Analysts lift GDP estimate for 2009

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 08 April 2010 15:01 Ellie Dyer

THE World Bank has readjusted upwards estimates for Cambodia’s GDP performance in 2009 after unexpected signs of improvement emerged in the economy late last year.

Economists who drew up the biannual economic update on East Asia and the Pacific, released by the World Bank Wednesday, estimated that the Kingdom’s GDP contracted by 2 percent in 2009, 0.2 percent less than an estimate five months ago.

This contrasts with the government’s official assessment that GDP expanded 0.1 percent last year. The government has previously rejected estimates of recession in the Kingdom. Other international analysts including the International Monetary Fund and the Economist Intelligence Unit have estimated contractions in GDP last year.

The World Bank report released Wednesday forecast GDP growth of 4.4 percent in 2010, up from a 4.2 percent prediction in November. Garment exports – Cambodia’s main earner – are expected to expand 2 percent this year, after contracting 16 percent in 2009.

Huot Chea, the World Bank’s country economist, told the Post via email Wednesday the adjustments were made after aspects of the economy “improved unexpectedly in the last quarter of 2009”.

A doubling of agribusiness exports, a halt in the decline in tourists arriving by air, and signs that domestic credit and inflows of foreign domestic investment had “begun rebounding” were indicators of change, he said.

“The other crucial point was that garment exports were previously expected to drop by a 20 to 25 percent range, but ended up by declining less than 20 percent,” he wrote.

The World Bank report said Cambodia’s economy suffered “a serious setback” after the global economic downturn, but “signs emerged [in] late 2009 that the winds were shifting”.

The adjustments also reflect feelings among World Bank economists that the region has weathered the credit crunch.

“East Asia has recovered from the economic and financial crisis, largely thanks to China,” the report said, a viewpoint reiterated by leading economists Wednesday.

Speaking via video from Tokyo, the World Bank’s chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific, Vikram Nehru, congratulated ASEAN leaders in advance of the 16th annual summit, to begin in Hanoi today, on their handling of the economic crisis.

Nehru advised leaders to stay on top of regional development through better trade facilitation and managed migration and likened the economy to a bicycle.

“You have to continue reforming or else you fall off,” he said.

He also advised developing economies like Cambodia to look towards middle-term economic goals in the year ahead.

The report likens Cambodia’s situation to that of Vietnam a decade ago, when Vietnam chose to open its economy to foreign investment and began ambitious structural changes that boosted fixed investment to 32 percent of its GDP.

The World Bank estimates Cambodia’s foreign direct investment will grow to US$725 million in 2010, up from $515 million in 2009 and nearly rebounding to 2008 levels, when investments came in at $795 million.

The report’s principle author, Ivailo Izvorski, said through videolink Wednesday that developing nations should continue to make structural changes and increase capacity to make the most of prospective growth.

“Now developing countries have to get used to slower growth of their exports,” he said. “Before the economic crisis we were in a bubble.”

In its report, the World Bank also warned Cambodia of potential challenges in the year ahead.

Cambodia’s growth forecast could be put at risk by “the fragility of the global recovery, the uncertain capacity of the economy to diversify and the limited scope for a stronger recovery in credit”.

Huot Chea said after Wednesday’s conference that Cambodia could further protect itself from external shocks by diversifying its export markets, especially in garments, which are currently concentrated in the United States, which was hit especially hard by the economic crisis.

Cambodia managed to significantly raise exports to markets including Japan and Laos last year. However, trade rose from a small base in most cases.

Residential rents slid again in Q1, agents say

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 08 April 2010 15:01 Soeun Say

RESIDENTIAL property rents continued a downslide in the first quarter of the year, with the number of renters falling and the number of new vacancies climbing, according to property owners and agents.

The average asking price of apartments for rent at the Cambodian Priority Property Investment Co dropped to US$1,800 a month, compared to the $2,200 tag early last year, Kong Vannsophy, the company’s general manager, said.

Average villa rents at the company fell from $5,000 a month to $3,500, including furnishings, water, electricity and security, he said.

“There are a lot of apartments for rent now, but there are no new clients coming, and many have left since the world crisis,” he said.

Residential rents began decreasing in the second half of 2008, as the economic downturn curbed skyrocketing fees in a frenetic market.

National Valuers Association (NVA) President Sung Bonna told the Post Wednesday that rents were down 10 percent to 15 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

“The supply of apartments for rent is going up, but the demand is going down,” he said. “There are a lot of investors, such as Korean and Chinese, returning home and [going] to other countries.”

NVA figures show monthly rents for a three-bedroom apartment in the capital averaged $2,300 in the first quarter last year, falling to $1,500 to $2,000 in the same period this year.

For the same period, two-bedroom apartment rents fell to $800 to $1,000, down from $1,000 to $1,500, and one-bedroom rents were down to $400 to $800, about $100 cheaper.

“Owners of apartments call to ask me, ‘What is going on with the apartment now?’” said Sear Chailin, director of Visal Realty, which has 50 apartments and 60 villas for rent in Phnom Penh. “The owners of apartments always ask me this.”

Clients were slashing rents, he said. “I think that apartments for rent dropped between 10 percent and 20 percent compared to the same period last year.”

Sihanoukville port traffic recovers

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 08 April 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

FREIGHT shipments through Sihanoukville Autonomous Port rose 8.61 percent in the first quarter of 2010, compared to the same period last year, according to port figures.

The port shipped 502,000 tonnes of goods, a rise from 462,000 in the first quarter of 2009, but the March-on-March figures showed a decline.

The port moved 176,666 tonnes of goods to regional ports in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam in March – a 3.5 percent drop from the same month last year.

Ma Sun Hourt, deputy director general of the port, told the Post Wednesday the slip in numbers was not a concern because the port was negotiating more gateways for the shipment of agricultural products, including acacia trees.

That could mean a continued increase in shipments into the second quarter of the year, Ma Sun Hourt said.

Sihanoukville port plans to ship nearly 2 million tonnes of goods this year, a modest increase of 3.4 percent from 2009. Last year’s shipments were 9 percent lower than 2008’s.

Traffic has been hurt by the completion of a deepwater port in Vietnam that has made direct shipments possible from Phnom Penh to international ports, saving companies both time and money.

