Cambodia 20251110
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Headlines:
Prince Group’s Royal Flush Goes Bust
Scam Empire Collapses in Spectacular Fashion
Arms Embargo Ends With Trump’s Blessing
Press Freedom Claims v Reality
Techo Airport Takes Off
Temple Damage Sparks UNESCO Appeal
More Cash to Floods & Droughts, Less to Malaria
Turkey Eyes a Billion-Dollar Trade Target
Chinese Tourists Return to Angkor
Jobs Fair Promises 30k Opportunities
Rice Prices Crater for Farmers
Meter Tampering Ring Exposed
King, NA Plan Hungary Visit
Prince Group’s Royal Flush Goes Bust
Chen Zhi’s boast about earning $30 million daily looks particularly unfortunate now that authorities worldwide have taken possession of his stuff. Hong Kong froze $354 million, Singapore grabbed $114 million and some very nice cars, and Taiwan arrested 25 people while setting aside $145 million. The U.S. indicted him for laundering $15 billion in Bitcoin. The numbers are big enough that they would impress even legitimate conglomerates. Three Hong Kong financial companies he controlled had their licenses suspended or revoked. The Chinese national with Cambodian citizenship might be discovering that international sanctions hit differently than local politics.
Read more: Macau Business (Hong Kong Action), TRT World (Global Seizures), Caixin (Financial Firms), Ozarab (Asset Details)
Scam Empire Collapses in Spectacular Fashion
The cyber-scam industrial complex is having a rough month. Eight casinos lost their licenses after it was discovered they were running fraud operations instead of blackjack tables - four of the dens belonged to the Jin Bei Group alone. Silver Star Casino’s raid netted 23 foreign nationals, while South Korean police hauled in 120 of their citizens from various operations, including 64 shipped home to face the music. One ring alone fleeced 229 victims for 19.4 billion won. The darkest turn is that three men are facing murder charges after allegedly torturing and killing a 22-year-old Korean student who crossed the wrong people. Regional scam networks reportedly employ 200,000 people generating millions daily. Seems like crime does pay, until it doesn’t.
Read more: Yogonet (Casino Closures), Khmer Times (Suspensions), World Casino Directory (Silver Star Raid), The OWP (Regional Cooperation), Korea Times (Korean Arrests), Biz Chosun (Investment Scam), Nippon (Japanese Detentions)
Arms Embargo Ends With Trump’s Blessing
America lifted its arms embargo on November 6, right after Trump brokered a ceasefire with Thailand. The embargo, put in place over concerns about Chinese military influence at Ream Naval Base, ended with promises to restart Angkor Sentinel exercises and to consider approval of weapons sales on a case-by-case basis. Deputy PM Tea Seiha and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sealed the deal in Kuala Lumpur. The thing is mostly symbolic for the moment; Cambodia really can’t afford American hardware these days, anyway.
Read more: Straits Times (Embargo Lift), Khmer Times (Military Exercises)
Press Freedom Claims v Reality
The Information Ministry claims press freedom improved to 86% even as the country dropped from 151st to 161st in global rankings. Seems like government math at its best. Eleven civil society groups celebrated an “International Day to End Impunity” by reporting on the fifteen journalists who have died since 1994 over political and corruption reporting. Authorities have been hard at work to uncover the truth elsewhere - they say they’ve identified 2,810 cases of “disinformation” so far this year. More than 2,000 of the stories are/ were about border issues. The Ministry is running orientation meetings for content creators to lecture teach them responsible social media use.
Read more: Cambodia Daily (Index Questioned), Khmer Times (Social Media Monitoring), Fact Check Hub (Fake News Cases)
Techo Airport Takes Off
PM Hun Manet finally cut the ribbon on the new international airport that had, in fact, opened a month earlier, replacing a 70-year-old airport with a new one that’s designed to handle as many as 50 million passengers by mid-century. The airport currently serves 31 airlines on 50 routes. Singapore Airlines set up maintenance facilities, Etihad Cargo is going to begin twice-weekly freighter flights this winter, and travel bloggers have been full of praise for the 5-minute e-visa process.
