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Tag: Cambodia

  • Cellcard aims for nationwide LTE by April

    Cellcard aims for nationwide LTE by April

    Cambodia’s Cellcard reportedly plans to roll out nationwide LTE services by April, becoming first past the post in the race to deploy 4G services covering the whole country.

    The operator recently contracted Nokia to expand and modernize its 3G and LTE networks, including by deploying around 1,500 new cell sites.

    Now Cellcard aims to achieve nationwide coverage by April. The operator has reportedly invested around $150 million in the 4G expansion project.

    Cellcard’s main rivals Smart and Metfone are also investing heavily to expand their 3G and 4G presence. According to the report, Smart has to date rolled out 4G coverage to areas in all 25 provinces of the country and has upgraded around 65% of its roughly 2,100 base stations to 4G.

    The company now plans to invest around $80 million towards upgrading around 80% of its base stations to 4G by the end of the year.

    Metfone meanwhile aims to cover nearly the whole country with 3G and 4G coverage, with a goal of having 3,000 base stations supporting both technologies, but has not disclosed a timeline for meeting this target.

    According to data from the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia, mobile internet subscriptions reached nearly 7.5 million in November, compared to a total mobile subscription base of around 19.5 million.

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  • Nike Cambodia opens official outlet

    Nike Cambodia opens official outlet

    American sporting goods giant Nike Cambodia has opened its first dedicated retail store.

    The shop, store in central Phnom Penh, is the country’s first official outlet for Nike goods such as sport shoes and apparel, including items produced at local factories.

    Market commentators say Nike’s choice to open a flagship store at along Preah Monivong Boulevard rather than in a shopping centre such as Aeon Mall or neighbourhood like Boeung Keng Kang could signify the brand is testing the market.

  • Cambodia’s Cellcard to expand and modernize networks

    Cambodia’s Cellcard to expand and modernize networks

    Cambodia’s Cellcard has engaged Nokia to expand and modernize the operator’s 3G and LTE networks to help meet surging mobile broadband demand.

    As part of the agreement, Nokia will deploy around 1,500 new cell sites to expand the operator’s mobile broadband reach. Cellcard first launched LTE in Phnom Penh in 2015 and has since been expanding the network to other areas.

    Nokia will also provide its global services and Single RAN technology to allow Cellcard to host simultaneous 2G, 3G and 4G operations on a single platform, as well as IP edge routers to modernize the network in preparation for the arrival of 5G and the IoT.

    Cellcard will also use a Nokia microwave packet radio platform to help transform its legacy microwave transport network to keep up with Cambodia’s booming data consumption. The operator will meanwhile migrate its billing platform to Nokia’s convergent charging and billing solution SurePay.

    “We are proud to work with Nokia in our initiative to offer the best LTE coverage and services to our subscribers,” Cellcard CEO Ian Watson said.

    “The expansion of our state-of-the-art mobile broadband network will play a critical role in helping the government enable Cambodians to take advantage of mobile broadband. Nokia’s proven expertise will enable us to provide better coverage and quality of services to our subscribers.”

  • AirAsia to open Cambodia office

    AirAsia to open Cambodia office

    AirAsia, the Malaysia-based low-cost airline, will soon have an office in Cambodia to boost the number of tourist arrivals to the kingdom.

    The airline’s office will open soon, said AirAsia CEO Anthony Fernandes, after holding a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen in Switzerland on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

    Mr. Hun Sen said AirAsia’s presence would bring more tourists to Cambodia, adding that the airline has helped transport tourists to Cambodia from all over the world.

    Keo Sivorn, director general of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said AirAsia’s decision to open an office in Cambodia was in response to the current demand of passengers and cargo to the kingdom.

    “It will help the company provide additional satisfied service to its passengers,” said Mr. Sivorn.

    “AirAsia has existing flight service operations to Cambodia. It will open an office here soon because it sees the demand of the aviation sector in Cambodia increasing thanks to the country’s high economic growth.”

