Cambodia 20260112

Mekong Memo Cambodia Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.

Jan 12, 2026

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Headlines:

Prince Bank Goes Dark

Dollars Try to Buy Border Peace

Scam Networks Play Border Games

Property Tax Delay Signals Jitters

Trade Boom Hides Worker Struggles

Rice Exports Wins Bypass Farmers

Triple Threat Hampers Growth

China Signs Checks

Concrete Promises Rise From Coastline

Landmines Keep Claiming Limbs

Regulators Draw New Auto Safety Lines

Seoul and Phnom Penh Share Tax Notes

Prince Bank Goes Dark

More than $11 billion in Bitcoin allegedly flowed through crypto scam networks before the central bank ordered Prince Bank into liquidation this week. The trigger was the surprise arrest and extradition to China of founder Chen Zhi on fraud and money laundering charges that could result in 40 years in prison. The National Bank froze new lending and deposits January 8, bringing in auditors to manage about a billion dollars in assets as depositors have scrambled to withdraw their money. Chen’s Prince Holding Group controls over $2 billion in real estate including Phnom Penh’s Prince Plaza, assets that are now under scrutiny as prosecutors pull apart what US authorities call one of Southeast Asia’s largest financial fraud networks.

Read more: Asian News Network (Bank Suspension Details), Khaosod English (Liquidation Process), SCMP (Fraud Network Scale), Cambodia Investment Review (Regulatory Oversight)

Dollars Try to Buy Border Peace

Half a million people that were displaced by 20 days of border fighting may finally be able to go home again after a $45 million US aid package backs a fragile ceasefire. The December 27 truce ended fighting that’s killed scores of people. US Assistant Secretary Michael DeSombre announced the funding in Bangkok and Phnom Penh: $20 million is earmarked for drug trafficking and cyberscams, $15 million is to go to support of border stabilization, and $10 million is for clearance of landmines.

Read more: Al Jazeera (Aid Breakdown), Times of India (Trump Intervention), Khmer Times (Displacement Details), South China Morning Post (Diplomatic Context)

Scam Networks Play Border Games

More than 1,000 arrests for scam operations in 2025 and the handover of Prince Bank’s Chen Zhi to Chinese authorities have not kept the number of scam cases from jumping by a fifth. Thai authorities took control of 500 million baht ($16 million) in a single move against accounts linked to forced workers. When Myanmar took down the notorious KK Park compound, operators relocated to Malai district, 50 kilometers from the border.

Read more: Nation Thailand (Diplomatic Dynamics), Pattaya Mail (Scam Hub Relocation), AP News (Regional Scam Scale), The Thaiger (Forced Labor Evidence)

Property Tax Delay Signals Jitters

The 20% capital gains tax on real estate has been delayed again to 2027, the second postponement, but share transfers still face taxation starting this year. Stock/ share trades are expected to be taxed within three months of realized gains, forcing taxpayers to organize documentation immediately. Officials promise that they’re ready this time, though repeated delays raise questions as policymakers try to balance tax revenue needs against market stability in an economy where property is a big driver of growth and wealth.

Trade Boom Hides Worker Struggles

Trade volume hit $65 billion in 2025 with exports totaling $31 billion, (meaning that imports/ exports were almost the same), numbers that Deputy PM Sun Chanthol called historic. The government approved 630 investment projects worth nearly $10 billion. The textiles and footwear sectors employ close to a million workers, but union leaders say that workers are still unable to collectively bargain for safe conditions.

Read more: Sourcing Journal (Labor Rights Analysis), Khmer Times (Trade Milestone), Cambodia Investment Review (Market Diversification)

Rice Exports Wins Bypass Farmers

Rice exports hit 940,000 tonnes of milled rice in 2025, up 45% and generating $602 million in revenue, 20% more than last year. The EU bought 339,000 tonnes, China took 231,000 tonnes, and ASEAN countries received 274,000 tonnes. Fragrant rice made up nearly two-thirds of exports, and the Malys Angkor variety won the title of “World’s Best Rice.” The celebrations are happening at federation headquarters, though, not in the village rice paddies - it isn’t clear whether farmers are seeing any benefit from the boom.

Read more: AKP Phnom Penh (Award Details), Construction & Property (Export Volumes)

Triple Threat Hampers Growth

A “triple whammy” of global, regional and domestic challenges is going to drag economic growth down to 4-5%, warns ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Jayant Menon. The recent border conflict is just one pressure point in a slowdown that involves the property markets, scam-related reputational damage, and competition from stronger regional neighbors. The timing is rough as Cambodia needs higher growth to absorb its young workforce entering a job market that’s already struggling with a shift from agricultural to industrial employment.

China Signs Checks

Chinese investment has dominated the nation’s FDI haul of late, capturing 54% of total inflows at $1.03 billion. Japan trailed at 7.9% ($150 million), with Korea ($118 million) and Hong Kong ($86 million) rounding out the top investors. The numbers reveal Beijing’s deepening economic footprint in a country where Chinese capital already shapes skylines, casinos, and special economic zones. When one partner provides more than half your foreign investment, the economic relationship has long since become political dependency.

Read more: Khmer Times (FDI Breakdown), Cambodianess (Peace before investment)

Concrete Promises Rise From Coastline

Sihanoukville’s multipurpose port expansion enters final design phase with $220 million in JICA funding, while a $1.5 billion LNG power plant breaks ground in Koh Kong. The infrastructure push comes as the country races to modernize logistics before regional competitors lock in supply chain advantages. Whether Japanese-backed ports can compete with Chinese Belt and Road projects next door remains the billion-dollar question nobody in Phnom Penh wants to answer directly.

Read more: Khmer Times (Port Expansion), YiCai (LNG Plant)

Landmines Keep Claiming Limbs

Landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties keep claiming victims, but things are improving, a little. Four decades after the Khmer Rouge, the country remains one of the world’s most contaminated. The $10 million in US clearance funding announced this week is a drop in an ocean of buried munitions. Every casualty statistic is a farmer who made a wrong step, a child who discovered something shiny, a family whose breadwinner will never walk again.

Regulators Draw New Auto Safety Lines

The automotive sector is getting updated safety certification rules under new Ministry of Industry regulations. The regulatory tightening follows years of relatively open markets, a sign that Phnom Penh is throwing its weight around a bit more to wrest back control as foreign investment matures. Whether new rules protect consumers or create new bottlenecks depends on implementation that remains characteristically opaque.

Seoul and Phnom Penh Share Tax Notes

A bilateral tax cooperation agreement with South Korea aims at preventing double taxation and closing loopholes used for capital flight. The deal comes as Korean investment reaches $118 million annually and both countries seek to formalize economic ties beyond simple FDI flows. For Phnom Penh, the agreement signals growing sophistication in its approach to international capital, a far cry from the anything-goes investment climate of a decade ago.

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