“We hope that the ongoing recovery of the regional and global economies will help bring the port a chance to ship more goods,” Ma Sun Hourt said.

Sihanoukville port ships coal, garment supplies, oil, cloth, footwear, cement, automobiles and grain, he said.

So Nguon, director of the So Nguon Group, the biggest container shipper in Cambodia, said Wednesday that textile and rice products he transported between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville port rose 20 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Intercultural art experiment investigates creative process

Photo by: Douglas Long

The artists who participated in Pleased to Meet You (clockwise from top): Pauline Juvenez, Phe Sophon, Tith Kanitha, Jean-Phillipe Rykaert, Loeum Loan, Pierre Michelon and Chan Pagna.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 08 April 2010 15:00 Douglas Long

FOR most artists, a gallery exhibition is an opportunity to present polished work to the public. The plans, rough sketches and early blueprints are locked away in the studio, and only the “finished products” are allowed to see the light of day.

But this is precisely what viewers should not expect tonight at the French Cultural Centre, where the collaborative efforts of four Khmer artists and three French artists will be unveiled starting at 7pm.

For the past month, the student artists – Chan Pagna, Pauline Juvenez, Loeum Loan, Pierre Michelon, Phe Sophon, Jean-Phillipe Rykaert and Tith Kanitha – have been involved in Pleased to Meet You, a workshop based on the premise that if you throw a group of creative people from two different cultures together, interesting things might happen. Or not.

The students were supervised by Daniel Perrier, a French artist and instructor at the School of Fine Arts in Nantes, who said the collaboration started with the most basic of questions: How are you?

“After that, if you want something to happen you have to give everyone your identity, your background, your desire,” he said. The goal of the workshop, explained Perrier, was not to create masterpieces for exhibition, but to focus on the unfolding process of collaboration itself.

“The idea is not to present our art, but to present our activity, our discussion,” he said. “I would like the artists to explain what happened or not. It’s not a question of you win or not. It’s a question of why something happened and why something didn’t happen, of what happens when you meet someone from another culture.”

The students were given few specific instructions for the workshop, with Perrier providing guidance with sharpening ideas but refraining from telling the artists exactly what to do or how to do it.

The participants were free to work in their chosen media – photography, video, painting, sculpture – but were also expected to contribute ideas and assistance to the projects of other students in the group.

At their best, such artistic and intercultural collaborations can lead to the emergence of unexpected discoveries and the birth of surprising art forms, sometimes challenging even the most basic assumptions about what can be encompassed by the term “art”.

Perrier related how, for example, Pierre Michelon called everyone together to help with his project, and also asked two historians – one French and one Khmer – to join in a discussion about Cambodia’s independence and what it meant for young people today.

“The Khmer historian and one Khmer artist asked him why he wanted to speak about history when he was an artist, not a historian,” Mr Perrier said. “Pierre was really surprised because he thought that as an artist, it was OK to be interested in history to get some ideas for making a work of art.

“It was the best illustration of the duality between Khmer and French cultures. In French culture especially, we love to have discussions, but sometimes the Khmer artists do not like to talk about their ideas.”

Discussion itself, however, can be a problem when the collaborators don’t speak the same language, as several of the artists involved in the workshop acknowledged.

“We are trying to build a real discussion, but translation is an issue,” Mr Michelon said. “English is a problem because it’s not our language. If we speak about something serious it’s better to use our own language because it’s more real.”

Phe Sophon referred to communication as “the first art” without which the students would be unable to share ideas with each other.

“I have difficulty with communication with the group, but I’m improving my artistic skills by working with others,” he said. “I’m learning about the feelings and ideas of foreigners, and I think they are learning from us as well.”

The students agreed that within the context of the workshop, misunderstanding can be frustrating, but it can also open up spaces from which new ideas can emerge.

“Yes, it happens,” Pauline Juvenez said. “Someone might say ‘do this’, expecting the person to do it in a certain way, but the person might get a different message or idea and do it in a different way, creating a new, unexpected look.”

“Sometimes a new idea might be an accident,” Tith Kanitha agreed, “but also we try to understand each other. Sometimes we have to speak through body language or use the internet to show what we mean, or sometimes we just to sit down and draw what we mean.

“Even though the language is hard, we still try to get together and create something new. This is the most important thing. We help each other to try to find something new and unique to tell,” she said.

It is precisely these new possibilities that excite Mr Perrier most about the project.

“To connect something, we must make a choice. Maybe you can connect something from subjects that have no relation at the beginning, but when they connect it creates new meaning,” he said.

If all of this sounds confusing, even the artists agreed that the workshop lacked a clear definition of purpose. But they also agreed that this was not necessarily a bad thing.

“We never mind about that, but we have shown that artists from different cultures can work together,” said Tith Kanitha. “We didn’t know where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do, but we just liked to work together.”

Pleased to Meet You opens tonight at 7pm at the French Cultural Centre, 218 Street 184. The exhibition runs through May 15.

Considering Forestry Crimes, Ty Sokun Should Not Be Allowed to Hold a Position, but Should Be Punished according to the Law – Wednesday, 7.4.2010

A house, reportedly belonging to Mr. Ty Sokun

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

via CAAI News Media

Posted on 8 April 2010

The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 659

“Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday morning, in a conference at the Chamkar Doung Royal University of Agriculture, to remove the director of the forestry administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. Such a removal of the holder of the same position, of a former head of the forestry administration – Mr. Ly Kim Han – happened also some years ago, making him feel heart-broken, and he died. But in Ty Sokun’s case, according to opinions expressed among the general public, he should face the law and receive punishment. To remove Ty Sokun, but to appoint him at the same time as Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, shows the great tolerance of the Prime Minister.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly announced the decision to take out Mr. Ty Sokun from the position of Director General of the Forestry Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, because he was involved in illegal wood trading. But Mr. Hun Sen did not specify any measures to be taken against Mr. Ty Sokun, and he reassigned him to the position of Under-Secretary of State of Agriculture. Prime Minister Hun Sen said on 6 April 2010 at the Chamkar Doung Royal University of Agriculture, that the head of the forestry administration, Mr. Ty Sokun, was involved in corruption related to forestry crimes, and that the authorities had recently started investigations to intercept them.

