The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

(Post by CAAI News Media)

In Brief: IFC investment fund

Thursday, 08 October 2009 15:00 Steve Finch

THE International Finance Corporation has signed a deal in Washington that will see it contribute US$4 million to a Cambodia-Laos investment fund, Cambodia Resident Representative Julia Brickell said Wednesday. The deal, which was signed on September 30, will see Emerging Market Investments (EMI) Pte Ltd manage the overall fund, she added. The Post understands that development partners from Finland and Norway would also contribute; however, EMI’s Cambodia representative Joshua Morris was unavailable for further comment on Wednesday.

In Brief: Mobile tax warning

Thursday, 08 October 2009 15:00 Chun Sophal

FOLLOWING a government circular co-signed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance last week warning mobile-phone firms they would have to pay tax even if profits fall on the back of low tariffs, Minister Keat Chhon has backed up the call, saying there will be a clampdown on the sector. “We will not allow any company to be free from paying tax,” he said Tuesday after a conference on the 2010 budget in Phnom Penh. The matter had been discussed with Minister of Telecoms So Khun, he added, who also signed the letter, dated September 29. It was sent to all mobile firms, the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

In Brief: Vimpelcom upgraded

Thursday, 08 October 2009 15:00 POST STAFF

DEUTSCHE Bank has upgraded to “buy” Moscow-based Vimpelcom, parent company of Beeline, following what appears to be the resolution of a dispute between its two main investors, it said Tuesday. Despite having downgraded it to “hold” on September 24, the bank upgraded the telecoms firm after it announced that main shareholders Altimo and Telenor had effectively settled a previous dispute over operations in Russia by agreeing to establish Vimpelcom Ltd, a new firm. Despite Deutsche Bank’s upgrading its price target to US$23.10, the stock fell 2.54 percent Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange to $19.20.