Business and Investment Opportunities in Cambodia柬埔寨的商业和投资机会

Introduction to Cambodia
The current population of Cambodia is about 17 million people. The economy of Cambodia has sustained an average growth rate of eight percent between 1998 and 2018, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The tourism, garment, construction and real estate, and agriculture sectors accounted for the bulk of growth. In 2016, Cambodia’s economy was upgraded from “lower” to “lower-middle” income status, following the World Bank’s upgrade of the country’s classification due to successful poverty alleviation programs and rising income levels. Cambodia currently aims to achieve “upper-middle” income status by 2030, and “high-middle” income status by 2050. Thanks to the Royal Government of Cambodia’s “win-win policy”, peace and stability have been sustained and laid concrete foundations contributing to macroeconomic stability and developing vibrant business and investment opportunities. Like every country in the world, Cambodian economy continues to suffer from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, based on Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia’s GDP is expected to grow 5.6% in 2022, growing expectations of global demand and confidence among foreign investors. Cambodia is one of a few countries – both regionally and globally – that has achieved high vaccination rates and induced strong Covid-19 herd immunity. The Royal Government of Cambodia recently launched the “Strategic Framework and Programs to Rehabilitate and Stimulate Cambodia’s Economic Growth in Living with Covid-19 in the New Normal for 2021-2023”. This will serve as a roadmap and an effective driving force to revitalize the potential of Cambodia’s economic growth poles, capture emerging opportunities in line with regional and global trends aimed at enhancing growth in a more sustainable and diversified, and build strong socio-economic resilience.

⬆ Sunrise on Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia

Cambodia-China Relations
Cambodia and China formally established diplomatic tie in July 1958 and have since elevated ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation” in 2010. In addition, the two countries also signed “Action Plan 2019-2023 on Building China-Cambodia Community of Shared Future” in April 2019, which demonstrates excellent relationship that not only increases political trust but also opens door to greater cooperation and connectivity.

For bilateral cooperation, the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which was signed on October 12, 2020, is an additional basis for promoting a new area of cooperation that further enhances the strategic relationship between Cambodia and China. The CCFTA has paved the way for the promotion of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and has been built upon the foundation of mutual support, mutual trust, mutual benefits and win-win cooperation. This deal will give opportunities to Cambodian investors who wish to expand their markets in China, as well as provide opportunities to Chinese enterprises and investors to invest in Cambodia. Following the signing of the CCFTA, the two countries have started to reap benefits of this agreement, and economic and trade cooperation have grown even stronger, mainly with the agricultural products. For instance, Cambodian fresh mangoes are the second agricultural product that can now be directly shipped to China after fresh bananas. Moreover, Cambodia and China officially signed the protocol of importing requirements of Cambodian fresh longans and striped catfish for exporting from Cambodia to China on 16th March 2022; it means that Cambodia will be able to directly export the fresh longans and striped catfish to China in the near future.

Growing economic relations with China have helped Cambodia achieve strong annual economic growth, with an average rate of more than 7% over the last two decades. China is the biggest source of trade and foreign direct investment to Cambodia and a top-ranking trading partner. According to Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, trade volume between Cambodia and China was valued at 11.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, up 38 percent from 2020. The above agreements reflect the substance of the “ironclad friendship” which was introduced by President Xi Jinping.

For regional cooperation, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement is a free trade agreement between the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five of their largest trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The RCEP negotiations were formally launched at the 2012 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia, and it was signed on 15 November 2020. The RCEP entered into force on 1 January 2022 with ratification by four non-ASEAN members (Australia, China, Japan, and New Zealand) and six ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam) (ASEAN Secretariat, 2022), recently RCEP came into effect for South Korea and Malaysia as well. The RCEP covers a market of almost 30% of the world’s population, with a combined GDP about 30% of global GDP in 2019, and accounts for nearly 28% of global trade.

How is the RCEP important to Cambodia?