“Mr. Hun Sen specified that Mr. Ty Sokun was reassigned from the position of Director General of the Forestry Administration to become an Under-Secretary of State of Agriculture, and he was replaced by Mr. Chheng Kim Son. Also, Prime Minister Hun Sen called on wood traders and on other high ranking officials who are involved in forestry crimes to show up and to deliver any illegal wood to the authorities.

“Many high ranking officials involved in forestry crimes, who escaped abroad, must return to confess. Prime Minister Hun Sen stressed that at this time, there will be no tolerance for any official who got involved in forestry crimes. ‘We take hot measures to hit the heads of the main leaders. Therefore, the Prime Minister has to decide to do things, even if they hurt, in order to create models of law enforcement in the campaign to intercept forestry crimes.’

“In the meantime, the Prime Minister warned that Ms. Khai Narin, called Che Muoy, might be arrested, who is said to be a powerful person close to the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Chan Sarun. He warned also the Trapeang Prasat district governor in Oddar Meanchey, who used his power to authorize the transfer of state land to powerful military officials.

“Based on the words of the Prime Minister, what Ty Sokun did were mistakes that cannot be disregarded, and that made the Prime Minister lose trust in him. Also, he puts his trust in the newly appointed head of the forestry administration, Mr. Chheng Kim Son, and he hopes Mr. Chheng Kim Son will not disappoint his trust.

“It is reported that Mr. Chheng Kim Son had not been powerful, so he could not just move up to take the position and be appointed to replace Ty Sokun. But it is said that the deputy director of the Forestry Administration, Mr. Chea Sam Ath, is the most powerful person there, who would normally replace Mr. Ty Sokun. But because Mr. Chea Sam Ath is said also to be involved with corruption over forestry crimes, not much different from Mr. Ty Sokun, he was not promoted. The same source added that Mr. Chea Sam Ath has many problems, for which he might be removed or jailed, like other fellow forestry functionaries.

“Therefore, it is likely that Mr. Chea Sam Ath cannot avoid to face jail because the forestry crimes were of a large scale. If Mr. Chea Sam Ath did not have problems, he would have already been nominated head of the forestry administration. But because he has similar problems as Ty Sokun, he was ignored. Does taking responsibility for the forestry administration of the Ministry of Agriculture end with the removal of only the Director General of the Forestry Administration Ty Sokun?

“On Monday, a forestry chief from a region facing the Gulf of Thailand, Mr. Vann Sophanna was summoned by the Koh Kong Municipal Court, but was released later. The Judge of the Koh Kong Municipal Court questioned the head of the forestry administration station facing the Gulf of Thailand, Mr. Vann Sophanna, and the Deputy Forestry Administration Chief of Pursat, Mr. Ouk Kim San, at 9:45 of 5 April 2010. The questioning was made after the national military police, in collaboration with the military police of Kampot and of Sihanoukville, arrested them on Sunday morning in Kompong Trach district, Kampot, and sent them to be detained at the Koh Kong Military Police Station and then to the court for questioning over forestry crimes in the regions under their authority.

“According to military police officials, they will continue to arrest other suspects involved in forestry crimes. It is said that Vann Sophanna, who is a powerful figure in illegally trading wood, is vicious and very domineering. He often blamed his fellow officials over minor mistakes. The general public waits to see other senior officials, who are involved in forestry crimes, also arrested, as recently some other forestry administration officials had been arrested. The interception of forestry crimes and the arrest of perpetrators started after strict orders from Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“It should be noted that last week, many forestry administration officials, with positions from commune to district forestry administration heads, especially those in Kompong Cham, were removed. According to some reports, the Kompong Cham district forestry administration head, Mr. Hun Ieng, the Memut district forestry administration head, Mr. Thong Vannviravuth, the Memut commune forestry administration head, Mr. Yim La, and the Dambae commune forestry administration head, were removed from their positions, and they face imprisonment. Besides forestry administration officials in Kompong Cham, where the authorities found thousands of cubic meters of wood in Memut district, other forestry officials in Pursat and in some other provinces, where there is illegal wood trading, are also facing removal and arrest.”

Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.17, #3852, 7.4.2010

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Supreme Court Postpones Mu Sochua Hearing

via CAAI News Media

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

07 April 2010

The Supreme Court on Wednesday delayed a defamation hearing of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, who was found guilty by a lower court of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The court said it had postponed the hearing after Mu Sochua sent a letter saying she was traveling in the US. Hun Sen’s lawyer said the decision was acceptable if the letter was accepted by the court.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court fined Mu Sochua $3,975 in August 2009, the result of a countersuit Hun Sen brought against Mu Sochua’s own charges he had defamed her in public speeches.

The Appeals Court upheld the decision in October 2009.

Mu Sochua, a former minister of women’s affairs, is an outspoken member of the Sam Rainsy Party who has also testified in US Congress on the ruling party’s threats, via the courts, to opposition members and journalists.

Time Enough To Ensure Good Mining: Expert

via CAAI News Media

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

07 April 2010

Editor’s note: Richard Thompson is an international mining expert from the United Kingdom who has been working in the mining sector for more than 40 years. Within the last 10 years, Thompson has been conducting research on mining resources in Cambodia for the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. He spoke to VOA Khmer recently in Phnom Penh, weighing in on the country’s mining industry, the mining market and the benefits that can come from mineral extraction.

Q. Cambodia’s government expects to see a third of 20 licensed companies begin mining extraction in 2015. Is this a realistic timeline?

A. The possibility of getting mineral resources during the next five years will depend entirely upon the market of those mineral resources. Although the 20 companies, or the third of those companies, expect to begin mineral extraction, if the market value of their product decreases, they won’t have a market and therefore they are not likely to begin extraction. Besides that, there are still many requirements of the company in terms of legislation that needs to be fulfilled for a good mining industry to emerge. So it is impossible to tell at this stage whether the third of the companies be able to achieve this.

Q. Based on your 10 years of research, can you weigh the potential of the country’s mining resources?

A. As there hasn’t been extensive exploration, nobody is quite sure what is here. It’s going to take several more years to probably evaluate the potential of deposits, because with a proper mine you really need a very intensive drilling program, maybe several thousand or a few tens of thousand of meters of drilling to establish the shape, the size, the depth and the stretch before the amount of deposited metal can be calculated. And then the economic study can be made to see if there are enough mining deposits. This is not a profitable exercise. They take the risk, they choose to spend their money, and the profit comes when they eventually find something worthwhile, or economically useful.

