Wednesday, 23 May 2012
By May Kunmakara
Phnom Penh Post
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and ASEAN member state Malaysia rose by
34 per cent year on year in 2011 to US$319.5 million compared to the
year before, according to data from the Embassy of Malaysia in Phnom Penh released yesterday.
Experts
noted the nearly 100 per cent increase in Cambodian exports to Malaysia
signified a shift from dependence on Western markets.
The Kingdom shipped $65 million in crude rubber, cereal and garments, among other items, to Malaysia in 2011.
The exports represented a 95 per cent increase on the year before, statistics showed.
Recent
boosts in inter-government relations accounted for an increase in
confidence among businessmen and traders, director general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce Ngoun Meng Tech said.
“I
noticed that the two governments have a very good relationship. That’s a
key point for increasing trade exchanges and investment from Malaysia
to Cambodia in the recent years,” he said. “It also proves that we can
have more markets in the region,” he added.
Malaysia’s main
exports to Cambodia last year were textiles and clothing, metal
products, processed food, chemical and beverages, data showed.
After Vietnam, Malaysia is the second biggest investor in Cambodia among ASEAN countries.
Malaysia invested $235 million in Cambodia last year, a jump of 41 per cent.
Most of the investments were in garment manufacturing, real estate and rice-milling sectors.
Economists
yesterday noted the increase in trade of value-added goods as a
positive sign that Cambodia was beginning to look into markets in its
own backyard.
“That’s a good sign for the diversification of our
exports. We have mainly exported unprocessed agricultural products into
many countries in the region,” Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at kunmakara.may@phnompenhpost.com
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