Cambodia 20250922
Mekong Memo Cambodia Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Headlines:
Thai Forces Injure 28 Cambodians
Border Shutdown Still Choking Trade
ADB Funds Grid Upgrade
China Doubles Down on Cambodia Bets
US Hits Scam Hubs
Hun Manet Gets Harsh Reviews
New Routes Lift Air Travel Capacity
Rice Exports on a Record Pace
Cambodia Raises Climate Ambition
Garment Worker Wages Up to $210
New Roadmap to Back Startups
Government Widens Digital Services Access
Regional Trade: VN, KH, PH, LA, AU
Schools Ban Sugary Drinks
Thai Forces Injure 28 Cambodians
Thai security forces reportedly sent tear gas and rubber bullets toward Cambodians in a disputed border area (specifically near Prey Chan village in Banteay Meanchey province) on September 17, injuring at least 28 people, including several monks. Cambodia says Thailand is at fault for breaking a July ceasefire and is not raising complaints to ASEAN and other global leaders. The dispute sits on old French-era maps, and the ICJ ruled for Cambodia in 1962 - a point Phnom Penh is eager to keep bringing up.
Read more: Khmer Times (Appeal to leaders), Eurasia Review (Clash details), Khmer Times (Military condemnation)
Border Shutdown Still Choking Trade
The border dispute continues to brutalize cross-border business. Thai exports to Cambodia have dropped about 98% compared to last year, and imports have collapsed into almost non-existence. Factories with sunk costs in Cambodia are doing their best to hold on, but many service-oriented shops say they’ll need to shutter. The squeeze has also drawn thousands of Cambodian workers back home, leaving sizable labor gaps in Thailand, particularly in the ag sector.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Business impact), Pattaya Mail (Military strategy), Khmer Times (Territorial claims)
ADB Funds Grid Upgrade
The Asian Development Bank approved just over $52M for Cambodia’s Grid Expansion Project on September 18. The plan will add 55 km of 230‑kV lines between Pursat and Kampong Chhnang and result in an upgrade to nine substations. Cambodia has roughly doubled domestic power since 2020 to about 18 TWh in 2024 and reduced imports to about 1.6 TWh.
Read more: ADB (Project details), Cambodia News (Energy impact), Asian Power (Grid expansion), Kiri Post(Infrastructure boost)
China Doubles Down on Cambodia Bets
On a topic that’s taken a back seat over the past couple of months, Beijing has said that it’s still in on support for the $1.7 B Funan Techo Canal. Construction began in August last year, and the 180‑km waterway is expected to connect the Mekong‑Bassac river system all the way to the Gulf of Thailand. China says it will also send $2.5 M for 11 projects under the Mekong‑Lancang Cooperation scheme. Chinese money is now propping up 11 of Cambodia’s 57 SEZs.
Read more: Cambodia Daily (Canal project), Khmer Times (Development funding), Construction Property (SEZ investment), Travel and Tour World (Bilateral relations)
US Hits Scam Hubs
The US Treasury Department rolled out its hardest-hitting sanctions so far on Southeast Asia’s scamming networks, targeting big compounds and five crime-linked figures in Cambodia and Myanmar. Americans have reportedly lost an astonishing $10B+ to these schemes. The sanctions did not name any Cambodian officials, despite long-running reports of official complicity. The cybercrime economy is worth an estimated $12–19B a year.
Read more: The Diplomat (Sanctions details), Khmer Times (Scam operations), Kiri Post (Telegram scams), Tuoi Tre News (Vietnamese victims)
Hun Manet Gets Harsh Reviews
International outlets haven’t been kind and say Hun Manet’s first two years have failed to break old habits. Cambodia still sits at 158th in global corruption and 141st for rule of law. Critics point to arrests of opposition figures/ activists and say Hun Sen is still the man behind the scenes who calls the shots. New US tariffs and falling investment threaten national lower-middle-income status goals.
Read more: Cambodia Daily (Assessment), The Diplomat (Governance)
New Routes Lift Air Travel Capacity
The number of flights and seats available are both expected to increase about 15% through the end of this year. Turkish Airlines will start Istanbul–Phnom Penh flights on December 10, and Etihad will add Abu Dhabi–Phnom Penh on October 3. Emirates says it will be expanding service as well. The new Techo International Airport (Phnom Penh) and Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport give the sector room to grow capacity-wise, but let’s see if there are enough bums to fill seats.