    The new office is also in response to the number of local airlines operating in the kingdom, Mr. Sivorn said.

    Ho Vandy, secretary-general of Cambodia’s National Tourism Alliance, said AirAsia would bring more people from all corners of the world to Cambodia because of its popularity offering low fares.

    “It’s a reflection of the airline market. It will serve the high demand of passengers and tourists traveling by plane and it will meet the government’s ‘Open Sky’ policy,” he said.

    Two local airlines, which are expected to get off the ground this year, will push the total number of local airlines to six, according to Mr. Sivorn. The four now operating are Cambodia Angkor Air, Bassaka Air, Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Sky Angkor Airlines.

    “By this year, the two airline companies will hopefully start providing service. Due to economic growth and stable politics, the number of airlines is increasing,” he said.

    AirAsia is currently operating 67 flights per week out of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports, according to Mr. Fernandes.

    AirAsia swung to a profit in the third quarter of 2016 from a net loss a year earlier. Net profit for the three months ended September 30 was 353.9 million ringgit ($79.62 million), versus a net loss of 405.7 million ringgit a year earlier. Revenue rose 11.2 percent to 1.69 million ringgit, the company said.

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  • Nike aims for traction in Cambodia with first retail store

    Nike aims for traction in Cambodia with first retail store

    American sporting goods giant Nike has opened its first dedicated retail store in Cambodia in what observers have described as another sign the Kingdom’s strong economy and rising incomes had not gone unnoticed by international retail giants.

    The opening of the outlet store in central Phnom Penh marks the first time that Nike goods such as sport shoes and apparel – including items produced at local factories – can be purchased from a dedicated brand outlet.

    According to Julie Chung, Charge d’ Affaires at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, Nike’s retail launch underscores the Kingdom’s economic development and its ability to attract major name-brand American products and investment.

    “This is a testament to the economic transformation that is taking place here a transformation we hope the United States and American companies can continue to help support,” she said at the store opening on Saturday.

    Ronald Marvin, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce, said the Nike store’s arrival was a positive sign that American businesses have confidence in the Cambodian market.

    However, on a retail level, some analysts said the choice of opening a flagship store on Monivong Boulevard, rather than in an upscale mall or neighbourhood such as Aeon Mall or Boeung Keng Kang 1, could signify that Nike was still testing the market before going all in.

    “The fact that they are not opening a flagship store in a more prime location could be because they just want to establish a presence in Cambodia for the meantime,” said Sofia Perez of property consultancy advisory Knight Frank Cambodia.

    She said that while Nike’s brand-name appeal would certainly help business, it should not be relied on as the sole marketing tool.

    “The choice in location and the store size will definitely affect brand image, which is important for consumers because for a higher price, they would also expect a more exclusive shopping experience among other added benefits,” Perez said.

    She added, however, that if Nike can develop an effective marketing strategy with added consumer benefits, “they could definitely increase the pressure on their competitors”.

  • Cambodia’s new airline prepares to launch

    Cambodia’s new airline prepares to launch

    JC International Airlines expects to take delivery of its first aircraft in the coming weeks, ahead of the start of commercial operations from Phnom Penh in February 2017. The carrier has acquired two Airbus A320s from airberlin.

    Part-owned by China’s Yunnan Jingcheng Group, which also operates Kunming-based Ruili Airlines, JC International Airlines is planning to serve domestic and international routes to countries including Malaysia, Singapore and China.

    Cambodia was without an airline for several years until the launch of Cambodia Angkor Air in 2009. Since then a further four airlines have started operating in the country, including Apsara International Air, Bassaka Air, Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Sky Angkor Airlines.

    As such, JC International Airlines will become Cambodia’s sixth commercial airline.

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  • Cambodia’s property market continues to trend upwards

    Cambodia’s property market continues to trend upwards

    Cambodia’s property market has developed at an increasingly fast pace over recent years which has provided foreign investors with a range of opportunities. Some insight from Simon Griffiths, the senior associate director for CBRE Cambodia, to see what lays ahead for property and foreign investment in 2017.

