The flow of foreign direct investmentin Cambodia dropped by 50 percent in the first six months of 2009compared with the same period last year, local officials have said.
Investment by China and the Republic of Korea - the two biggestinvestors in 2008 - decreased by 93 percent and 58 percentrespectively, while Japan ’s investment surged beyond expectations, theCouncil for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) said in its latestreport.
The council revealed that China ’s investment dropped from 3.86 billionUSD to 242.4 million USD, with most of the capital poured into realestate, mining, small-sized hydroelectric power projects andgarment-textile plants.
The RoK’s investment fell to 109.2 million USD from 258 million USD inthe first half of 2008, focusing on property, agriculture and tourismprojects.
Meanwhile, Japanese investors pumped a total of 4.76 million USD inhotel development and tourism services in Cambodia . This volumerepresented a big leap as Japan did not invest in any projects inCambodia during the first six months of 2008.
Deputy Director of the CDC’s Evaluation and Incentive Department, YunHeng, attributed the decrease in the FDI flow to the adverse impacts ofthe ongoing global financial crisis, which forced China and the RoK tochannel their investment to small-scaled projects instead of big onesas previously.
Lower competitiveness in the Cambodian investment environment is also a reason behind the FDI drop, Yun Heng added.
Head of the RoK Trade and Investment Promotion Agency’s representativeoffice in Phnom Penh , Lee Hyoung-seok, said his country cut downoverseas investment largely due to the world economic downturn.
Investment opportunities in Cambodia are now no longer great like twoor three years ago, he said, adding, however, that Cambodia will beattractive to investors again once the world economy bounces back.
As a big credit provider for Cambodia , Japan signed a deal on August10 to give the country a 72 million-USD loan to help develop theSihanoukville seaport’s infrastructure facilities.
Japan also decided to grant 10 million USD to Cambodia in 2009 and 2010to support its socio-economic development projects./.
Investment by China and the Republic of Korea - the two biggestinvestors in 2008 - decreased by 93 percent and 58 percentrespectively, while Japan ’s investment surged beyond expectations, theCouncil for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) said in its latestreport.
The council revealed that China ’s investment dropped from 3.86 billionUSD to 242.4 million USD, with most of the capital poured into realestate, mining, small-sized hydroelectric power projects andgarment-textile plants.
The RoK’s investment fell to 109.2 million USD from 258 million USD inthe first half of 2008, focusing on property, agriculture and tourismprojects.
Meanwhile, Japanese investors pumped a total of 4.76 million USD inhotel development and tourism services in Cambodia . This volumerepresented a big leap as Japan did not invest in any projects inCambodia during the first six months of 2008.
Deputy Director of the CDC’s Evaluation and Incentive Department, YunHeng, attributed the decrease in the FDI flow to the adverse impacts ofthe ongoing global financial crisis, which forced China and the RoK tochannel their investment to small-scaled projects instead of big onesas previously.
Lower competitiveness in the Cambodian investment environment is also a reason behind the FDI drop, Yun Heng added.
Head of the RoK Trade and Investment Promotion Agency’s representativeoffice in Phnom Penh , Lee Hyoung-seok, said his country cut downoverseas investment largely due to the world economic downturn.
Investment opportunities in Cambodia are now no longer great like twoor three years ago, he said, adding, however, that Cambodia will beattractive to investors again once the world economy bounces back.
As a big credit provider for Cambodia , Japan signed a deal on August10 to give the country a 72 million-USD loan to help develop theSihanoukville seaport’s infrastructure facilities.
Japan also decided to grant 10 million USD to Cambodia in 2009 and 2010to support its socio-economic development projects./.
