Duration: 1 hour
On 17 September, EuroCham met with H.E. SUN Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First-Vice Chairman of the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC) and several ministry representatives to discuss increasing FDI from Europe and creating more practical frameworks in the energy, waste, and transport and logistics sectors.
EuroCham was joined be H.E. Igor Driesmans, Ambassador of the EU to Cambodia; H.E. Jacques Pellet, Ambassador of France to Cambodia, as well as committee leaders.
In his opening remarks, H.E. SUN Chanthol said the CDC has recently made an effort to engage more with business chambers and the private sector to both increase FDI and field concerns from the sector. He noted a large uptick in new projects over the past year, with 287 projects approved through August 2024 (75% YOY increase) worth $4.78 billion (123% YOY increase).
Representatives from the European side noted the lack of FDI coming from the region, and pointed to several reasons for this, including overly bureaucratic processes, a recent prioritization of HREDD (backed by legislation in some cases), and lack of incentive compared to well-established neighbouring economies.
In some cases, EU companies have left Cambodia for some of the above reasons, but it was made clear that optimism is still high and there remains ample opportunity to increase trade and investment. Two areas of concern mentioned were regulation regarding solar energy and waste management strategies, both of which were addressed at the meeting.
Another area of concern was transport and logistics, with the issue being raised that unreasonable and cumbersome processes are seriously hindering the power of SMEs to scale and succeed, with their ability to export and import hampered by cross-border bureaucracy. This issue was also well-received and the two sides agreed to working together.