Q. What mineral resources have been discovered and what can be done with them?

A. Some of the deposits so far discovered include bauxite, gold, gemstones, dimension stones, which is stone for carving, granite, iron ore, and likely other metals. But whether this mineral deposit [yields] enough to be economically extracted is still not certain. The basic products would go into many areas of the modern economy. For example, a lot of steel is used for making motor cars, copper is used in the electronics industry, the iron ore can be used extensively in the construction industry, to make steel, nickel is also used in steel alloy, and the granite is used in making nice flooring material. These are important for the growth of the global economy.

Q. Where are the markets for mining resources in Cambodia?

A. I should point out that, at the moment, the requirement of the mineral law in Cambodia [is that] minerals are used in Cambodia. However, the place you would sell minerals, particularly metal minerals, is not in Cambodia, because Cambodia doesn’t have a downstream industry to process or manufacture from them, and therefore Cambodia, like many developing countries, will be reliant on external markets. There may be opportunity to negotiate special prices with neighboring countries. But really I am not in position to know whether there are such negotiations in progress.

Q. How can mining resources play a role in Cambodia’s economic development?

A. If there are economic deposit discoveries, and investment comes to exploit those deposits, it is possible that Cambodia could have reasonable income from royalties derived from mining, but at this stage it is impossible to predict that. There are many countries that have mineral deposits, but are not rich enough to exploit them. Adjacent to Cambodia, you have four countries Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, and each of those countries has more or larger mineral deposits, which are exploited. So it is likely that Cambodia will have some deposits which are economically exploitable, but not certainly. Mining will not bring many jobs. The mining industry will gradually increase in terms of the size of deposits that are found. What will be interesting is to see if an industry downstream using minerals is to develop.

Q. Which countries receive large benefits from mining, and what do they do to manage the revenue?

A. Mining is a major contributor to Australia’s economy, the same as Brazil, where there are many and large mines. In Africa, countries like Zambia and South Africa. What they have developed is a framework for management of a mining industry, and most of them have adopted full transparency. And they also have a lot of governance within the industry to make sure the companies have to carry out specific reporting, and there is a lot of legislation to make sure mining is done ethically [and] to ensure environmental and social protections.

Q. What should Cambodia do to effectively spend the revenue and protect the environment?

A: Cambodia has moved toward developing the framework of its law, policy, strategy and regulation. There will be three or four more years before Cambodia has all these regulations in place. Good mining companies do not set up to damage the environment. But there are some mining companies that are not so good, and they try to keep their costs as low as possible, and in doing that they ignore the environmental regulations. So it is not a good idea to encourage those companies, mostly small companies, to come, but to attract good and big companies. And in order to do that, it is important to have good laws, good legislations and a good business environment.

Climate a Factor in Demise of Angkor: Study

via CAAI News Media

By Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

07 April 2010

A decades-long drought interspersed with intense monsoons in the 14th and 15th centuries may have contributed to the fall of the Angkorean civilization, a new US research study suggests.

Brendan Buckley, a researcher at Columbia University, and his colleagues studied tree rings in the region, putting together a high-resolution record of periods of drought and moisture, and while it is not clear what exact role climate played in the fall of the empire, Buckley told VOA Khmer climate certainly played a part.

“We wanted to be careful not to make it sound like we were saying correlation equals causation,” Buckley said. “I mean there is plenty of evidence in our record, or in other records, where you know that drought doesn’t always lead to collapse, but what it does do if you have sustained drought is it certainly puts a stresser on societies when other factors are stressing them.”

The Angkorean empire had suffered a gradual decline in regional power and had not been maintaining its water systems for about a century, Buckley said.

But by studying tree rings, which can be a clear indicator of precipitation, Buckley and his team found a large drought in the middle of the 1300s that lasted nearly three decades. That was followed by a severe wet period, followed again by sharp drought in the early 1400s.

The opposing pressure of these weather patterns may have helped damage the empire’s infrastructure. The collapse of the empire coincided with this period.

Nearly all Angkorean archeology has been done with what is available above ground, on visually spectacular sites like the temples of Bayon or Angkor Wat, Buckley said, but no one has yet gone into the forest and looked underground. Another interesting question would be to look at the links between drought and disease outbreaks, he said.

The fall of Angkor is still the subject of much debate among researchers—including whether it collapsed at all or simply saw a slow migration of its people due to war, internal conflict or a change in religion.

Until now, climate change has not been widely discussed as a factor, but Cambodian historians and archaeologists told VOA Khmer the idea has at least some merit.

“When there is sustained flooding or drought, it affects the economy,” said Son Soubert, a member of Cambodia’s Constitutional Council and an archaeologist. “As you may know in Jewish history, in the Bible, during that time there was drought in Egypt, which negatively affected many people, especially Jewish. The climate may have affected Khmer society in that period. It’s important because it can also help explain the causes of the demise of Angkor. There was conclusion before that war was the only cause.”

To some researchers, war and conflict remain the main suspects in the empire’s fall.

“The major factor is the human factor,” said Michel Tranet, a Cambodian archaeologist who has worked extensively on Khmer temples and antiquities. “What I mean here is the cruelty of war.”

“Whenever there were wars between the Khmer and Siamese, Siamese troops were stronger and destroyed our nation, our heart, our soul and our great national structures, during which our great Angkor was abolished,” he said.

A religious shift, from Hindu to Buddhist, was another factor, he said, as was internal conflict between royal family members. He called climate change a small tree in a large forest.

“When we had internal conflicts, we were weak, and other nations attacked us, broke us apart,” he said.

Likewise, Ros Chantrabot, a Khmer historian and vice president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told VOA Khmer by phone that climate was a small contributing factor.

The invasions between neighboring regions were a main factor, starting with the expansion of Genghis Khan’s Mongol empire into China, he said. This pushed groups of ethnic Thais and Vietnamese into today’s Burma and the northern Khmer empire, leading to Angkor’s ultimate demise.

World Bank Forecasts More Growth in 2010

via CAAI News Media

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

07 April 2010

The World Bank said Wednesday that Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow around 4.4 percent this year, signaling a recovery from the economic crisis and a recession in 2009.

