Gov't, institutions differ on Cambodian economic growth rate in 2009

Mr. Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The government and major international financial institutions have different predictions of Cambodia's economic growth rate for this year, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post said on Thursday.

While the government vowed to maintain a 6 percent growth rate, the World Bank was only confident of a 4.9 percent growth, the International Monetary Fund 4.8 percent, and the Asian Development Bank 4.7 percent, said the paper.

The major opposition Sam Rainsy Party said that the figure would be 4 percent.

The Economic Intelligence Unit, which is part of the Economist Group, publisher of The Economist magazine, was the most pessimistic predictor, only giving a 1 percent estimation.

The difference reflected the institutions' belief in the unstable essence of the current year, said the paper.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday that his government will try to maintain its economic growth at 6 percent in 2009, in context of the current global financial crisis.

"During the last decade of peace and stability, Cambodia achieved high economic growth rate at around 9.4 percent per annum," he told a business seminar.

"Amazingly, economic growth reached 10.6 percent per annum over the last 5 years, with a peak at 13.3 percent in 2005," he said, adding that the rates stood at 10.8 percent in 2006, 10.2 percent in 2007 and 7.0 percent in 2008.

Editor: Yang Lina