    2015 saw a spike in foreign direct investment (FDI), and the property sector was a big benefactor of these investments both in terms of headline investments in new development projects, and also from foreign individuals investing in one or numerous condos, SoHo units or strata office.

    2016 saw the physical manifestation of this wave of development investment in the form of large-scale buildings rising out of the ground across Phnom Penh. However, there was also a slowdown in foreign private individual sales and/or investments.
    This led to developers and individual investors to be more cautious in 2016 as everyone took stock of the market.

    Nevertheless, a palpable appetite for further development still existed with developers actively seeking out opportunities away from the ubiquitous condo template by innovating on residential design or looking at new sectors and geographies all together.

    There was evidence that private individual foreigners were still buying real estate in Cambodia late in 2016 and that private investors were particularly attracted to guaranteed yields, developers with strong reputations and new or innovate products/design.  Consequently, FDI in property/real estate remained strong in 2016 but not equal to 2015’s.

    Looking ahead for 2017, it is likely FDI will remain high but not in the same sectors or geographies as experienced in 2015 and 2016.

    If Phnom Penh is a cup, then that cup is brimming with development. That does not mean there will not be further foreign investment in Phnom Penh in 2017, but expect to see foreign investment move towards entertainment, hotels, condo-hotels and retail in 2017 rather than in 2015 and 2016 where the focus was largely on the residential sector.

    For 2017, as a foreign private investor, it is an interesting time. 

    With greater competition, developers shall increasingly offer better guaranteed yields and deals to foreign (and local) buyers.  Against the back-drop of stagnant low interest rates in developed economies, guaranteed yields of five percent and above represent ways to appreciate wealth rather than in real terms losing it as it sits in the bank – but crucially only if the private foreign investors trust the developer and the investment holds its value.

    That brings me to another sector and geography that shall +see significant FDI, and that is Sihanoukville.  Traditionally, only low-scale, low-rise tourism expect big announcements about mega resorts above 1,000 hectares and significant foreign FDI in this province.

    Whether or not all the FDI will be in 2017 is difficult to predict, but it is looking likely the next real estate boom may well be in Sihanoukville.  Expect more tourism, hospitality and entertainment investment but also residential investment, and, interestingly, that residential foreign investment may not just be in condos but also on the ground.

    The details are not known but there is a possibility Sihanoukville may gain a ‘Special Status’ and this special status may permit foreigners to buy land within specially licensed areas within the province.

    Whether this would apply to industrial units such as the Thai Special Economic Zone model or include holiday homes for foreigners is not yet clear, but either or both will lead to significant FDI in the province and be an engine for growth and investment should such a status come to fruition.

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  • Cambodia to Build the World’s Tallest Twin Towers

    Cambodia to Build the World’s Tallest Twin Towers

    The world’s tallest twin towers will be built in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh but doubts about the building’s commercial viability are casting a pall on its prospects this early in the game.

    The “Thai Boon Roong Twin Tower Trade Center” is being jointly developed by Cambodian firm, Thai Boon Roong and Chinese contractor, the Kia Nip Group.

    The mixed-used tower complex will be 560 meters high and include 133 floors. It will be worth over $1 billion. Thai Boon Roong Twin Trade Center will become Asia’s tallest tower, and a new icon for Phnom Penh, said the company.

    It will be located on the five-hectare Dream Land plot in the Tonle Bassac commune in Phnom Penh. It will feature a hotel, commercial office spaces, a cultural center, retail and shopping centers, entertainment facilities, residential areas, exhibition halls and a four-floor underground parking lot.

    A consortium led by Sino Great Wall International Engineering won a $2.7 billion contract last week to build Thai Boon Roong Twin Tower Trade Center. Sino Great Wall said construction is expected to take some 60 months.