A World Bank economist told VOA Khmer Wednesday that growth could climb as high as 6 percent in 2011, a rate that would be close to the galloping growth the country experienced in the years preceding the global downturn.

“Recorded agri-business exports more than doubled, especially in milled rice and rubber exports, year-on-year air tourist arrivals stopped declining, imports of consumer goods stabilized, and both domestic credit and inflows of foreign direct investment began rebounding,” the World Bank said in a statement Wednesday.

Cambodia’s economy contracted 2 percent in 2009, driven by poor exports of garments, less tourism and a 35 percent drop in foreign direct investment, the World Bank said.

Chea Hout, a Cambodian economist for World Bank, said Cambodia still had a high amount of its exports—60 percent—destined for the US, while a full two-third of its imports came from China, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

“Cambodia’s economy is still very narrow,” he said. “So it can be highly vulnerable to the external environment.”

A diversified economy and structural and institutional reform would improve the investment climate, he said, which would in turn help Cambodia compete with other countries to reach the international market.

The World Bank suggested the region’s middle-income countries, including Vietnam and Thailand, invest in physical and human capital to move up the value chain, while low-income countries like Cambodia should focus on manufacturing and on becoming a part of global and regional production networks.

Sang Sinavith, a customs official, told reporters Wednesday Cambodia had exported $3.9 billion in goods in 2009, but he expected exports totaling more than $4.1 billion this year.

However, the country is still running a trade deficit, having imported $5.45 billion in goods in 2009 and potentially $6.38 billion in 2010, he said.

Thailand declares state of emergency as Red Shirts storm Parliament

Thailand declares state of emergency as Red Shirts storm Parliament

via CAAI News Media

From Times Online

April 7, 2010

Sian Powell, Bangkok

Thailand's Government has finally declared a state of emergency to try and seize the impetus from anti-government protesters who have held the nation's capital to ransom for days.

A wedge of anti-government protesters stormed the nation's Parliament today, forcing some parliamentarians to make an undignified exit down the back wall on a ladder and to flee in a military helicopter.

The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship protesters, usually known as Red Shirts, have crippled Bangkok's retail district since the weekend, occupying an intersection in the city's prime shopping strip and forcing as many as six malls, and countless small shops, to close. Convoys of Red Shirts have streamed through the city, defying legal bans preventing them from using certain thoroughfares.

The few dozen Red Shirts who stormed Parliament arrived in a lorry, forced open a metal gate, found no security guards to impede their progress and finally milled through the building. They left without violence following the request of opposition politicians.

The deputy Prime Minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, was one of several parliamentarians airlifted to safety in a Black Hawk helicopter carrying five soldiers, reportedly armed with sub-machine guns.

Illustrating the government's impotence in the face of the escalating demonstration, a soldier carrying an M-16 was chased from the Parliament building by one of the opposition lawmakers, who was outraged that he was bearing arms. The soldier was eventually wrestled to the ground by Red Shirts and disarmed.

Thailand's Government, led by the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, cannot rely on either the military or the police to restore order to the strife-torn city because, analysts say, the rank and file could easily take sides with the protesters.

The Red Shirts have occupied various parts of Bangkok since March 12, determined to force the Government, which they say is illegitimately holding on to power, to call fresh elections.

But the official government spokesman, Panitan Wattanayagorn, told The Times that the Government had specifically limited the military's power by requesting an absence of arms in dealing with the protesters. The military has no policy not to get tough, he said. The military is cooperating with the civilian Government.

A state of emergency had been declared, Mr Panitan explained, to give the military more power to deal with the protesters, but it had been made clear to the military authorities that soldiers were not to harm or cause conflict with the people.

Mr Abhisit, the prime target of the Red Shirts invective, had left Parliament before the protesters invasion. He has tried to negotiate his way out of the impasse, offering to hold elections within months. The Red Shirts, representing the rural poor of Thailand's north and north-east, would like him ousted and his Government, which they say is in thrall to the military and urban elites, dissolved. Mr Abhisit has now been forced to cancel a trip to Washington to attend an international nuclear summit in coming days.

He has told Thais across the nation that the fragile situation demands careful manoeuvering. Yet frustration is mounting, both against the disruptive Red Shirts and against the Government, seen by many in Bangkok as failing to deal with the situation. "We need to plan and implement everything to the last detail and with thorough care," Mr Abhisit said. "The last thing we want is for the situation to spiral out of control."

New law allows foreigners to buy property in Cambodia – but not land

via CAAI News Media

Wednesday, 07 April 2010

Foreigners will be able to buy real estate in Cambodia as long as it’s above the ground floor under a new law approved by the country’s parliament.

The much awaited Foreign Ownership Property Law has been passed by a large majority in Cambodia’s National Assembly and is set to transform the real estate market.

It now needs to pass the country’s Senate and then King Norodom Sihamoni has final approval before it becomes law but both are considered formalities.

Until the law becomes fully operational foreigners cannot own land or property in their own right and had to set up a deal with a native Cambodian buyer. With demand increasing from foreign property investors the new rules are expected to revolutionize the real estate sector.

‘It increases confidence in the market. It sets things within the law,’ said Daniel Parkes, Cambodia country manager of global property agency CBRE Richard Ellis. He added that it will help spur foreign interest and that those preparing to invest now will benefit from an upswing by 2011.

‘The next six months are a good time to buy. Comparatively, it’s more appealing than Thailand and Vietnam for foreign investors,’ Parkes added.

The law gives foreigners the right to buy real estate at least one floor up due to the fact that owning land will still be banned. Buying property within 20 miles of the Cambodian borders will also be banned for reasons of national security.

Other restrictions include limiting the foreign ownership of any one building to 49%. And those who have bought by setting up a holding company in the name of a Cambodian national will have two years to move the property into their own name.

Im Chhun Lim, Minister of Land Management, said that the adoption of the law would help attract foreign buyers and strengthen Cambodia’s economy. ‘This law will promote the investment sector by encouraging the construction of luxury, high rises,’ he said.

Cambodia’s economy relies mainly on the agriculture and tourism sectors, but foreign investors have helped the economy’s rapid growth and there is a surge in interest in it as an emerging real estate market.

