Cambodia 20250915
Mekong Memo Cambodia Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
News from Southeast Asia directly to your inbox every weekday.
The Mekong Memo is proudly presented by:
Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.
Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.
The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.
Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.
Headlines:
Sanctions Hit Scam Hubs
Activists Slam Revocation Law
Border Trade With Thailand Remains Frozen
Thailand’s Anutin Promises Border Peace
Phnom Penh Airport Opens for Business
Farm Exports Jump
Garment Wage Talks Stall
Forum to Push Digital, E‑commerce
Fisheries Eye EU Market
Sand Mining Eats Riverbanks
‘Map Attacks’ Hit Landmarks
Dam Plan Clears Protected Forest
Sanctions Hit Scam Hubs
The United States Treasury has slapped sanctions on 19 groups in Myanmar and Cambodia that they say are tied to cyber scams that stole more than $10 billion from Americans last year. The sanctions are apparently particularly focused on Shwe Kokko, built by Yatai International Holdings Group and the Karen National Army, in addition to several other companies in Cambodia like TC Capital Co. The companies and networks allegedly traffic hundreds of thousands of people who are forced to run investment scams and launder money.
Read more: Asia Financial (Sanctions Overview), VOI (Impact Details), AG Brief (Targeted Entities), News AZ(Criminal Networks), Reuters (Enforcement Actions), The Block (Crypto Scams)
Activists Slam Revocation Law
Fifty-four civil groups want Phnom Penh to trash new changes in the nationality law that allow the state to strip people of their Cambodian citizenship for alleged treason or foreign collusion. Acting head of state Hun Sen put his name on the amendment a week ago, but critics say Article 29 is vague, has no guardrails, and could be used against people for their political opinion, ethnicity, or status in society. Rights groups say the law isn’t in alignment with Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which puts limits on the loss of a person’s nationality.
Read more: Cambodia Daily (Civil Society Response), Khmer Times (NGO Statement), Cambojanews (Implementation Details), Nikkei Asia (Political Context)
Border Trade With Thailand Remains Frozen
Thai-Cambodian border closures have brought the hammer down on trade, bringing daily values down from about 100 million baht to more or less zero. Investors from Japan and local businesses are feverishly trying to get checkpoints reopened, but Thai military officials say they’re going to stay shut until “security issues” are cleared up. Cambodia’s National Defence Minister General Tea Seiha says there is/ will be no troop pullback from the disputed territories.
Read more: Khao Sod English (Economic Impact), Khmer Times (Japanese Pressure), Khmer Times (Peaceful Resolution), Asian News Network (Observer Team), Cambodia Daily (International Agreements)
Thailand’s Anutin Promises Border Peace
Newly elected Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says he is going to settle the Cambodia border mess peacefully. His elevation to PM on September 5 raised hopes for oil on stormy waters after months of turmoil. Cambodian officials, including Prime Minister Hun Manet, say they’re ready to reset and figure out how to get back on the paths of prosperity and cooperation.
Read more: UCAN News (Bilateral Relations), Vietnam Plus (Diplomatic Exchange), Khmer Times (POW Dispute), Pattaya Mail (Temple Dispute)
Phnom Penh Airport Opens for Business
Cambodia officially cut the ribbon on its new $2 billion Techo International Airport on September 9, replacing the nearly 70-year-old Phnom Penh International Airport. The Chinese-built project is 20 kilometers south of the capital and sports two four-thousand meter runways. The first flight was welcomed with traditional Khmer dancers and a water cannon salute. Capacity at opening is expected to be 13 million passengers a year, and hopes are that numbers will rise to 50 million by 2050. Tourism was responsible for generating about $3.6 billion of revenue last year from 6.7 million international visitors; the airport will help push both those numbers higher.
Read more: Yahoo News (Tourism Impact), Business Times (Development Details), Aviation Week (Infrastructure Investment), The Independent (Tourism Sector), Business Inquirer (Chinese Investment), VnExpress (Operational Details)
Farm Exports Jump
From January to August, Cambodia sent roughly 5 million tons of agricultural products to 84 markets, bringing in $2.25 billion (compare that number with the tourist one, above), about a third higher than last year. The biggest volumes were found in cassava, cashew nuts, and fresh mango. Rice was a big winner too: 472,803 tons of milled product for $348 million. The ag product mix is starting to change toward higher-value forms, for example, dried cassava values were up ~60% and flour ~77% while fresh cassava was down nearly 12%.
