Page 19 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE Vol 3

nearby Poipet and Koh Kong will be tax exempt.”Cambodia is now one of the world’s fastest growing economies. GDP growth has impressively hovered around 8% for the past decade and the government estimates growth to be 7-7.5% in the next five years. The currency exchange rate is stable, and foreign currencies such as US dollars and Thai baht are accepted. Investors are allowed to bring in and send out cash without government oversight.One very good reason to invest is because the Cambodian government is business-friendly. “We are pro-business in the sense that we see the private sector as the engine of our economic growth. We cannot have our economy grow without the private sector. We do not have financial resources and we do not have the know-how, so we rely on the private sector to participate with our government to rebuild our country and build our economy.”To assist investors, the government has formed 10 committees based on business clusters such as the tourism, garment, telecommunications and banking sectors. These committees comprise related ministers and investors and serve as a fast track for the government to help investors. If issues cannot be resolved, investors can raise issues at the Government Private Sector Forum (G-PSF), established by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 1999, a major event held at least once a year. The event has been joined by development banks such as the World Bank and Asia Development Bank and some non-government organizations.Political stability plays a large part in economic growth. “The strongest point is the country has been run by the ruling party for three decades and Prime Minister Somdej Hun Sen is the longest serving prime minister‘We are pro-business in the sense that we see the private sector as the engine of oureconomic growth. We cannot have our economy grow without the private sector’Elite+ 17