In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

After a global economic slump in 2009, Cambodia welcomed World Bank forecasts that projected its economy would grow in 2010. However, despite an auspicious start to the New Year, the imbalanced growth between Phnom Penh and the provincial areas are major concerns for improved and sustainable economic development. The private sector in Cambodia, particularly the [...]

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In Cambodia, the garment sector is certainly where the global economic crisis is having the most impact. As an essential pillar of the country’s economy, it accounts for about 80 percent of all exports and, until recently, employed more than 300,000 employees. In the last few months, experts say between 40,000 to 60,000 garment workers [...]

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The recent release of two reports – one from the World Bank/IFC and the other from the IFC/Asia Foundation – compelled more than 200 Cambodians to gather on May 25th in a conference room overseeing the Tonle Sap river. They were business owners, public officials, and development organizations, all keen to discuss ways to make [...]

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One might wonder whether, at a time of financial turmoil and economic uncertainty, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the most urgent economic issue to discuss.  One might argue, when hundreds of thousands are expected to lose their jobs and as many enterprises are struggling to simply survive throughout the world, that companies would be better [...]

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“We feel that too often, we are floating with the tide, but we want to be more active, we actually want to learn how to swim,” explained H.E. Ung Huot, Chairman of the Cambodian Senate’s Commission on Economy, Planning, Investment and Environment. In the midst of what we can now call an international financial and [...]

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A few weeks ago, trucks carrying loudspeakers and loads of cheerful party supporters sporting colorful t-shirts invaded the normally peaceful streets of Phnom Penh. Small white posters displaying the images of party leaders started to cover walls throughout the capital city. There is no doubt about it; the election season has started. In a country [...]

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The last several decades have seen Bangladesh’s dependence on the garment sector grow significantly. In 1983, there were about 50 garment factories in the country. By 2004, this number had jumped to 4,000. Exports have increased from a meager $68 thousand in 1968 to $5.7 billion in 2004. It was around the early 1990′s when [...]

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“Keep making your voice heard, keep informing us of your concerns, we need to hear from you,” Senator Ung Huot, Vice Chairman of the Senate Commission on Economy, urged representatives of provincial small business associations in a meeting at the Senate on September 7th in Phnom Penh. “Improving your business environment will take time,” he [...]

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Cambodia’s growing garment sector has defied expectations in the two years since the end of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA), a decade-old international quota system for textiles and apparel.  Last year alone, the garment industry experienced 20% growth. This impressive resilience in a restive global market augurs well for the short term.  But in Cambodia”where apparel, [...]

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