Trade with Cambodia reaches high of $1.7b

15th Jan, 2009

HA NOI — Trade between Viet Nam and Cambodia came close to US$1.7 billion in 2008, a 31 per cent year-on-year increase, according to sources from the Viet Nam Commerce Bureau in Cambodia.

Viet Nam exported more than $1.45 billion worth of goods, including construction steel, farm machinery, fertilisers, plant protectants, consumer goods, processed agricultural produce and seafood, dairy products and re-exported oil and gas.

During the 2004-08 period, Vietnamese exports to Cambodia rose by 40 per cent. Export turnover was five times higher than import costs.

Among Viet Nam’s major exports, seafood accounted for 80 per cent of the Cambodian market share, followed by steel at 68 per cent, and processed farm produce at 67 per cent.

Cambodia’s major exports to Viet Nam were mainly processed timber, rubber latex, rice, cashew nuts, tobacco leaves and cassava. Total turnover for these goods reached $250 million.

With 19 projects and a cumulative investment capital of $228 million, Viet Nam now ranks 10th amongst Cambodia’s largest foreign investors.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Trade, Vietnamese investment capital in Cambodia has increased sharply in recent years and two-way trade turnover is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2010.

This is a positive sign that Cambodia will become an attractive destination for foreign investors in the future, especially when the country opens its securities market in 2009.

By the end of 2008, 120 Vietnamese companies or representative offices had been set up in Phnom Penh.

Recently, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) allowed the Sai Gon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) to open a branch in Phnom Penh.

This is the first Vietnamese bank to be granted this licence in the country.

Sacombank must comply with the Investment Law and Decree No 78 of the Government for overseas investments. It must also ensure safe banking activities and obey Cambodian law.

The bank is currently building new office-space and has begun recruiting and training staff. The branch is expected to be operational in June.

Sacombank has nine branches and more than 20 transaction offices in border provinces, including Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap and An Giang. — VNS