As the world’s largest trade deal, the RCEP will broaden and deepen 15 participating countries’ economic linkages and connectivity with the region, expand trade and investment activities, particularly foreign direct investment in the region, open a vast range of opportunities for businesses located in the region, and offer preferential access into growing markets in the region. For instance, businesses can enjoy preferential customs duties on goods exported to the 15 RCEP countries if the goods meet the rules of origin. Moreover, the RCEP will create jobs, increase income for people, and boost economic growth in the region.

Indeed, Cambodian economy benefits significantly from the RCEP with a positive impact on GDP and investment. Recently, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) has found that the RCEP would boost Cambodia’s GDP an additional two percent, increase exports by an extra 7.3 percent and raise investment 23.4 percent. A World Bank study in February showed that the East Asia and Pacific region could reap significant benefits through further liberalization, particularly Cambodia and other lower-middle-income countries gaining the most from the RCEP.

Reasons to Invest in Cambodia

The Royal Government of Cambodia makes significant effort to promote investment and encourage the establishment of foreign businesses. Investors will benefit from the following active measures.

• Strategic Geographical Location: Cambodia has a favourable geographic location and is in the heart of Southeast Asia, sharing borders with Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam. The country is also in the centre of the Southern Economic Corridor of the Greater Mekong Sub region. Phnom Penh International Airport has direct flights to major regional hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tokyo, and Seoul, as well as further global hubs in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

• Preferential Market Access: Cambodia is part of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and therefore benefits from the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) agreement to reduce or eliminate tariffs on manufactured goods traded among its ten member states. The country benefits from ASEAN’s collective signature of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which already entered into force. Cambodia also enjoys special trading benefits with South Korea under the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement and other free trade agreement partners.

• Laws and Regulations: Recently, Cambodia has adopted two new laws related to investment. First, the “Law on Investment in the Kingdom of Cambodia” dated on 15 October 2021 (the “New Law on Investment”). This Law aims to establish an open, transparent, and favourable legal framework to attract and promote quality, effective and efficient investments by Cambodian nationals or foreigners. It replaces the 1994 Law on Investment, which was amended in 2003. In addition, under this law, investment sectors and activities are entitled to investment incentives, namely high-tech industries involving innovation or research and development, tourism and tourism-related activities, special economic zones, agriculture, agro-industry, agro-processing industry, and food processing industries serving the domestic market or export, and so on.
Second, the “Law on Public-Private Partnership” dated 18 November 2021 (the “PPP Law”). The PPP Law enhances the management of PPP mechanisms in the design and implementation of public infrastructure projects and public service projects. It also highlights the important of government financial support to private partners and the risk allocation between the private and government partners.

• Investment Incentive: The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has an incentive scheme for foreign investors. Investors can apply for Qualified Investment Project (QIP) status, which comes with significant benefits such as tax holidays for profits for up to nine years, and special depreciation allowances. During the tax holiday period, the charged tax rate on income is zero. QIPs also enjoy customs duty exemptions on the import of production equipment, construction material and other inputs (used in the production of exported goods).

• Special Economic Zones (SEZs): Generally, investors (QIP) located in SEZs are entitled to the same incentives and privileges as other QIPs. However, SEZs provide a one-stop service via the Special Economic Zone Administration. Special customs procedures (simpler and quicker formalities) are also applied in SEZs.

• Young Workforce: Cambodia benefits from favourable demographics; the workers are young and in huge numbers. According to Cambodia Labor Force Survey 2019 data. The working age population was estimated at 11.5 million, of which 6.1 million were females and 5.4 million were males. About 7.5 million of the working-age population lived in rural areas, while 4.0 million resided in the urban areas.

