Saturday, 16 January 2010

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief



via CAAI News Media

ANZ Royal profits steady

Friday, 15 January 2010 15:00 Steve Finch

ANZ Royal recorded double-digit growth in 2009 in terms of revenues and profits before provisions and tax, CEO Stephen Higgins told the Post Thursday. This “is quite pleasing in the context of the sharp economic slowdown in 2009”, he said, adding that the bank had initiated higher credit provisions due to the downturn, particularly at the beginning of last year. “This has resulted in the bottom line being lower than 2008, which is not surprising given the environment.” The International Monetary Fund warned last month that Cambodian banks could expect lower profitability in 2009.

Sihanoukville airport talks

Friday, 15 January 2010 15:00 Byron Perry

SIEM REAP – Negotiations are ongoing to begin running flights between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, Nicolas Deviller, Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA) CEO, said Thursday at a conference in Siem Reap. He declined to name which airlines would offer flights to the airport, which, like all other airports in the Kingdom, is run by SCA. The recently refurbished airport has struggled to attract carriers, SCA admitted at the end of last year, and has yet to confirm any scheduled flights. Speaking in Siem Reap at the Airports Council International Asia-Pacific Human Resources Best Practice Seminar, Deviller pointed to the rapid evolution of Siem Reap’s airport. “It’s gone through the most transformational revolution,” he said, citing growth in passenger traffic from 450,000 in 2001 to 1.7 million in 2007 and the addition of a 3,000-square-metre domestic terminal.