 1.4 3.4 -2.0

Singapore 4.0 5.4 -1.4

Thailand 2.7 4.1 -1.4

Vietnam 5.4 22.2 -16.8

USA 1.4 3.6 -2.2Source: E-data, Country Authority, Global Rates Note: * June 2012

GDP (US$ billion) 2012 2011 % chgCambodia 14 13 +10.7

China 7,744 6,988 +10.8

India 2,013 1,843 +9.2

Indonesia 936 834 +12.2

Japan 6,126 5,855 +4.6

Korea 1,275 1,164 +9.6

Malaysia 267 248 +8.0

Singapore 284 266 +6.5

Thailand 379 339 +11.7

Vietnam 137 122 +13.1

USA 15,495 15,065 +2.9

GDP per capita (US$) 2012 2011 % chgCambodia 955 874 +9.3

China 5,716 5,184 +10.3

India 1,646 1,527 +7.7

Indonesia 3,848 3,469 +10.9

Japan 47,960 45,774 +4.8

Korea 25,949 23,749 +9.3

Malaysia 9,147 8,617 +6.2

Singapore 53,072 50,714 +4.6

Thailand 5,865 5,281 +11.0

Vietnam 1,521 1,362 +11.7

USA 49,055 48,147 +1.9

GDP Growth (%) 2012 2011 % chgCambodia 6.2 7.8 -1.6

China 9.0 9.5 -0.4

India 7.5 7.8 -0.3

Indonesia 6.3 6.4 -0.1

Japan 2.3 -0.5 +2.8

Korea 4.4 3.9 +0.4

Malaysia 5.1 5.2 -0.1

Singapore 4.3 5.3 -1.0

Thailand 4.8 3.5 +1.3

Vietnam 6.3 5.8 +0.3

USA 1.8 1.5 +0.5Source: EIC (Cambodia, Jan 2012) and IMF (Others, Sep 2011)

More Info http://data.eicambodia.org

International Market NewsExchange Rate (US$ 1 =...) 27 Aug Year Ago % chg

Cambodia 4,071 4,097 -0.6

China 6.34 6.39 -0.9

India 55.59 46.05 +20.7

Indonesia 9,515 8,578 +10.9

Japan 76.95 77.42 -0.6

Korea 1,134 1,085 +4.5

Malaysia 3.11 2.99 +4.0

Singapore 1.25 1.21 +3.7

Thailand 31.41 29.85 +5.2

Vietnam 20,960 20,776 +0.9

EU 0.80 0.69 +14.9

UK 0.63 0.61 +3.3

Selected Commodities Jul 12 Year Ago % chg

Gasoline NY (US$/liter) 0.99 1.04 -5.1

Crude oil Dubai (US$/barrel) 99 110 -9.8

Soybeans (US$/mt) 662 559 +18.4

Maize (US$/mt) 333 301 +10.7

Rice (US$/mt) 574 538 +6.5

Rubber (US$/mt) 3,078 4,732 -35.0

Gold (US$/oz) 1,744 1,725 +1.1

Steel (cr coilsheet, US$/mt) 900 900 0.0

Source: E-data, IMF, EIA,WB

Interest Rate (US$, 1yr-term, %) 27 Aug Year Ago % chg

Cambodia Market * 12.48 17.21 -4.73

LIBOR 1.04 0.80 +0.24

SIBOR 1.04 0.81 +0.23

US Federal Fund 0.25 0.25 0.00

Source: E-data, NBC, BOT, Reuters Note: * May 2012

Closing Stock Index 27 Aug Year Ago % chg

China (Shanghai SE Composite) 2,056 2,576 -20.2

France (CAC 40) 3,463 3,154 +9.8

Hong Kong (Hang Seng) 19,799 19,865 -0.3

India (Bombay Stock Ex 500) 6,722 6,392 +5.2

Indonesia (Jakarta Composite) 4,146 3,866 +7.2

Japan (NIKKEI 225) 9,085 8,851 +2.6

Korea (KRX 100) 4,153 3,825 +8.6

Malaysia 1,648 1,447 +13.9

Singapore (Straits Times) 3,044 2,792 +9.0

Thailand (SET) 1,234 1,056 +16.9

Laos 1,056 1,005 +5.1

UK (FTSE 100) 5,755 5,269 +9.2

USA (Dow Jones Industrial) 13,125 11,539 +13.7

Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh Stock) 380 413 -8.0

Source: Bloomberg


ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL INDICATORSVolume 6, Number 135

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26-Aug-11 26-Oct-11 26-Dec-11 26-Feb-12 26-Apr-12 26-Jun-12

(Weekly, US$/ton, fob Bangkok)

White rice, Thai 100% B second grade

White broken rice Thai A1 super

24-Aug-12

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(Spot Price, Weekly)

Local Gasoline(US$/liter, right)

Crude Oil

(US$/barrel, WTI)

Gasoline(US$/liter, NY, right)

27-Aug-12

3,900

4,000

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(Stock Index)

SET (Thailand)right axis

Bombay Stock EX 500 (India)

Shanghai SE composite(China)


Volume 6, Number 135ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL INDICATORS

special report: garmentsirm.p5w.net/rsc/2013/316030/01/images/01.pdfbora’s acclaimed film “lost...

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