Sectors favourable for investment

There are a number of sectors which are favourable for investment. First, agriculture sector has long been one of Cambodia’s most important sectors of Cambodian economy and accounts for 16% of national GDP, and it employs the vast majority of the workforce. The sector remains at the core of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s development strategy, with “Promotion of Agricultural and Rural Development” being a pillar of Cambodia’s overarching “Rectangular Strategy”. The Royal Government has identified rice exports as one of the top priorities among agricultural products. In addition to rice, Cambodia’s niche agricultural products are becoming well-known for their high quality. The protected geographical indication status products of Kampot pepper, Kampong Speu palm sugar and Koh Trung pomelo account for a small percentage of total exports but are perceived as increasingly valuable brands. Other high-quality agricultural products such as bananas, mangoes, fragrant coconuts, longans, and cashews can be exported to foreign markets like China, allowing businesses to enhance their efficiency and develop sustainably.

As the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force, the two countries benefit from these agreements. For example, Cambodia’s rice export to China surpassed 300,000 tons for the first time in 2021, marking historic milestone in the rice sector between the two countries. Also, Cambodia first exported fresh bananas and fresh mangoes to China in 2019 and 2021, respectively, and the two countries have been working together to enable the export of Cambodian longan fruit to China soon.

Again, China has expressed its commitment to import more rice and other agricultural products from Cambodian after the free trade agreement between Cambodia and China came into force. H.E. Xi Jinping, the President of China, announced this during telephone conservation with Prime Minister Hun Sen on 18 March 2022.

Another sector is tourism. Tourism is a priority sector in the Cambodian government’s Rectangular Strategy (Phase IV), and recognized for its contribution to socio-economic development, improvement of livelihood, and poverty reduction. Tourism accounted for 21% of the country’s GDP in 2019. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the sector earned US$4.9 billion from 6.6 million international visitors in 2019, an increase of 12.4% compared to 2018. Due to diversity of its tourism offer, Cambodia has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, from the historic and cultural sites in Siem Reap Province to the pristine beauty of the tropical coastline in Sihanoukville Province. For example, Trip Advisor chose Angkor Wat temple, one of the world heritage sites, as the World’s Top Tourism Landmark in 2017. Angkor Wat remains to be the country’s most visited destination for international tourists, especially Chinese people. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the world’s top outbound source market, with 155 million international Chinese travelers spending $255 billion in 2019. In 2016, Cambodia launched its “China Ready” strategy, intending to attract more Chinese tourists to the country. This strategy has been an overwhelming success, with Chinese tourists ranked first in number of international arrivals (2,361,846) in 2019. Cambodia also aims to attract 5 million Chinese tourists by 2025 and 8 million by 2030. In this regard, Cambodia has recently announced that fully vaccinated foreign travellers can visit the kingdom without quarantine, and fully vaccinated travellers are no longer required to undertake pre-departure or on-arrival COVID-19 tests. In addition, the government has rolled out a number of policies to strengthen the tourism sector. “National Ecotourism Policy” was developed for 2019-2030, aiming to transform Cambodia into a quality ecotourism destination. Other efforts include the development of “Siem Reap’s Tourism Development Master Plan 2020-2035”, and the 2019 “Four-Strategy Plan” for tourism development, which encompasses elements such as diversifying tourist products, extending the stay of tourists, enhancing competitiveness, and improving connectivity between tourism hubs.

Conclusion

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country of many opportunities. The industries of Cambodia have contributed to the continuous growth of the Kingdom’s economy. The key industries are centered on Agriculture, Manufacturing, Mining, Oil and Gas, Tourism, Infrastructure, and so on. Investors benefit from the country’s strategic location, supportive government initiatives, investment incentives, and competitive labor force. Along with that, Cambodia has a strong access to the major markets particularly ASEAN, China, European Union and the United States.