Read more: Fresh Plaza (Agricultural Products), Khmer Times (Rice Exports), Construction Property (Cashew Processing), Khmer Times (China Partnership)
Garment Wage Talks Stall
Negotiations on the 2026 garment minimum wage reached an impasse, so unions and employers requested the intercession of the Prime Minister, who is expected to decide on an outcome by Wednesday (the 17th). Unions are asking for $232 a month in non-overtime salaries, which would be about a 10% raise. A 2024 Consumption Survey found that workers spend about $408 on basic needs, and 73% are suffering (unsurprisingly, given the above numbers) indebtedness. Labour Minister Heng Sour says that conditions complicate a big bump in wages.
Read more: Khmer Times (Wage Negotiations), Khmer Times (Government Decision), Cambojanews (Union Perspective), Sourcing Journal (Industry Context)
Forum to Push Digital, E‑commerce
The Ministry of Commerce hosted the 2nd Cambodia Digital Trade Forum and Online Expo on September 12-13, 2025, at Koh Pich City Hall in Phnom Penh. Minister Cham Nimul said the Forum helps build the country’s foothold in digital trade in line with a push from the top to find new ways to grow the economy. E-commerce looks like it’s still on track to create $1.1 billion in revenue by the end of the year and close to $2B annually by 2029. Big numbers.
Read more: Khmer Times
Fisheries Eye EU Market
Cambodian fisheries are basking in international recognition for innovation, training, and food safety, helping them to get ready to export more to the European market. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, the EU, and UNIDO ran a recent roadshow to show off the work they’ve done to improve the industry. More than 60 enterprises got support; 19 were given a Cambodia Quality Seal certificate.
Read more: Khmer Times (Innovation), Khmer Times (Export Growth)
Sand Mining Eats Riverbanks
Villagers in Prey Veng province say daily sand dredging is chewing up riverbanks and farmland - the worst damage comes every rainy season. They say the problem is that the dredging is really hampering their ability to grow vegetables, and some of their homes are at risk. The Ministry of Mines and Energy says the sand extraction is regulated and required for export to Vietnam, but locals keep saying that it’s not worth it because of the environmental and social costs.
Read more: Khmer Times
‘Map Attacks’ Hit Landmarks
An investigation by the Cambodia Local Guides community found 568 problematic Google Maps listings in 18 provinces, with 60% of the issues found in areas around the Thai-Cambodian border. About 95% used offensive (their word, not ours) Thai-script titles to denigrate icons like the Royal Palace and National Museum. Apparently, these additions to Google Maps are originating in the community, not from Google itself. The group says that digital disinformation could hurt tourism and harm local economic interests and, as a result, they want state action, local training, and corporate accountability from Google to improve detection and removal of what they say is harmful content.
Read more: Asian News Network
Dam Plan Clears Protected Forest
The government has started to clear more than 7,300 hectares of protected rainforest inside Kravanh National Park for what’s being called “Irrigation Dam 2.” Eventually, the dam is expected to flood about 4,000 hectares. The dam sits in the Cardamom Mountains, an important national biodiversity area that’s home to endangered species including elephants and pangolins. Local villagers upstream say that even though the dam will cause them to lose access to forests, water, and their livelihoods, they haven’t been properly consulted. Construction started in February of this year. The project overlaps the Samkos REDD+ carbon-offset area, putting conservation efforts of the ecosystem that supports one of Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater fisheries at risk.
Read more: Mongabay
That’s all for this week! Please don’t forget to share this with someone who would find it useful. Also, your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back— hit reply and tell us what you think.
If you value the Mekong Memo, please consider buying (or gifting!) a paid subscription, sharing it on social media or forwarding this email to someone who might enjoy it. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ below (or sometimes above, depending on the platform), which helps us get visibility on Substack.