    Sino Great Wall International Engineering is a leading Chinese property construction contractor and a subsidiary of Sino Great Wall.

    The project will begin once the consortium of Sino Great Wall International and another Chinese company, Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry, finalize the funding.

    The current tallest twin towers in the world are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Petronas has 88 floors and is 452 meters high.

    Doubts over the financial future of the project stems from the Thai Boon Roong Group being owned by “trigger happy” Chinese-Khmer businessman Teng Bunma. The hot-headed Teng is notorious for pointing guns at his opponents during disputes.

    He’s also banned from entering the United States for being a suspected international drug smuggler.

    Thai Boon Roong also owns Cambodia’s tallest building (the 39-storey Vattanac Capital Building), which has had huge occupancy problems. Vattanac Capital had an occupancy rate of only 30 percent by mid-2016.

    The fortunes of this building do not bode well for the future of Asia’s tallest twin towers — which might well become a “White Elephant” — despite the rapid growth of office, retail and condominium projects in Phnom Penh.

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  • Fuel prices increase at pumps in Cambodia

    Fuel prices increase at pumps in Cambodia

    Road users can expect to pay up to 500 riel ($0.12) more per liter of fuel due to the increase in global crude oil prices after the government last March pegged local prices to that of the international market, a Commerce Ministry official said yesterday.

    From today until January 21, drivers can expect to pay 3,850 riel ($0.95) per liter for Gasoline 95, up 500 riel ($0.12), 3,750 riel ($0.93) per liter for Gasoline 92, up 450 riel ($0.11), and 3,450 riel ($0.85) per liter for diesel, up 450 riel ($0.11).

    “Please understand that the mechanism is just to prevent gas prices from increasing higher than that of the global gas price or when global gas prices go down, all local retail gas stations in Cambodia are also compelled to bring down the prices,” Commerce Ministry spokesperson Soeng Sophary said.

    “This formula is not intended to keep gas prices in Cambodia low even when global gas prices are on the rise.

    “We just want to prevent retailers from increasing their prices beyond that of global prices. We will follow the global market price,” she explained.

    Gas prices have been steadily increasing since November last year.

    The government last March announced that it would be standardizing retail gas prices in Cambodia by pegging them to world oil prices in the wake of the plunging global crude oil price the year before.

    The Commerce Ministry was tasked with releasing updated prices to all retail stations every 10 days, on the first, 11th and 21st of each month.

    Ms. Sophary attempted to quell dissatisfaction over the increase in prices by explaining that the new mechanism of calculating prices made Cambodia susceptible to world oil prices, which fluctuate according to global markets.

    “We are easily affected if there is any issues going on within those larger economies,” she said. “We cannot ask to lower gas prices when the global economic system is always changing since we have to follow the global situation.

    “The price could go down after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month or it could increase if there are any issues in the EU or if there is ongoing terrorism in Turkey,” she said, adding that Cambodia would only be able to experience consistently low gas prices if it could produce its own refined product.

    PTT (Cambodia) deputy managing director Bin Many Mialia told yesterday that he understood the price hike given the new pricing mechanism, but remained optimistic as given the uncertainty of the global political climate, world oil prices could see a reduction next month.

    “The price for gas in Cambodia goes up and down since we are solely, 100 percent dependent on international gas prices. We cannot adjust the price, increase it or lower it, we cannot predict what the gas price will be. It’s up to the international market price,” Mr. Many Mialia said.

    “Now we see the trend of the oil price being high, but we will wait and see next month whether it continues to increase or if it will fall. All the countries don’t know what the US policy will be like or what the regional situation will be,” he added.

    According to a report from the Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate-General, oil imports to Cambodia increased by one percent in the first 11 months of 2016, while the value of oil imported dropped by about 28 percent.

    The report showed that from January to November 2016, Cambodia imported 1.5 million tons of oil, compared with 1.49 million during the same period in 2015.

