Page 18 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE Vol 3

COUNTRY PORTRAIT‘The Cambodia government would like to see major industrialists from Thailand tap the opportunity for cheap labourand export tax and quota privileges from the US and EU’for Cambodia’s current minister of commerce.Thailand is a larger trading partner to Cambodia than its other two neighbours. But figures show a stark imbalance. In 2013 the country’s exports to Thailand reached US$351 million, up 41%, while imports from Thailand totalled $4.15 billion, up 10%. And despite the proximity and high trade volume, Thai investors ranked only eighth among foreign investors in Cambodia.“I personally want to see Thai investors ranked in second place, not eighth, as investors in Cambodia,” Mr Chanthol said in an address to Thai businessmen at a trade forum on investment opportunities, held at Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra on August 22. “We have the same16 Elite+culture, the same religion and we understand each other. Why have investors from Thailand not come to invest here?”Mr Chanthol offers some possible answers. “The burning of the Thai embassy was one issue and another was the [Preah Vihear] issue along the border. We need to put those behind us. Let’s localize these issues and put them in one place. We need to look at the greater context of the relationship between Cambodia and Thailand and bilateral trade.”Cambodia, he said, needs Thai investment to help boost growth and reduce the trade deficit. At the same time, Thai manufacturers, especially those exporting products to European Union countries and the US, can reap the benefits from openingmanufacturing plants in Cambodia. Considered a “least developed country”, Cambodia is given tax privileges and no export quota under the Everything but Arms (EBA) initiative in the EU and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in the US.It is especially in the special economic zones of Koh Kong and Poipet that he wishes to see more Thai investment. “We would like to see you invest in Poipet because it is close to Laem Chabang, and the Cambodia government would like to see major industrialists from Thailand tap the opportunity for cheap labour and export tax and quota privileges from the US and EU. I think ‘Made in Thailand’ products are required to pay customs duties, but products made in