柬埔寨简介

柬埔寨人口约1700万。柬埔寨的经济在1998年至2018年间保持了平均8%的增长，是世界上增长最快的经济体之一。增长的大部分来自旅游、服装、建筑和房地产行业以及农业领域。2016年，由于减贫项目的成功实施和人均收入水平的提高，世界银行升级了对柬埔寨的分类，将柬埔寨经济从“较低”收入升级为“中低”收入。柬埔寨现在的目标是到2030年达到“中上”收入水平，到2050年达到“中高”收入水平。由于柬埔寨王国政府采取的“双赢政策”，国家和平与稳定的形势得以维持，也为宏观经济的稳定和挖掘充满活力的商业和投资机会奠定了坚实的基础。与世界各国一样，受冠状病毒的影响，柬埔寨的经济也遭受到冲击。不过，根据柬埔寨经济和财政部提供的数据，2022年柬埔寨的国内生产总值预计将增长5.6%，因此对全球需求和外国投资者信心的预期仍在不断提高。而且从区域和全球范围看，柬埔寨是少数实现疫苗高接种率从而做到群体免疫的国家之一。最近柬埔寨王国政府针对与冠状病毒共存的新常态，启动了“2021-2023年恢复和刺激柬埔寨经济增长的战略框架和计划”。这是重振柬埔寨经济增长潜力的路线图和有效的驱动力，因为它遵循区域和全球趋势，抓住新出现的机遇，旨在以更可持续和多样化的方式促进增长，并建立强大的社会经济复原韧性。

⬆ 中资电力企业助柬埔寨能源实现绿色发展，这是位于柬埔寨戈公省达岱河的达岱水电站（新华社发 柬埔寨达岱水电有限公司提供）

柬中关系

柬埔寨和中国在1958年7月正式建立外交关系，并于2010年将两国关系提升为“全面战略合作伙伴关系”。此外，两国还在2019年4月签署了“构建中柬命运共同体行动计划2019-2023”，这不仅表明两国保持着良好关系，而且增加了彼此的政治互信，也为加强合作和互联互通打开了大门。

就双边合作而言，2020年10月12日签署的柬中自由贸易协定（CCFTA）为在新合作领域进一步加强柬中战略关系奠定了又一基础。柬中自由贸易协定是在互相支持、互相信任、互利共赢的基础上签立的，该协定为促进两国经贸合作铺平了道路，为希望在中国扩大市场的柬埔寨投资者和在柬埔寨进行投资的中国企业和投资者都提供了机会。自柬中自由贸易协定签署以来，两国都已开始从该协定中获益，经贸合作进一步加强，特别是在农产品方面。比如，柬埔寨的芒果是继香蕉之后的第二种可以直接运往中国的农产品。此外，柬埔寨还与中国在2022年3月16日正式签署了从柬埔寨向中国出口产自柬埔寨的龙眼和巴沙鱼的进口要求议定书，这意味着柬埔寨能够在不久的将来直接向中国出口龙眼和巴沙鱼。

与中国日益密切的经济关系帮助柬埔寨实现了强劲的年度经济增长，过去20年柬埔寨的平均增长率超过了7%。中国是柬埔寨最大的贸易和外国直接投资来源国，也是柬埔寨最大的贸易伙伴。根据柬埔寨商务部统计，柬埔寨和中国在2021年的贸易额是111亿美元，比2020年增长了38%。上述这些协定也是习近平主席提出的“铁一般的友谊”的实质体现。

就区域合作而言，区域全面经济伙伴关系协定（RCEP）是东南亚国家联盟（东盟）的10个成员国与他们的五个最大贸易伙伴，即中国、日本、韩国、澳大利亚和新西兰之间的自由贸易协定。RCEP谈判在2012年的柬埔寨东盟峰会上正式启动，之后在2020年11月15日签署。RCEP于2022年1月1日生效，得到了四个非东盟成员国（中国、日本、澳大利亚和新西兰）和六个东盟成员国（文莱、柬埔寨、老挝人民民主共和国、新加坡、泰国和越南）（东盟秘书处，2022年）的批准，最近RCEP也对韩国和马来西亚生效了。RCEP覆盖了全球几乎30%的人口，并且占到2019年全球GDP总值的约30%，全球贸易的近28%。