GE 's Global Health Venture Gains Momentum with Cambodian Partnership

via CAAI News Media

By Mini Swamy, TMCnet Contributor

GE has announced that the GE's Healthy imagination initiative, which focuses on creating better health for more people, is commissioning three new hospitals across Cambodia, as part of its program.

As per a partnership with the Cambodian ministry of Health, GE aims at improving the access to quality healthcare in the developing world by taking care of the loopholes in the existing healthcare system.

The Kampot Referral hospital was commissioned on March 10, 2010, the Sihanouk Referral hospital on March 11, and the Takeo Referral hospital on March 12.

Many top officials of GE and its associated programs, lead GE ambassadors to Cambodia, and some important Cambodian officials attended the commissioning.

“As the Developing Health Globally program expands across Cambodia, we are witnessing the sustainable impact of GE's products and people,” Bob Corcoran, vice president of corporate citizenship at GE Corporation, said.

“The Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Health, thanks GE for its continued support of our health centers,” also said H.E. Sea Huong, Under Secretary of State for Cambodia, adding that this investment would bring systemic change and provide broader healthcare access to the people of Cambodia, in communities where it was needed most.

Launched in Africa in 2004 with the support of the GE Foundation and GE’s Affinity Networks, Developing Health Globally now extends to 14 countries across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The program aims to improve access to quality healthcare for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi

World Bank predicts 4.4-per-cent growth for Cambodia this year

via CAAI News Media

Posted : Wed, 07 Apr 2010

By : dpa

Phnom Penh - The World Bank predicted Wednesday that Cambodia's economy would rebound this year, following a "serious setback" in 2009 in which it shrank 2 per cent as a result of the global economic crisis.

In its half-yearly East Asia & Pacific Economic Update report, which covers its outlook for the region, the World Bank predicted Cambodia's economy would grow 4.4 per cent in 2010.

The report blamed last year's contraction on a sharp drop in garment exports, whose volumes declined 16 per cent, lower tourism receipts, and a slump in foreign direct investment (FDI), which was down 35 per cent to 515 million dollars.

Tighter credit and a severe construction slowdown also contributed. The World Bank said a survey of 400 Cambodian firms found the combination of those factors saw sales and profits drop 30 per cent last year.

Ivailo Izvorski, the author of the report, said Cambodia's predicament and the problems of reduced FDI flows were shared by most countries.

He said there were signs that global capital flows were picking up to some nations as well as into certain sectors such as equities, but stressed Cambodia must continue with reforms to ensure it attracts its share of much-needed investment.

"Countries such as Cambodia have to persist with structural reforms, try to energize the reform agenda. And as capacity in the world and region is filled up, these global flows will resume," he said.

Those countries with better policies, he added, would get the benefit of those capital flows, making it vital that Phnom Penh continue with reforms.

The report warned that risks for Cambodia included the fragility of the global economic recovery and a lack of diversification in its economy.

World Bank economist Huot Chea said Cambodia must diversify both its export and import markets in order to reduce risk. He said 60 per cent of its exports go to the United States, while two-thirds of its imports come from Vietnam, Thailand, China and Singapore.

"Anything happening in those economies certainly has a spillover effect on the Cambodian economy," he said.

Cambodia enjoyed strong annual growth of between 6.5 per cent and 13.3 per cent between 2001 and 2008.

However, its reliance on a narrow economic base of four sector pillars - garment exports, construction, tourism and agriculture - was exposed when the global economic crisis struck.

The sole bright spot in the country's four pillars last year was agriculture, which grew 5 per cent, helped by a doubling of agribusiness exports such as milled rice and rubber.

Agreements with Cambodia approved

via CAAI News Media

Published: 7/04/2010

Online news: Breakingnews

The cabinet on Wednesday approved in principle agreements made at three meetings of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Committee, as recommended by the Foreign Ministry, deputy government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said on Wednesday.

The first meeting was held at Siem Reap in Cambodia from Nov 10-12, 2008, the second from Feb 3-4 last year in Bangkok, and the third in Phnom Penh from April 6-7 last year.

Mr Supachai said the agreements still require approval by parliament before they can be put into effect.

Improvement in Thailand-Cambodia relations blows cool breeze to ASEAN

via CAAI News Media

Wednesday,Apr 07,2010

Improvement in Thailand-Cambodia relations blows cool breeze to ASEAN

“Cambodia will not allow former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to use Cambodia as a political base to attack Thailand,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen declared during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Suthep Thaugsuban on April 4 in Hua Hin, Thailand.

From left to right: Cabodian PM Hun Sen, Lao PM Buasone Bouphavanh , Thailand PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung in the Hua Hin conference on Mekong River on April 5, 2010.

PM Hun Sen said during the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit, held for the first time in Hua Hin, that the Cambodian constitution prohibits such political activity. He added that Mr. Thaksin would not be allowed to enter Cambodia in the midst of Thailand’s political unrest.

Since a dispute over ownership of the historic Preah Vihear temple broke out in 2008, relations between Cambodia and Thailand have been strained.

Cambodia’s recent comments on the contentious issue of Mr. Thaksin, however, have led the public to believe that icy relations between the two Southeast Asian neighbors may be beginning to thaw.

Responding to the statement of his Cambodian counterpart, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva considered Mr. Hun Sen’s comments a positive signal towards the normalization of relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

PM Abhisit made the statement at a press conference April 5 after the closing of the MRC Summit.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand will consider re-deploying the ambassadorial ranks in Cambodia step-by-step,” said Prime Minister Abhisit.

Cambodia-Thailand relations soured gradually when Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Mr. Thaksin as an economic advisor in October 2009 and rejected a request to extradite him to the Thai government.

The already-strained relations between the two countries were exacerbated by Cambodia’s appointment of Mr. Thaksin as an economic advisor and Thailand responded by re-calling the Thai Ambassador to Cambodia.

Cambodia retaliated likewise and refused aid from Thailand for a project to revamp the road linking Poipet to Siem Reap.

Most recently, just hours before Prime Minister Hun Sen traveled to Hua Hin to attend the MRC Summit, a group from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) staged a protest at the conference opposing Mr. Hun Sen.

The surprising statement by Mr. Hun Sen is being hailed by many as a breath of fresh air, dispelling Cambodia’s tense political relationship with Thailand.

