The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Learn from terrorists” plus 9 more

They have burned an [effigy] of Hun Sen. It's as if they learn from terrorists in the Middle East.

If a man has a rep for beating people up, it's probably best not to push him on the subject, but police say that's just what happened in Battambang on Monday when a pair of siblings got soused with some locals.

A seemingly good-natured ribbing about the noted brawler's past exploits ended with him punching one of the two brothers in the face.

The other brother promptly picked up a stick and smacked the bully in the head with it. Both siblings fled the scene, but the cops picked up the stick wielder later that day. NOKORWAT

A young man's trip to a guesthouse with his girlfriend cost him his moto on Tuesday in the capital's Prampi Makara district.

Police said the 20-year-old had just arrived at the guesthouse when a friend caught up via motodop and asked to borrow the bike so he could go on a date of his own.

Unfortunately, he had no money for said date and promptly pawned the moto to raise the cash. He quickly cracked under police questioning. NOKORWAT

Cambodia is one of the least-attractive investment destinations in ASEAN, according to new findings that an economic adviser to the government is already challenging.

Released last week, the 2013 ASEAN Competitiveness Survey ranked Cambodia above only Brunei in terms of investor "attractiveness".

Just 21 per cent of the survey's 502 respondents, all of whom hailed from the business community in ASEAN, identified Cambodia as a desirable nation for future investment.

Meanwhile, more than 40 per cent said they intended to invest in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand. Thirty-eight per cent identified Myanmar, 36 per cent cited Vietnam and 24 per cent chose Laos as alluring foreign investment options. Consequently, Cambodia scored an overall "attractiveness rating" of 4.06 out of a possible 10, beating only Brunei's 3.67.

"This is a big surprise," Mey Kalyan, an adviser to the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC), said.

"I have heard investors' assessments of Myanmar that suggest the investment climate for infrastructure, telecommunications companies and legal frameworks are not yet right."

Produced by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the survey tookTc into account responses from only three companies in Cambodia, while 72 per cent of the responses came from Thailand and Vietnam.

The ASEAN council is a working group that was formed in 2003 to provide private-sector feedback on the region's economic integration.

The local firms that took part in the survey between May and August were the Alliance of Rice Producers & Exporters of Cambodia, Manulife Cambodia and Winson International Garments Ltd. All three could not be reached for comment.

Kalyan said that while Laos has a stronghold on the region's energy resources, Cambodia's liberal foreign investment regulations, which allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of companies, cheap labour costs and relative political stability, are all major drawcards for investment.

"It might be that Myanmar labour is cheaper, but you must be mindful of equity issues for workers and the skill level of your production," he said. "There are weaknesses in infrastructure and energy, but these are not decisive factors."

The ASEAN survey also found that Cambodia's outward foreign direct investment activity, or export trade, was among the least attractive to investors, with just 3.3 per cent of respondents naming the Kingdom as a planned export location within the next three years.

Grant Knuckey, CEO of ANZ Royal Bank, said the survey proves how competitive ASEAN is for investment, and while Cambodia is an attractive destination, it cannot afford to slow its economic development.

Auction house giant Christie's will next year participate in a charity auction in Phnom Penh for the second time, it was announced yesterday. Auctioneer Lionel Gosset from the house will sell paintings, sculptures, fashion and jewelry by more than 30 local artists and designers.

The event, which will take place in March at the Sofitel Hotel, will be organised by the arts agency ReCreation. Following Christie's Charity Auction 2012, which raised more than $40,000, this year's proceeds will go to arts-based charities Cambodia 2000 and Amrita Performing Arts. Madeleine de Langalerie, founder and CEO of ReCreation, said the initial idea came from a desire to promote Cambodian artists as well as to contribute to the emerging arts sector in the Kingdom. She said: "The auction in 2012 was a huge success."

Artists will donate the artworks, but also have the opportunity to sell their work at the Galerie des Arts, a three-month long commercial exhibition at the Sofitel also to launch in March.

De Langalerie said: "We wanted to reward the artists who give their art. They give something, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to get something back."

Cambodia 2000, wich was founded by the late HRH Norodom Vacheahra in 1996, has recently launched two new programmes, the first donating free art supplies to rural schools and the second donating to emerging artists in search of financial aid. Amrita Performing Arts aims to revive and preserve Cambodian performing arts. Each charity was chosen specifically for their artistic vision, De Langalerie said.

