Trade pacts will draw investment to Cambodia

Trade pacts will draw investment to Cambodia

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade pact and bilateral free trade agreements are among the key factors attracting foreign direct investment to Cambodia, a senior official says.

In addition to the RCEP free trade agreement Cambodia has bilateral free trade agreements with China and South Korea, and “these pacts are a factor for the attraction of investments to our country”, Vongsey Vissoth, the Economy and Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary of state, said on Friday in Phnom Penh as he talked of his country’s macroeconomic management for this year.

The RCEP is a trade pact between 10 ASEAN member states and the bloc’s five major trade partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The RCEP and the Cambodia-China free trade agreement came into force on Jan 1, and the pacts between Cambodia and South Korea are expected to take effect in the near future.

Vongsey Vissoth said these pacts are crucial to boost Cambodia’s economic growth in the long run.

Cambodia’s economy is forecast to grow 5.6 percent this year, compared with 3 percent last year, he said. Growth of 6.5 percent is expected next year and of up to 7 percent in 2024.

The economy is mainly supported by garment, footwear and travel goods exports, tourism, real estate and construction, and agriculture. Vongsey Vissoth said these industries will grow this year.

The government had prepared a stimulus package of more than $1 billion for this year to boost the economy and to mitigate the impacts caused by the pandemic, he said.

Cambodia’s high vaccination rates have allowed the country to fully resume its socio-economic activities in all areas since November, he said.

The health ministry said at least one dose of vaccines has been administered to 14.39 million people, or 89.9 percent of the country’s 16 million people.

Of them, 13.8 million, or 86.3 percent, have been fully vaccinated, 6.23 million, or 38.9 percent, have received a third dose or booster shot, and 739,201, or 4.6 percent, have received a fourth dose, the ministry said.

Most of the vaccines used in the country’s immunization drive are those of Sinovac and Sinopharm of China. China Daily/Khmer Times