Read more: AIN Online (Opening), Khmer Times (E-Visa Process), Travel and Tour World (Green Features), Air Cargo News (Cargo Service)
Temple Damage Sparks UNESCO Appeal
Culture Minister Phoeurng Sackona told UNESCO that July’s border fight with Thailand caused “irreparable” damage to Preah Vihear Temple due to (Thai) artillery and airstrikes. The 2008 World Heritage Site took hits during fighting between July 24-28. The October 26 peace agreement, backed by Trump and Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, has supposedly brought an end to hostilities.
Read more: Cambodianess (Temple Damage), Khmer Times (UNESCO Appeal)
More Cash to Floods & Droughts, Less to Malaria
The Green Climate Fund has approved just under $10 million for projects in 25 vulnerable districts facing floods and droughts. This, its third phase, is going to be centered on 15 districts to begin with in Battambang, Preah Vihear, and Pursat. The National Cooling Action Plan is expected to cut cooling emissions and electricity usage by about a fifth by 2030, and by 60% by 2050. Officials are saying that climate change is threatening progress in the battle against malaria. Although the number of reported cases has dropped significantly, regional infections have nearly doubled since 2015. APLMA is forecasting a $478 million funding shortfall as donor fatigue sets in.
Read more: Asian News Network (Climate Finance), Eco-Business (Cooling Plan), Cambodianess (Malaria Threat)
Turkey Eyes a Billion-Dollar Trade Target
Commerce Minister Cham Nimul and Turkish counterpart Ibrahim Yumakli agreed to chase $1 billion in bilateral trade at their November 4 meeting in Ankara. Turkish food giant Yayla wants to source rice, cashews, and dried fruits for European and Middle Eastern re-export. Deputy PM Sun Chanthol pitched energy infrastructure to GE Vernova and also courted McDonald’s and Medline investments while on his U.S. tour. At Shanghai’s Import Expo, officials promoted the Bakong payment system and CamDx platform in support of e-commerce for SMEs.
Read more: Khmer Times (Turkey Trade), Khmer Times (Yayla Partnership), Khmer Times (GE Vernova), Khmer Times(CIIE), Khmer Times (Fintech), Khmer Times (BBC Tourism)
Chinese Tourists Return to Angkor
Angkor Archaeological Park saw 68,418 Chinese visitors in ten months, up 7.6% from last year’s 63,545. The growing Chinese middle class, better flight options, and better/ easier access to visas drove growth that brought in $35.57 million of ticket sales. Techo Airport’s opening is expected to boost arrivals further.
Read more: Travel and Tour World (Chinese Visitors), Travel and Tour World (Airport Tourism Impact)
Jobs Fair Promises 30k Opportunities
Labour Minister Heng Sour opened the National Job Fair by celebrating the 460,000 jobs created this year. The event promised to offer 30,000 new vacancies and allowed for on-site interviews. A new agreement with South Australia will allow technical diploma students to study and apply for two-year internships starting in 2026 for automotive engineering and electronics. Deputy PM Vongsey Vissoth announced an Industrial Transformation Plan for sustainable textiles. The sector generated $11.68 billion in 2024, 44.6% of Cambodia’s exports.
Read more: Khmer Times (Job Fair), Khmer Times (Australia Training), Fibre2Fashion (Green Industries)
Rice Prices Crater for Farmers
Farmers report rice prices collapsed to 500-800 riel per kilogram from 1,150-1,250 last year, and they’re reporting heavy losses as prices aren’t sufficient to cover production costs. Agriculture Minister Dith Tina called on middlemen to offer fair prices this harvest season, and the Grassroots Democratic Party has asked for emergency government purchases at reasonable rates to prop up farmers who are struggling with debt. The Ministry says that farmers should form cooperatives to improve their bargaining power. This is surely helpful advice for farmhands already drowning in loans.
Read more: Cambojanews
Meter Tampering Ring Exposed
The Electricity Authority found more than 100 modified meters in Kampot province that were rigged to show lower usage than actual consumption. Touk Meas Electric Enterprise is following up with legal action against the tampering ring that’s been operating in Prey Tonle and Dang Tong. Authorities helpfully reminded users that meter interference is illegal.
Read more: Khmer Times
King, NA, Plan Hungary Visit
King Norodom Sihamoni is expected to pay a visit to Hungary early next year to celebrate 70 years of bilateral relations. The royal visit will follow a four-day National Assembly delegation that’s being sent to work on improving parliamentary diplomacy and to “strengthen ties and promote mutual interests.” Standard diplomatic lingo for keeping all options open.
Read more: Khmer Times
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