    Gas prices decreased by 16 percent, while diesel and petroleum prices dropped 19 percent and 28 percent respectively.

    The value of the oil imported throughout those 11 months last year stood at $615 million compared with $858 million the year before.

  • Vietnam telecom giant to scrap roaming fees with Laos, Cambodia from 2017

    Vietnam telecom giant to scrap roaming fees with Laos, Cambodia from 2017

    The company expects to lose $1 million a month but hopes to boost connections in Indochina. Vietnam’s biggest telecom firm Viettel has announced it will abolish roaming charges between Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia and Laos, where it has also developed strong networks.

    Nguyen Manh Hung, general director of the company, said that starting from next year its subscribers in the three countries will be able to phone each other at domestic call rates, local media reported. Viettel has developed the Metfone network in Cambodia and Unitel in Laos.

    Hung said the initiative is to facilitate cultural and trade connections in Indochina, but the company will lose around $1 million a month.

    In October last year, members of the European parliament also voted to scrap mobile roaming charges from mid-2017 to save holidaymakers among member countries from racking up massive phone bills.

    ASEAN ministers of communications raised the idea of abolishing roaming fees thoughout the bloc back in 2013, but no agreement was finalized.

    Besides Vietnam, Viettel operates mobile networks in ten countries in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa.

    Its brand value has been estimated at $973 million by UK-based intangible asset valuation consultancy organization Brand Finance. It is ranked seventh in Southeast Asia and 93rd globally.

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  • Viettel pioneers free roaming in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

    Viettel pioneers free roaming in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

    Vietnam’s state-owned telecom Viettel will eliminate overseas roaming charges between its operators in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from January 2017.

    “Users of Metfone in Cambodia, Unitel in Laos and Viettel in Vietnam will be charged at the local mobile fee when they make cross-border calls to each other,” said Nguyen Manh Hung, Viettel’s managing director, who regards the three countries as an economic and cultural bloc.

    Discussions about free roaming services started years ago in Australia, Europe, and New Zealand, but without bearing fruit. Free roaming within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has also been discussed by regional ministers since 2013.

    Viettel has well-established infrastructure in the three countries, and is the first telecom to launch such a service within a regional economic bloc, promising cheaper cross-border rates for calls and data.

    In a statement released on Thursday, Viettel said it expected its individual operators to lose some revenue initially with the reduced charges, but provided no figures. The figure could be 2% according to one Europe model in 2013. Viettel expects users to become more active when they travel if they can continue paying domestic rates.

    Military-run Viettel posted revenue of $9.7 billion in 2015 with 13% year-on-year growth, and profits up 8% to $2 billion.

    As of September 2016, Viettel had 90 million customers, of which 26 million were in nine overseas markets: Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Haiti, Laos, Mozambique, Peru, Tanzania, and Timor Leste. Viettel has targeted 25 countries by 2020.

    Cambodia and Laos were Viettel’s first foreign ventures, and remain its most profitable. By August, Unitel in Laos had $1 billion in accumulated revenue over seven years and aggregate profit of $300 million. Unitel has a brand value of $132 million, making it one of the 30 most valuable in the region and top in Laos, according to a report by UK-based Brand Finance in April. The company currently has more than 2.5 million customers. It accounts for 47% of Laos’s mobile market and 35% of the broadband market.

    Metfone in Cambodia has a brand value of $94 million and is the leading mobile service provider in the country with 5.5 million customers and 37% market share. It recorded $256 million in revenue last year.

    Viettel already operates in East Timor, and is about to launch in Myanmar with a $1.5 billion commitment and two local partnerships. It is also believed to be negotiating its entry into Indonesia.

  • Cambodia’s Grand Lion Group to Open Marriott Branded Hotel in Siem Reap

    Cambodia’s Grand Lion Group to Open Marriott Branded Hotel in Siem Reap

    Preparations are under way for Cambodian-based Grand Lion Group to open the very first Marriott International branded hotel in Cambodia, a 233-room Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort in April 2017.

