Cambodia is currently one of the top three countries that attract the capital from Vietnam. The Government of Cambodia also plans to open all fields for Vietnamese companies to invest in the country.
In the past years, the good relations between Vietnam and Cambodia have developed in both dimension and depth. The two countries have agreed on a variety of measures to promote economic and commercial cooperation and coordinate in opening and upgrading border economic zones and border markets. Implementing the guidance of the Government, Vietnamese enterprises have actively explored the investment environment and carried out many large projects in Cambodia. Since 1996, Vietnamese investment projects in Cambodia have increased exponentially in both quantity and scale. Vietnam invested in 63 projects in Cambodia with a total of nearly US$900 million, or US$14.2 million per project on average. Besides, Vietnamese giants like the Vietnam Airlines, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group, the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and VINAFOOD have invested sizeable projects in Cambodia.
When these projects are completed and put into operation, the aggregate investment capital of Vietnamese enterprises in Cambodia will climb US$6 billion in 2015, many folds greater than the current US$900 million. Cambodia is currently one of the top three countries that attract the capital from Vietnam which is investing in more than 50 countries and territories in the world. Presently, about 400 Vietnamese enterprises are investing in Cambodia. Vietnamese enterprises mainly invest in exploring and exploiting minerals, oil and gas; cooperating in the power sector like building hydroelectric plants, transmission lines and trading electricity; planting rubber trees and developing traffic infrastructure, etc. in Cambodia.
The economic cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia has prospered year after year. Especially, the year 2009 witnessed a breakthrough in many activities. The two-way trade turnover increased 40 % per year. In the first 10 months of 2009, this figure reached US$945 million. The two nations target at a bilateral trade turnover of US$2 billion in 2010 and US$6.4 billion in 2020. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, in 2009, the commencement of many Vietnamese investment projects in Cambodia proves the powerful attractiveness of this market. Particularly, the military-run Viettel Corp scaled its investment capital by US$27 million to US$150 million in Cambodia; the BIDV-affiliated Cambodian Development Investment Joint Stock Company and Phuong Nam Company with US$100 million; the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group with US$73 million for rubber tree planting project; and Nam Sao Company with US$56 million on fertiliser plant construction project. In September 2009, Vietnamese investors established two agricultural companies in Cambodia with a total investment capital of about US$23 million. Many corporations from Vietnam are carrying out several large-scaled projects in Cambodia and if they start operation, the investment capital will reach billions of US dollars.
To promote Vietnamese investment activities in Cambodia, according to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hunsen at an investment promotion conference held recently in Ho Chi Minh City, Cambodia has enacted concrete measures, including the implementation of signed agreements on trade, tourism, energy and transportation etc. between the two countries. At the same time, several licensed investment projects in the fields of fertiliser production, financial services, banking, bauxite exploration and exploitation and agricultural product processing. The Prime Minister affirmed that Cambodia would be open in all fields to Vietnamese enterprises, including banking, insurance and telecommunication sectors.
However, the de facto investment and commercial cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia is still confined in relation to the potentiality of the two countries. In addition, Vietnamese enterprises in Cambodia still encounter some difficulties in investment as high taxable imports (up to 30-40 %); thus they do not dare to follow the official export channel but hiring intermediaries or using unofficial trading channel. Moreover, the exchange between the dollar and Cambodian currency, riel, and the shortage of qualified human resources among others are hammering Vietnamese investment activities in this market. Vietnamese enterprises hope the Kingdom of Cambodia to quickly adjust regulations and create conditions to invest in the country.
M.N
Vietnamese