RCEP对柬埔寨有怎样的重要性？

作为世界上最大的贸易协定，RCEP将扩大和深化15个参与国与该区域的经济联系和互联互通，拓展贸易和投资活动，特别是该区域的外国直接投资，同时为该区域的企业提供了大规模发展和优先进入该区域不断增长的市场的机会。

事实上，柬埔寨经济从RCEP中获益匪浅，对其GDP和投资都产生了积极影响。最近，东盟和东亚经济研究所（ERIA）发现，RCEP将能使柬埔寨的GDP增加2%，出口增加7.3%，投资增加23.4%。世界银行2月份的一项研究也表明，东亚和太平洋地区可以通过进一步自由化获得重大利益，其中柬埔寨和其他中低收入国家从RCEP中的获益尤其多。

投资柬埔寨的理由

柬埔寨王国政府为促进投资和鼓励外国企业在柬埔寨营商作出了重大努力。投资者能够从下面这些积极举措中获益。

1. 战略地理位置：柬埔寨地理位置优越，位于东南亚中心，与泰国、老挝人民民主共和国和越南接壤。柬埔寨也是大湄公河次区域南部经济走廊的中心。金边国际机场有直飞北京、上海、广州、东京和首尔等主要区域枢纽的航班，也能直飞卡塔尔和阿拉伯联合酋长国等其他全球枢纽。

2. 优惠的市场准入：柬埔寨属于东盟自由贸易区（AFTA），因此受惠于共同有效优惠关税协定（CEPT），该协定的目的是降低或取消其十个成员国之间制成品的贸易关税。如前所述，柬埔寨还得益于东盟集体签署的区域全面经济伙伴关系（RCEP）和已经生效的《柬中自由贸易协定》（CCFTA）。此外，依托东盟-韩国自由贸易协定，柬埔寨及其他协定中的贸易伙伴在与韩国进行贸易时也能享受到特殊的利益。

3.法律与法规：最近，柬埔寨通过了两项与投资有关的新法律。一个是2021年10月15日颁布的“柬埔寨王国投资法”（简称“投资新法”）。该法律旨在建立一个开放、透明和有利的法律框架，从而吸引和促进柬埔寨国民或外国人进行高质量的、有效且高效的投资。它取代了1994年制定的、后来又在2003年修订过的投资法。按照投资新法，投资部门和投资活动有权获得投资激励，这涉及到创新或研发的高科技产业、旅游业和与旅游相关的业务、经济特区、农业、农用工业、农产品加工业以及服务于国内市场或出口的食品加工业等领域。

另一个法律是2021年11月18日出台的“公私合营法”（PPP法）。公私合营法加强了对公共基础设施项目和公共服务项目设计和实施中公私合营机制的管理。它还强调了政府对私人合作伙伴的财政支持以及私人和政府合作伙伴之间的风险分配的重要性。

4.投资激励：柬埔寨发展委员会（CDC）也为外国投资者制定了一项激励计划。投资者可以申请合格投资项目（QIP）资格，该资格具有显著的优势，比如长达九年的利润免税期和特殊的折旧津贴。在免税期内，所得税税率为零。合格投资项目还可以享受进口生产设备、建筑材料和其他投入品（用于生产出口商品）的关税豁免。

5.经济特区（SEZs）：总体而言，位于经济特区的合格投资项目的投资人与其他合格投资项目投资人享有同样的激励和特殊待遇。此外，经济特区通过经济特区管理局提供“一站式”服务。而且经济特区还采用了特殊的海关程序（手续更简单、更快）。

6.年轻劳动力：柬埔寨的人口结构非常有利：劳动力年轻，而且人数众多。根据柬埔寨劳工部2019年的调查数据，劳动适龄人口估计为1150万，其中610万为女性，540万为男性。约750万劳动适龄人口居住在农村地区，400万人居住在城市。

