LONGHENG: Cambodia rarifies CHINA-ASEAN, SOUTH KOREA-ASEAN ECONOMIC Cooperation

Cambodia’s National Assembly Approves investment agreement of Comprehensive Economic cooperation: ASEAN-China and South Korea .

Cambodia’s National Assembly on June 1 July approved the Agreement on Investment of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea respectively in a move of facilitating the investment from both sides and investment protection for providing mutual benefits of parties.
H.E. Kong Vibol, first vice –president of the council for development of Cambodia (CDC) and representative of government told the lawmakers July 1 that the agreement on Investment of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China will boost more investment from China into our country and region. It will contribute to protection of investment from all sides. The two investment agreements between ASEAN-China and ASEAN- the Republic of Korea are similar under framework of Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).



“The purpose of the investment agreement of ASEAN - China is to promote the investment flows and to create a liberal, facilitative, transparent and competitive investment regime in ASEAN and China through progressively liberalizing the investment regimes of ASEAN and China ,” he said. He added that it is creating favorable conditions for the investment by investors of a party and the investors, who have investment in the territory of that party on a mutually beneficial basis, and encouraging and promoting the flow of investment among the parties and cooperation among the parties on investment –related matters. “The agreement will improve the transparency of investment rules conducive to increase investment flows among the parties and provide for the protection of investments in ASEAN and China ,” he noted.
The investment agreement between ASEAN and China was signed on August 2009 by the ASEAN Economic Ministers and Chinese counterpart in Bangkok of Thailand. At that time, H.E Cham Prasidh, senior minister and minister of the commerce and as second vice president of the CDC signed on behalf of the royal government of Cambodia .
H.E Kong Vibol continued that we need to enhance further free flow of investment from private sector and from state. “The agreement contributes to have free flow of investment, goods and services, information technology, and economic cooperation between ASEAN and China ,” he stresses. H.E Kong Vibol added that up to now china invested about 8,000 million US dollars in Cambodia . He did not say in detail.
The investment projects from China focused on agricultural sector, hydropower, transport, services and textile and industry” he said, adding that the investment helped to provide job creations for local people to contribute poverty reduction. The trade volume for the two countries is imbalanced but we have always encouraged boosting more trade export. In term of competition with export and import with china, we could not compare,” he highlighted. Currently, China has provided 418 items of products from Cambodia to sell in the country without paying tax. This is the most favorable for Cambodian products,” he added.

“We imported the raw materials from china to produce clothes in garment factories for exporting to American and EU markets. This way has assisted to create jobs for our local people and improve the living conditions,” he added. “Furthermore, we have protection investments with 24 countries both bilateral and multi -party cooperation to foster and facilitate investment in purpose of economic growth and development of the country,” he added.
The government is striving to expand to attract more investors to be here to boost the economic growth and development of the country. We have never discriminated any investors and we always are open and welcome investors from all corners to make businesspeople here,” he said.

“We also provided the private companies to run the business and have ability to choose 10 percent from foreign workers with high skill in the working places and other staff is local workers after we have human resources in limited level. That is opportunity for investors,” he said, adding that we will have cheap price of electricity when our hydropower produced power and our sea port will expand its capacity and deep water port will be opened in 2014-15 with Japanese help. H.E Kong Vibol also replied to the question which was raised by the lawmakers about high price of exporting containers.

On that day, the national assembly also approved the agreement on investment of the framework agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation between the association of Southeast Asian Nationals and the republic of Korea . H.E. Kong Vibol said that so far South Korea invested about 2.7 billion in country.
H.E. Ay Khan, chairman of the Investment, Planning, and Telecommunication, land management and urbanization said that the agreements asked the national assembly to approve as soon as possible. These agreements really provided a new step for our country to attract the investors from friendly countries, region and the world and it will contribute enhancing further the confidence to foreign investors. “ China and South Korea are good partners and provide mutual benefits for cooperation,” H.E Ay Khan added.
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