Cambodia Encourages More Investments from Sweden

Cambodia Encourages More Investments from Sweden

Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce is calling on Sweden to invest in the Kingdom’s furniture production and vehicle assembly industries. In a meeting with Swedish Ambassador, Björn Häggmark, Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak, asked the ambassador to persuade global furniture giant IKEA and truck manufacturer AB Volvo to take advantage of investment opportunities in Cambodia.

The minister made the request during a farewell visit to Cambodia by the outgoing Swedish ambassador, who is based in Thailand. Pan Sorasak welcomed the Swedish government’s cooperation in key areas, including trade, education, civil service capacity building and public-private partnership support in Cambodia.

At the same time, the Cambodian side asked the ambassador to encourage Swedish businessmen and investors to seek business opportunities in areas such as furniture production, parts assembly, food processing and tropical fruits.

Ambassador Häggmark said he believed that the Swedish embassy in Cambodia, based in Bangkok, will continue to cooperate well with the Ministry of Commerce to promote Cambodian-Swedish dialogue and trade relations. He noted that the Kingdom’s economy has been able to grow due to its adherence to a multilateralist system and the establishment of regulations covering the private sector and foreign investment.

IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer. It also manufactures, designs and distributes its furnishings, kitchenware and home appliances. The company was founded in 1926 by Ingvar Kamprad, who started the business by selling matches to his neighbours. IKEA now has more than 400 branches in 49 countries, including stores in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. IKEA’s signature products are flat-pack, self-assembly items of furniture and include icons like the BILLY bookcase

Volvo started making cars in Sweden in 1927 and has built a global reputation for safety and reliability. AB Volvo and Volvo Cars have been independent since Volvo sold the car business to Ford in 1999. Volvo Cars is now a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely. AB Volvo remains under Swedish ownership. Along with its truck and bus-making business it also produces construction equipment and engines.

Cambodia-Sweden bilateral trade volume for 2020 was $64 million, but the pace appears to be slowing. It stood at $23 million in the first five months of this year.