    The Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort is strategically sited 15 minutes away from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Archaeological Park, one of the world’s renowned tourist sites which drew over two million global visitors in 2015. In June this year, the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) announced Cambodia as the ‘World’s Best Tourist Destination’ for 2016, out of 29 candidate countries. Simultaneously, Cambodia was also declared the ‘Favourite Cultural Destination’. The top three source markets to Cambodia are Asia, Europe and the Americas.

    Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap

    The Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort will feature 233 stylishly-designed guestrooms with four-fixture bathrooms. In-room amenities will include Marriott’s famous plush bed and bath linen and amenities, high-definition flat-screen television, high-speed internet access, mini-bar and safe. Dining and entertainment options include a casual, all-day dining restaurant, a rooftop bar called The View with stunning views of Angkor Wat, a grand ballroom and a lobby lounge. Recreational facilities will include an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness centre as well as a full-service spa including a relaxation lounge and a foot reflexology area.

    The property will also feature approximately 600 sq m of function space and is expected to create over 200 employment opportunities.

    The Grand Lion Group also plans to open a 250-room resort Marriott branded resort in Cambodia’s beachside playground of Sihanoukville adjacent to a 688-unit residence and a retail mall. Slated to break ground in the 4th quarter of 2017, the sleek USD160 million project designed by Blink Architects, is dramatically designed to change the skyline of Sihanoukville and inject real luxury into this region. Sited four hours by road from Phnom Penh in the south west of Cambodia, the Resort is scheduled to open in 2020.

  • PPCBank set for more digital and retail growth in 2017

    PPCBank set for more digital and retail growth in 2017

    When new Korean shareholders boosted Phnom Penh Commercial Bank (PPCBank) with a $20 million capital increase this year, they had placed the commercial bank, then already among Cambodia’s largest, on a path primed for further growth and pioneering developments.

    As a result of Korean banking know-how and increased capital, PPCBank has been able to further its ambitions in the Cambodian market. Shin Chang Moo, President of PPCBank and an industry veteran with more than 30 years of finance experience in Korea and other countries, said, “The Korean financial industry has come a long way, from emerging to being developed. This gives us the honour of knowing what developments the Cambodian banking industry is facing now and in the future.”

    Understanding banking market evolutions, PPCBank, headed by Shin, has defined priorities for the bank’s business operations in Cambodia’s developing financial industry.To become a leading retail bank in Cambodia and Southeast Asia, PPCB will boost its retail business and focus on promoting digital banking and building up human resources, according to Shin.

    In a first step, the $20 million capital increase has enabled the bank to expand and diversify their loan portfolio with a strong focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – the economic backbone of the economy, Shin said.

    To effectively reach retail customers with their new loan products, Shin said PPCBank was set to open more branches where clients were met with “strong consultations and more financing options through combined and customized products and services.”

    Other than increasing clientele and improving services for Cambodian customers face-to-face in new branches, PPCBank aims to put a strong focus on mobile and digital banking; adding convenience for customers through social network, providing top-up through mobile and transfers to non account holders.

    Lining out their digital and mobile payment strategy, the president explained PPCBank was promoting its “Open Banking System”.“To promote synergies and nationwide networks for the benefit of our customers we aim for collaborations with financial technology companies and utilize third party payment providers to expand banking services to even more people,” Shin explained, adding that he also plans to adapt to customers’ data analytics and integrate services with the third party to serve customers even better.

    Shin said speed, convenience and quality of service and attractive overseas remittance options, especially from Korea to Cambodia, were among other customer benefits.

    Looking to continue the path of success from 2016 into 2017, president Shin said that he and PPCBank’s staff are excited to further the mobile growth, offer even more products and services and improve business efficiency – all for the benefit of the customers.

    “The energy we put in won’t be to generate greater business profits but to give our banking service the love, confidence and trust from all customers we serve,” Shin said.