有利于投资的领域

柬埔寨有许多领域有利于投资。首先，农业领域长期以来一直是柬埔寨经济中最重要的领域之一，占全国GDP的16%，雇用了绝大多数劳动力。现在农业仍然是柬埔寨王国政府发展战略的核心，“促进农业和农村发展”也是柬埔寨总体“矩阵战略”的支柱。王国政府已经将大米出口列为农产品的首要任务之一。除了大米，柬埔寨的利基农产品也以其高质量而开始闻名。贡布胡椒、磅士卑棕榈糖和笼岛柚子这些受到保护的地理标志产品虽然只占出口总量的一小部分，但它们被视为越来越有价值的品牌。香蕉、芒果、香椰子、龙眼和腰果等其他优质农产品可以出口到中国等国外市场，让生产商提高了效益，实现了可持续发展。

随着柬中自由贸易协定（CCFTA）和区域全面经济伙伴关系（RCEP）的生效，两国还将从这些协定中受益。比如，柬埔寨对中国的大米出口在2021年首次超过30万吨，这在两国大米领域具有历史性里程碑的意义。此外，柬埔寨分别在2019年和2021年第一次向中国出口香蕉和芒果，两国还一直在共同努力，让柬埔寨的龙眼也能很快出口到中国。

在柬中自由贸易协定生效后，中国再次承诺从柬埔寨进口更多大米和其他农产品。这是2022年3月18日中国国家主席习近平在与柬埔寨首相洪森通电话时宣布的。

旅游业是另一个领域。旅游业是柬埔寨政府矩阵战略（第四阶段）的一个优先领域，因其对社会经济发展、改善民生和减贫的贡献而得到认可。2019年，旅游业占到柬埔寨GDP的21%。根据旅游部的统计数据，2019年，旅游业从660万国际游客中赚取了49亿美元，比2018年增长了12.4%。由于柬埔寨旅游业的多样性，已使其成为了世界上最受欢迎的旅游目的地之一，从暹粒省的历史文化遗址到西哈努克省热带海岸线的原始美景。比如，2017年，著名旅游资讯网站Trip Advisor就选择世界遗产之一的吴哥窟作为世界顶级旅游地标。吴哥窟一直是柬埔寨国际游客，尤其是中国游客，到访最多的目的地。中国是世界上最大的出境游客的客源市场，2019年，世界各地接待了1.55亿中国游客，他们的消费达到2550亿美元。2016年，柬埔寨启动了“中国就绪”战略，旨在吸引更多中国游客来柬埔寨旅游。这一战略取得了巨大成功，2019年在柬埔寨接待的外国游客中，中国游客的数量排名第一（2361846人）。柬埔寨还计划到2025年能吸引500万中国游客，到2030年吸引800万中国游客。在这方面，柬埔寨最近宣布，完全接种疫苗的外国游客可以在不需要隔离的情况下访问柬埔寨，而且他们也不再需要进行出发前或抵达时的核酸检测。此外，政府还推出了一系列政策来促进旅游业的发展。“2019-2030年国家生态旅游政策”旨在将柬埔寨转变为优质生态旅游的目的地。其他的努力还包括制定出台了“2020-2035年暹粒旅游发展总体规划”和2019年旅游发展“四大战略计划”，后者涉及到旅游产品多样化、延长游客停留时间、提升竞争力和改善旅游枢纽之间的连通等方面。

结语

柬埔寨王国是一个充满机遇的国家。柬埔寨的工业为国家经济的持续增长做出了贡献。重点产业集中在农业、制造业、矿业、石油和天然气、旅游业、基础设施等领域。投资者可以得益于柬埔寨的战略位置、政府支持性的举措、投资激励政策和具有竞争力的劳动力。除此以外，柬埔寨还具备进入世界主要市场的通道，特别是东盟、中国、欧盟和美国。