DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ASEAN states invest 178 mln USD in Cambodia in H1” plus 5 more

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has attracted the fixed asset investments of 178 million U.S. dollars from its ASEAN member states in the first six months of this year, according to a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia on Friday.

From January to June this year, the country granted licenses to four projects from Thailand with the total investment of 84 million U.S. dollars, four projects from Vietnam with 82.5 million U.S. dollars, and one project worth 11.5 million U.S. dollars from Singapore, the report said.

During the period, Thailand invested in rice industry, footwear factory and clothes manufacturing in Cambodia, it said. Vietnam was in the field of beverage manufacturing and rubber plantation and processing, while Singapore was in garment and textile industry.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the report, since 1994, the ASEAN countries investing in Cambodia are only Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.

In 2011, the country received the fixed asset investments of 880 million U.S. dollars from its ASEAN member states, it said.

MANILA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian Foreign Ministry has recalled its top diplomat to the Philippines, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday, more than a week after Manila protested the envoy's scathing criticisms of the Aquino administration's position on the South China Sea territorial disputes.

Ambassador Hos Sereythonh's recall was relayed to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs through a note verbale sent by the Cambodian Foreign Ministry via its embassy in Manila early this week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

Hos will leave Manila on Aug. 17, Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario said the note verbale or diplomatic note states that Hos "was being replaced," but offers no explanation on why he is being removed from his post.

Del Rosario believes that Hos' recall will not have a negative impact on Manila's bilateral ties with Cambodia.

The recalled Cambodian envoy's harsh criticisms against the Philippines are the latest twist in the brewing animosity between the two neighbors, which are both members of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Other countries that make up the ASEAN are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar.

"I don't think it affects the bilateral relations at all," Del Rosario told reporters on the sidelines of the commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the ASEAN his department.

"We're looking forward to healthy bilateral relations with Cambodia," he said.

In a press briefing, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Cambodian Foreign Ministry sent separate notes verbale to the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh last Friday and to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila early this week.

The ministry, he said, did not elaborate on its reason for cutting short the Cambodian envoy's tour of duty, Hernandez said.

"Cambodia is an ASEAN member and a friend. We hope the Cambodian ambassador will (still) help reinforce the friendship that exists between our two countries," he added.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute of Royal Academy of Cambodia and Cambodia's Asia Euro University co- launched a Department of Chinese Studies on Friday in the capital of Phnom Penh, offering cause of the Chinese language and culture in the Southeastern Asian kingdom.

The newly unveiled Chinese department is the second in Cambodia after the first was inaugurated last October.

Addressing the launching ceremony, Seang Borath, secretary of state with Cambodia's Education Ministry, spoke highly of the newly established Chinese department, saying that could provide the Cambodian students more learning opportunities and exposure to the Chinese language.

He underlined that the Chinese department will also help promote cultural communication and people-to-people exchanges between the two peoples.

Li Zhigong, political counselor with China's embassy to Cambodia, believes that the launch of the Chinese department will help push up the significance of Chinese in international communication.

He said that it is not difficult to set up such a department, and the real challenges, however, are the performance of the faculty and students in teaching and learning.

He hopes the Department of Chinese Studies can also function as a training center for the Cambodian faculties in terms of Chinese language teaching.

Wang Xianmiao, co-chair of the Confucius Institute, told Xinhua that the department will be located in the Asia Euro University and offers students a 4-year bachelor degree.

Around 100 Cambodian high school graduates are expected to be enrolled this October as pioneers of this newly-launched department, starting their 4-year journeys of language learning under the instruction of Chinese teachers from the Confucius Institute.

The curriculum includes Chinese language, literature, culture and history.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had issued licenses to 72 domestic and foreign investment projects in equivalent to 692 million U.S. dollars in the first half of 2012, according to a report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) on Friday.

During the January-June period this year, domestic investment topped the chart with a total venture of 148 million U.S. dollars in 12 projects, followed by China with 141 million U.S. dollars in 19 projects, and Thailand with 84 million U.S. dollars in 4 projects.

Local investors invested in the fields of fertilizer manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, rice milling, tapioca powder processing, garment factories, hotel and resort development, and information technology, said the report. Chinese investors put their ventures here in garment and textile industry and rice mills, whilst Thailand in the fields of rice milling, footwear factory and clothe manufacturing.

Besides these investors, during the period, the country saw investments from the United States, Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, the United Kingdom, South Korea, China's Taiwan, China's Hong Kong, India, Japan and Samoa.

In the whole year of 2011, the country attracted 164 domestic and foreign investment projects worth 7.01 billion U.S. dollars.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian lawmakers on Friday unanimously adopted an agreement in order to make way for the country to send laborers to Qatar.

Ho Noun, Chairwoman of Commission on Labor and Vocational Training at the National Assembly, said that the manpower agreement between Cambodia and Qatar aimed at strengthening and expanding friendly relationship and cooperation between the two countries.

"The agreement is to study about the employment possibility in Qatar in order to send Cambodian workers there," she said. "It will provide mutual benefits for the two nations."

The passage was made after the ministers of Cambodia and Qatar signed a preliminary agreement to regulate the sending of laborers to the Middle Eastern emirate in May 2011.

Addressing the National Assembly session, Minister of Labor Vong Sauth said that the agreement is valid for 3 years and can be renewed every 3 years.

He said that currently, 124,889 Cambodian laborers have been working legally in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. Those migrant workers have sent home about 200 million U.S. dollars a year.

An Bunhak, president of the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies for Overseas Employment, said Friday that initially, the country planned to send some 3,000 workers to Qatar in a 6-month period.

Employment opportunities in Qatar are in service sector, catering industries, construction as well as oil and gas industry, he said, adding that they can earn between 350 U.S. dollars and 1, 500 U.S. dollars a month.