  • Cambodia to Open Ports to Laos Exports

    Cambodia to Open Ports to Laos Exports

    Cambodia will soon open both its roads and ports for Laos to use in exporting goods abroad, according to an announcement posted on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook page on Sunday.

    The announcement followed a meeting between Mr. Hun Sen and Laotian President Pany Yathotou in Phnom Penh on Saturday, during which the two discussed strengthening ties.

    The Facebook post did not specify when ports would be open to Laotian exports, or which ports these would be, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be reached on Sunday for comment.

    Soeung Sophary, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce, said opening Cambodia’s roads and ports to exports from Laos had been raised during diplomatic meetings in the past, but never agreed upon.

    “As Laos is a landlocked country, this is the first time for Cambodia to let Laos export through us,” she said, adding that she did not know the details of the agreement.

    Hun Sen’s meeting with Ms. Yathotou follows a meeting between the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in Siem Reap last week, during which the prime minister denied that the Don Sahong dam had any downstream effects on Cambodian villagers and warmly agreed to Laos’ offer to sell Cambodia cheap hydropower.

    Laos’s main export is timber, with U.N. Comtrade putting it at 40 percent of the nation’s exports. An internal WWF report leaked late last year asserts, however, that illegal logging in Laos is rampant, and the actual volume of timber leaving the country is poorly documented.

    Denis Smirnov, a consultant for environmental group WWF focusing on the timber trade in Southeast Asia, said it’s unlikely that any illegal exports will find their way through Cambodia, owing to an ongoing crackdown on the trade.

    “The Lao government in May started to enforce the export ban on unprocessed wood for the first time,” he said, adding that it was uncertain whether it would last past the end of the rainy season.

  • KB duplicates its success in global markets

    KB duplicates its success in global markets

    KB Kookmin Bank, one of the country’s leading lenders, is striving to duplicate its notable success here in the global market through briskly tapping into lucrative businesses across the world.

    Such efforts have started to bear fruit and the most recent example is its work of jointly arranging a 750 billion won ($660 million) project financing deal for a power plant in the United States.

    Earlier this month, the Seoul-based lender said that it joined forces with global banks Mitsubishi and ING Bank to finance the 790 megawatt gas-fired power plant construction.

    They attracted investors who purchased senior debt worth $660 million and of that amount, KB Kookmin arranged $200 million that is composed of a direct investment of $50 million and $150 million from other Korean firms.

    In overseas project financing in which Korean constructors are not directly involved, domestic financial firms have played limited roles. But the recent feats showcase KB’s capacity, according to experts.

    In retail banking, KB Kookmin has also been a pioneer in making a foray into offshore markets. As of the end of last year, it had 12 subsidiaries, branches and offices outside the country.

    One of its latest initiatives in the overseas retail market took place in Cambodia where KB Kookmin opened a mobile-oriented bank, Liiv KB Cambodia, this September.

    The digital bank offers various services such as account transfers, cross-border remittances and mobile payment services as well as various non-banking features like letting people top up their handsets.

    A KB Kookmin official said that the new-concept bank has been accepted well and for further growth momentum, it plans to enable its customers to withdraw money at automatic teller machines by forming business alliances with Cambodia’s top-tier banks.

    Observers point out that many successful firms tend to forget about management principles such as putting existing customers first and respecting business ethics but KB Kookmin appears to be different.

    Its CEO Yoon Jong-kyoo has stressed globalization to secure new cash cows for the lender, but at the same time he reiterates that the bank should stick to principles.

    “In an effort to become the most respected bank in the nation and to solidify its role as the leader of the Korean financial services industry, KB Kookmin Bank is committed to paying close attention to every one of our customers while providing the best customer-oriented services,” Yoon said.

    “Upholding high moral standards and work ethics as bankers, KB Kookmin Bank’s entire staff and management will keep striving to fulfill our responsibilities to our customers and society, making it the most dependable and socially responsible bank.”