Regarding the appointment of Mr. Thaksin as Cambodia’s economic adviser, PM Hun Sen asserted once again that Cambodia needs a consultant for economic development, but that the country clearly distinguishes personal relationships from national interest and will not let the "Thaksin issue" affect relations between Cambodia and Thailand.

In three day's time, the 16th ASEAN Summit will take place in Hanoi. The renewed positive Thai-Cambodian relations are seen as a good sign ahead of the major ASEAN event.

By Anh Van-Translated by Hong Tran

Cambodia minister says Mekong nations committed to improving living standards

via CAAI News Media

Text of report in English by Cambodian state news agency AKP email service

Phnom Penh, April 6, 2010 AKP - The four member countries of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) -Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam - are committed to develop sustainably the Mekong basin, aiming at increasing the living standards of some 60 million people living along this river.

The commitment was made known by Water Resource and Meteorology Minister H.E. Lim Kean Hor at a press conference held here on April 5 at Phnom Penh International Airport upon the arrival of the Cambodian delegation from the First Mekong River Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand.

The four nations also recognized the development during the past 15 years of the International Mekong River Commission and they are determined to do their best to increase their joint cooperation in the sustainable development of the Mekong River basin, he said.

For its part, China promised to strengthen cooperation with the International Mekong River Commission and supported the good cooperation between China and the commission in information exchange on water change at the upper parts.

The International Mekong River Commission was established in 1995. It has four members; the upper-Mekong basin countries - Myanmar and China -have not joined the commission yet, but remained its dialogue partners. They also sent their participants to the summit.

Regarding the negative impacts on Mekong's water due to the construction of hydroelectric dams, Lim Kean Hor, also president of the National Mekong River Commission of Cambodia, said hydroelectric dams are very necessary, especially for Cambodia. "But, we also think about the development and the sustainability of the environment and nature," he underlined.

Cambodian Premier Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen on April 4-5 led a high-ranking delegation to participate in the First Mekong River Commission Summit, which will be held every four years according to the alphabetic order of the member countries.

Below is the full Declaration of the Mekong River Commission:

"MRC Hua Hin Declaration'Meeting the Needs, Keeping the Balance: Towards Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin'" 5 April 2010

Preamble We, the Heads of the Governments of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, meet in Hua Hin, Thailand for the First Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) on the occasion of its 15th Anniversary.

We recall the signing on 5 April 1995 of the Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin (herein referred to as the Mekong Agreement) and the establishment of the MRC by the representatives of the Lower Mekong Basin Governments, and reaffirm our political commitment to its implementation;

We recognise that the sustainable management of water resources in the Mekong River Basin is crucial to the economic and social well- being of the riparian population and to the poverty alleviation efforts of Basin governments;

We note that accelerating the development of water and related resources will make a significant contribution to the socio- economic development of the region, but may also have negative impacts on the Basin environment that need to be fully addressed; and

We affirm our strong and continued commitment to cooperate and promote the sustainable development, utilisation, conservation andmanagement of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin and agree to the following statements.

Recognition of achievements

We, the Heads of Government, recognise that the institutional development of the MRC has advanced from its inception as the United Nations based Mekong Committee and Interim Mekong Committee to the independent knowledge-based inter-governmental River Basin Organization of today. An increasing level of ownership of the organization by Member Countries has led to a strengthening of cooperative governance and increased effectiveness over time.

We applaud the significant achievements of cooperation among Member Countries in the 15 years since the signing of the Mekong Agreement.

We are encouraged by the achievements of the MRC and its Member Countries through our joint efforts in implementation of the Mekong Agreement that include strengthening dialogue on regional water resources development; facilitating a Basin-wide, consultative planning process through an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach; reducing the risks of regular flooding and promoting the beneficial effects of the annual flood pulse; increasing international trade opportunities through safer and more effective river transport and legal frameworks for cross-border navigation; defining a balance between the opportunities and risks of proposed hydropower projects; an enhanced understanding of the Basin's aquatic biodiversity and fisheries; providing environmental decision support; and initiating a process to help the people of the Basin adapt to the consequences of climate change.

Over the past fifteen years, the water and related resources of the Basin have been protected through the effective environmental governance of MRC and its Member Countries. Mekong partners and stakeholders now know and understand more about this complex and productive river system. We note with appreciation these positive outcomes that have come about through a strong sense of regional cooperation and continued national capacity building among the Member Countries. We acknowledge the progress made to extend cooperation between the MRC and international, regional and local partners including MRC's Dialogue Partners, namely the People's Republic of China and the Union of Myanmar, and its Development Partners. The sharing of hydro-meteorological data by People's Republic of China in the current drought situation is highly appreciated and we hope the cooperation will be continued. We appreciate the efforts of MRC to further strengthen and expand its relationships with People's Republic of China, Myanmar and all MRC partners in pursuing the organization's development goals.

We note that the MRC has forged new alliances and working relationships with a range of international organizations including ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank to further promote the sustainable development and management of the Mekong Basin's water resources.

We welcome and appreciate the continued and extensive strategic, financial and technical support from MRC's Development Partners over the years which has allowed the MRC to successfully implement the Mekong Agreement and become a more effective organization.

We acknowledge with appreciation the outcome of the International Conference on Transboundary Water Resources Management in a Changing World held prior to the First MRC Summit as reflected in the Conference Summary.

Regional opportunities and challenges

We, the Heads of Government, acknowledge that there are both opportunities and challenges to be faced by the MRC over the next decade as a result of development pressures including expanding populations and rapid economic growth. We commit to cooperate further to tackle critical emerging challenges in the Mekong Basin that include: reducing the loss of life and assets at risk from flooding and loss of livelihoods from drought conditions; better integrating sustainability considerations into the development of the Basin's significant hydropower potential; ensuring effective management of water for agricultural production, particularly as part of drought management strategies; preparing for climate change adaptation measures to minimise poverty and food insecurity among vulnerable communities; minimising any deterioration of water quality, loss of wetlands and deforestation, which present risks to biodiversity and peoples' livelihoods; better managing the Basin's unique natural fisheries; and reducing the risks associated with expansion of river transport.

