Push for Thai-Cambodia trade ties

The forum coincided with the official visit to Thailand of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Thailand marking the 65-year diplomatic relationship between the two countries, and the meeting with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha.
At the forum, Hun Sen said Cambodia could be a manufacturing centre for Asia, as it had seen strong economic growth for several years. Cambodia also has a policy to support foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly in value-added industry, and to encourage connectivity within the Greater Mekong Subregion and other international stages.
He said many Thai enterprises of all sizes could explore opportunities to invest in Cambodia.
Hun Sen said his country would continue to encourage closer cooperation among Asean members, while it was developing itself to become the factory of Asia under the Asean Economic Community, which is the world’s fourth-largest trading bloc.
To achieve its development vision by 2030, Cambodia will open up investment opportunities for both large and small enterprises to create linkages along the supply chain.
Cambodia expects its gross domestic product to grow by 7 per cent next year, up from this year’s 6.9-per-cent growth. GDP per capita is expected to rise to US$1,325 from $1,228, with inflation at 3 per cent. Accumulated FDI during the first 11 months of this year was $46 billion (Bt1.66 trillion).
After listening to Hun Sen’s speech, Chanitr Charnchainarong, committee to the Thai Chamber of Commerce and president of the Thailand-Cambodia Business Council, said Thai and Cambodian private enterprises had high confidence to invest in each country.
“The event has encouraged closer cooperation not only among government agencies, but also between the two nations’ private enterprises. In the near future, there should be more trade and investment between Thailand and Cambodia, particularly after the Asean integration, as it will allow free flows of trade, service, and investment,” Chanitr said.
Today, the two countries’ business councils will sign a memorandum of understanding on encouraging more bilateral investment.
Industries that Cambodia has encouraged Thais to invest in are mainly in agribusiness, as Cambodia has plentiful agricultural resources. However, Cambodia now has only upstream products, so it wants to develop its supply chain to add value to crops. It also expects technology transfer to its workers.
The two countries have also discussed how to increase cooperation in promoting their respective special economic zones.
During the forum, Thailand and Cambodia businesspeople discussed privileges to help Thai traders do business in Cambodia, as well as reap benefits from Cambodia’s export privileges granted by the United States and the European Union.
Vallop Vitanakorn, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said Cambodia was a high-potential investment destination for Thai enterprises as it has a good supply of raw materials and cheap labour.
He noted that the minimum wage in Cambodia was $128 a month. Although the Cambodian government has recently announced an increase to $140 a month, that is still low and acceptable to foreign investors.
Vallop added that Cambodia had clear and predictable laws to facilitate foreign investment under its government’s promotion plan. Thus Thai enterprises did not have to be concerned about investment regulations.
To facilitate more investment from Thailand to Cambodia, the FTI has called for the Thai and Cambodian governments to cooperate in the exchange of raw materials.