Read more: Kiri Post
Rice Exports on a Record Pace
Cambodia is on track to export more than 700,000 tonnes of milled rice in 2025. From January to August, exports hit about 473,000 tonnes, up ~15% and worth almost $1.5 B. Demand from core buyers and a stronger national brand are getting credit for the heavy lifting. Cambodian rice has been graced with several “World’s Best Rice Awards” since 2012, and it appears that the market is starting to appreciate the accolades.
Read more: Khmer Times
Cambodia Raises Climate Ambition
Phnom Penh filed its NDC 3.0 on September 18, 2025, for 2025–2030, planning its targets to cut emissions and improve climate readiness. Cambodia is the 29th country to submit early and says it wants carbon neutrality by 2050. Japanese startup Green Carbon reported that it will cut 20 M tonnes of CO2 in the next decade over 500,000 hectares in Cambodia - its first full-scale alternate wetting and drying rice project is rolling out in Battambang province this 2025 rainy season.
Read more: Cambodia News (Emissions targets), Khmer Times (Carbon reduction)
Garment Worker Wages Up to $210
The minimum wage for garment, footwear, textile, and travel goods workers will climb to $210 a month on New Year’s Day 2026. Unions were asking for $232, and they say worker voices have been sidelined in negotiations. The labor minister opined that the talks were a success and says bonuses already lift take‑home to about $227–$238. With 2025 inflation coming in near 2.5%, many workers are still going to be under pressure. The sector is an enormous driver of Cambodia’s economy and exported $7.4 B in the first half of 2025.
Read more: Sourcing Journal (Wage impact), Xinhua (Official announcement)
New Roadmap to Back Startups
Khmer Enterprise and Swisscontact Cambodia have introduced an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Roadmap after three years of talks with agencies, investors, ESOs, and founders. The group has identified problems that it wants to help entrepreneurs overcome like weak capacity, scattered support, and difficulty getting growth financing. The group also sees opportunity in widening access to digital tools and better market access. The roadmap outlines 19 concrete steps for the short, medium, and long term. Separately, EuroCham has once again spoken out about the need for more/ better training by and with business/ schools to close the skills gap.
Read more: Cambodia Investment Review (Roadmap details), EuroCham Cambodia (Skills training)
Government Widens Digital Services Access
Cambodia joined the Digital Public Goods Alliance to push open digital tools for public services. MPTC is building platforms to reduce paperwork and increase transparency (and therefore, trust). Verify.gov.kh went live in 2022 to help validate documents with QR codes, and a Global Verify Platform is planned for cross‑border checks, with MOUs already signed with Singapore, Laos, Timor‑Leste, and the Philippines. The central bank says it wants to introduce a blockchain system so citizens can buy government bonds directly.
Read more: Cambodia News (Digital alliance), Khmer Times (Blockchain bonds)
Regional Trade: VN, KH, PH, LA, AU
Vietnam and Cambodia have increased two‑way trade to nearly $8 B so far this year, up 16%. The Philippines signed five deals earlier this month in the aviation, logistics, F&B, and education sectors. Plans include the introduction of WCC AeroTech University in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh and Vientiane (Laos) also agreed to a “friendship pact” to support trade, investment, tourism, schools, and culture. Canberra and Phnom Penh have agreed to tighter parliamentary co-op, and Cambodia pitched deals at the China‑ASEAN Expo.
Read more: Vietnam News (Vietnam trade), Baguio Herald (Philippines agreements), Khmer Times (Australia relations), Khmer Times (China‑ASEAN Expo)
Schools Ban Sugary Drinks
Sugary drink sales in schools are being stopped to try and reduce diabetes and other diet‑linked diseases that are becoming a national problem. The annual economic hit from bad diets is as much as $1.5 B. One in 16 Cambodian adults had diabetes in 2019, and the total number could top 1 M by 2045. WHO says sugar really should be less than 10% of beverage content. There are calls for a future tiered sugar tax whereby high‑sugar drinks would face punitive tariffs to try and shape consumer behavior.
Read more: Cambodia News
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