Building on the solid foundation of 15 years of capacity building, we encourage MRC to address these challenges through the preparation and implementation of the IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy and the forthcoming MRC Strategic Plan for 2011-2015. We note that significant opportunities exist through intensifying partnerships and relationships with an increasing range of Partners, including ASEAN, the ADB, the GMS, the World Bank and other transboundary river basin organizations. We confirm that the continued focus of MRC on active stakeholder participation with a range of civil society organizations and the private sector will strengthen its ability to meet its development goals.

Vision of the MRC

We, the Heads of Government, note:

The existing Vision of the Mekong River Basin as "An economically prosperous, socially just and environmentally sound Mekong River Basin"; " The Vision for the MRC as

A world class, financially secure, International River Basin Organization serving the Mekong countries to achieve the Basin Vision"; and

The Mission of the MRC, "To promote and coordinate sustainable management and development of water and related resources for the countries' mutual benefit and the people's well-being."

We resolve to enhance efforts to realize these goals through a broad consultative approach that feeds into and influences MRC's strategic directions and ensures continued relevance of the MRC for future generations.

Priority Areas of Action

We, the Heads of Government, pronounce that building on the achievements of fifteen years of implementation of the Mekong Agreement, further cooperation over the coming years between the governments of Member Countries will be required to optimise multiple-use of water resources and mutual benefits for all riparians, to avoid any harmful effect that might result from natural occurrences and man-made activities and to protect the immense value of natural ecosystems and ecological balance.

We expect the MRC to focus on and prioritise:

Adopting and implementing the IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy;

Intensifying efforts to effectively manage the risks from flood, drought and sea level rise including establishment of forecasting and warning systems across the whole basin;

Facilitating an international legal framework that encourages river navigation and trade;

Researching and addressing the threat to livelihoods posed by climate change and cooperating with other regional partners in addressing haze pollution;

Monitoring and taking measures to improve water quality in priority areas of the Basin;

Sustaining the existing and future uses of water and related resources, and aquatic biodiversity, wetlands and forests in the Basin;

Identifying and advising on the opportunities and challenges of hydropower and other infrastructure development in the Basin, especially risks as they pertain to the protection of food security and livelihoods;

Continuing to improve the implementation of the Procedures for Data and Information Exchange and Sharing, the Procedures for Water Use Monitoring, the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement and the Procedures for Maintenance of Flows on the Mainstream and finalise the Procedures for Water Quality;

Exploring and identifying opportunities for expansion of cooperation between the organization's current Dialogue Partners and Development Partners, in particular to address common water resources and climate change challenges, as well as identifying new Development Partners and other stakeholders.

Way ahead We, the Heads of Government, reaffirm our solidarity and the highest level of political commitment to the implementation of the Mekong Agreement.

We commit to working together to achieve sustainable integrated water resources management for sustainable development, economic growth and the alleviation of poverty and improvement of livelihoods in the Mekong River Basin. In parallel, we recognise that efforts need to be expanded to protect the natural resources of the Mekong Basin for the sustainable management and use of the Basin's resources.

We reiterate our support for the MRC's role in promoting and facilitating coordinated and sustainable development; enhancing and strengthening the working relationships with Dialogue Partners, ASEAN, the GMS, the ADB, the World Bank, other Development Partners, civil society, the private sector and others. In this connection, we welcome other Riparian States to join the MRC in the future.

Consistent with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, we emphasise the need to prioritise resources, funding and capacity building for those Member Countries where poverty is highest and economic need is most urgent.

Recognising that economic development is progressing in the Mekong Region, we commit to a vision for the MRC to be financially sustained by Member Countries by 2030. We refer to institutional models adopted by other international river basin organizations and encourage the MRC to increasingly explore de-centralised implementation modalities for its core river basin management functions.

We agree that progress made in implementing the resolutions of this Declaration will be monitored through the MRC Council. We decide that an MRC Summit will be convened every four years. The host country will rotate among the MRC Member Countries in alphabetical order.

We express our sincere appreciation to the host country, Thailand, for hosting the First MRC Summit.

ADOPTED at Hua Hin, Thailand on 5 April 2010 in the English Language."

Originally published by Agence Kampuchea Presse email, Phnom Penh, in English 6 Apr 10.

Cambodian Growth Projects at 4.4 pct for 2010, Expects 6 pct for Next Year

via CAAI News Media

PHNOM Penh Governor Kep Chuktema has ordered city authorities to inspect bubble tea shops suspected of doubling as pornography theatres and drug dens, and Daun Penh district officials said they were also enforcing a crackdown on restaurants and bars that play loud music after midnight.

In a monthly meeting held at City Hall Monday, Kep Chuktema said illegal bubble tea shops – which have a dividing wall that prevents passersby from seeing pornography on show – were causing students to miss school and neglect their studies.

“The bubble tea shops that are divided by a wall not only cause students to miss school, but also can be drug-trafficking and drug-using areas,” he said. “Our authorities should go check and tell the shop owners to demolish [the wall].”

Sok Penhvuth, Daun Penh district’s deputy governor, said officials in his district were not just focusing on bubble tea shops, but also on discos, night clubs, karaoke bars and massage parlours that might be operating illegally.

“The bubble tea shops we will raid to inspect. If we see they have sex videos, we will close their business and bring them to court,” he said. “The shops that are divided by a wall, we will ask them to tear down [the wall].”

He added that authorities were also cracking down on businesses that were playing music after midnight and disturbing the peace.

“Normally people have the right to do business, but according to a Ministry of Interior order, discos or restaurants that have music should close at 12am if it interrupts people,” he said.

Phnom Penh Police Chief Touch Naruth said he had ordered bubble tea shops with a dividing wall to tear it down immediately or face closure.

“Some of the bubble tea shops can be operated by sex workers, drug traffickers and [be used as] a place for drug-taking, so we have to check and ask for licences,” he said.

A staff member at the Kiss Bubble Tea Shop, who asked not to be named, confirmed that she had received a letter from authorities ordering her to tear down her wall.

“In my shop though, I haven’t divided it with a wall, so I did not tear it down,” she said. “My shop respects the law.”

Chan Soveth, an investigator for rights group Adhoc, said he welcomed the crackdown on illicit bubble tea peddlers.

Authorities “should be clear with shop owners that a bubble tea shop is a bubble tea shop”, he said.