Monday, 16 February 2009

Economist Conferences predict more challenges for Cambodia in next decade

www.chinaview.cn
2009-02-16

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will face more challenges in the upcoming decade and feel much harder to revitalize its economic glory of the past 10 years, said the Economic Conferences in a press release here on Monday.

"The next 10 years will be more challenging for Cambodia than the past decade, and economic growth is unlikely to be as strong," said the release issued prior to the opening of the one-day Business Roundtable hosted by the group to discuss ways for the kingdom to secure economic development.

"The outlook for 2009 and beyond looks far less promising. With the world in the midst of a deepening recession, Cambodia's economy will not escape unscathed," said Charles Goddard, editorial director of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which, like the Economic Conferences, belongs to the Economist Group, publisher of The Economist magazine.

The Economist Intelligence Unit is now forecasting that the gross domestic products (GDP) growth of Cambodia will slow from 5 percent in 2008 to around 1 percent in 2009, as its pillar industries such as garment, construction and real estate, as well as tourism will be hit by the global downturn, said the release.

"Trying to navigate this less favorable environment will throw up serious challenges for the government in the short term, not least how it should adjust fiscal policy to keep the economy growing," said Justin Wood, Southeast Asia expert at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"The medium- and long-term challenges are just as great. Having relied heavily on 4 sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, garment, construction and tourism, to drive recent growth, the government needs to help the economy diversify," he said.

"Equally, the financial system needs to be strengthened, investment into areas like infrastructure needs to be raised, the monetary and macro-economic framework needs to be upgraded, and the management of the country's resources needs to be improved, especially its human capital through education," he added.

"With the right policies, the country does present exciting opportunities for foreign investors," the press release concluded.

Cambodia has just enjoyed a decade of blistering growth, more than doubling its per capita GDP between 1998 and 2007, thanks to political stability, deepening integration into the global trade and investment community and improved macro-economic management, according to the Economist Conferences.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

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