Cambodia seeks more trade, cooperation with US firms

High-rise buildings under construction in Boeung Tompun commune of Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district. - PPP

PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has urged US investors to look into collaborations with Cambodians in construction and real estate, agriculture, services and trade.

Seeing that Cambodia is the Asean chair for 2022, the time is right for the Kingdom and the US to strengthen their bilateral ties, said CCC president Kith Meng.

“We welcome US entrepreneurs to Cambodia to take advantage of this opportunity and study the possibility of collaborating with Cambodian partners,” he said.

During a May 9 trade meeting in New York, attended by some 100 US companies, Meng shared that the US was a major trading partner for Cambodia.

The meeting, held in conjunction with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to the US for a high-level Asean-US Special Summit on May 12-13, also discussed investment incentives and potential in key business sectors in Cambodia.

Ky Sereyvath, director of the Chinese Studies Centre and an economic researcher at Royal Academy of Cambodia, noted that the economic ties between the Kingdom and US are improving.

“We hope that this visit will further enhance trade between the US and Cambodia, which may lead to the signing of a free trade agreement in the future,” he said.

According to Cambodia Footwear Association (CFA) president Ly Kunthai, footwear exports to the US grew more than 44 per cent year-on-year to $152 million in the first quarter of 2022.

“We expect footwear exports to the US market to continue growing after the trade meeting between CCC and US companies,” he said.

The chamber members, who will be in the US till May 15, have been attending business events on the sidelines of the US-Asean Special Summit, including a trade meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC.

To recap, total trade between Cambodia and the US rose 32.6 per cent to US$9.2 billion in 2021 from $6.9 billion in 2020.

Of the figure in 2021, exports to the US amounted to $8.7 billion while imports from the US stood at $413.7 million, data from the US Census Bureau showed.