Princess Norodom Veasna Diva Sirivudh, spokesperson for Cambodia 2000, said the association was founded with the recognition that a vibrant national culture could revitalise the country following decades of war. She said: "I thank Christie's and ReCreation for giving us the opportunity to continue the work of Cambodia 2000 into the field of art and design. Induction of these programmes is a fitting memorial to Princess Vacheahra's love for this country and her love of the arts."

Kang Rithisal, executive director at Amrita, said: "The support and participation of Christie's charity auction, exhibition and events will be a catalyst to embracing and enabling these emerging artists to grow like new flowers creating and adding to the beauty of their country's arts and culture."

Contemporary photographer, painter and sculptor Nou Sary is one of the artists whose work will be featured at both the auction and exhibition. Although he was born in Cambodia, he now lives in Lyon, France. He said he was happy to give something back to Cambodia 2000 and Amrita. He said: "I am happy to donate to people less fortunate than me."

Lionel Gosset, the auctioneer from Christie's who will participate, said he often auctions for charity. "I like to get involved in charity projects, especially for countries that have been suffering. This auction will help young artists."

Christie's Charity Auction will take place on March 30. The Galerie des Arts exhibition will begin on March 1 and last for three months. Both will be held at the Sofitel Hotel in Phnom Penh.

Moldovian sensation Radu Albot has joined Thailand's top player Danai Udomchoke and five of his compatriots in a one-week pre-season training camp being conducted by the Tennis Federation of Cambodia's technical director Braen Aneiros at the National Training Center.

After rain washed out Tuesday's planned opening session, training began in right earnest yesterday morning.

Cambodian Davis Cuppers Bun Kenny and Long Samneang complete the nine-player line-up.

Currently ranked 170 in the world, Albot is heading to Melbourne to play in the Australian Open qualifiers next month and is using the camp for extensive preparations.

The Rattiwatana twins, Sanchai and Sonchat, have been training under Braen Aneiros for over three years and are ranked 39 in world doubles. The pair have set their sights on an event in Brisbane.

Thailand's No.2, Kittipong Wachiramanowong, who figured in the recently concluded Cambodian Futures series, is also in the camp with fellow Thais Punn Bodhidatta and Suthinan Tantahseraneewat.

"This pre-season training camp is very helpful for these players to get ready for the 2014 season wherever they choose to go," Aneiros told the Post.

"For Cambodian Davis Cup players Bun Kenny and Long Samneang, it is a good opportunity to practise with players of such high level and sharpen their reflexes."

Analysis

So Arsenal get Bayern Munich in the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the second year running and Manchester City are drawn against Spanish giants Barcelona. That ensures that the best two teams in England, on current Premiership form at least, will face arguably the top two sides in Europe.

Back in March of this year, Ahmet Cakar, a former Turkish football referee considered one of his country's most successful, sensationally suggested how former football stars who participate in the draw have metal objects in their hands that pick up vibrations in the balls as they bounce around the pot.

This, according to Cakar, guarantees the stars making the draw know precisely when to select each ball, and thus UEFA's top brass get the outcome of the "random" draw that they desire.

This may all sound rather bizarre, however, Cakar recreated the exact same draw that was made for the opening elimination stage of last season's competition using a mock-up version of his bouncing ball theory. The chance of this occurring according to bookmakers at the time is around 5,000/1, although some analysts suggest that it could be as extreme as 2,000,000/1 depending on which way one looks at it.

I am not sure if that means that one is looking at it through rose-tinted glasses or standing on one's head whilst rubbing their tummy button with a feather duster, so I will try to look at it as impartially as possible.

What a load of rubbish, or more to the point, what a load of old balls.

Hang on a sec, in last season's draw only two English clubs qualified for the final sixteen – they were Arsenal and Manchester United. Arsenal were then drawn against Bayern Munich, who went on to lift the trophy, and Manchester United were selected to play Real Madrid.

Both English clubs were eliminated resulting in no English Premier League sides progressing into the quarter-finals. Coincidence or just a random outcome?

Anything of odds from 5,000/1 to 2,000,000/1 is actually pretty random, so does Cakar have a point or is he just another wacky conspiracy theorist?

Conspiracy theories have indeed ranged over the years from the sublime to the ridiculous. We have had the logical reasoning that suggests that John F Kennedy was shot by more than just a lone gunman, to the arrant nonsense that Marilyn Monroe currently resides on the planet Mars alongside Princess Diana, Elvis Presley and the kidnapped racehorse Shergar.

However, if the mighty power of the interior forces of the American government can conspire to kill their own president, then it surely must be considered possible that the much less powerful forces of UEFA can conspire to rig a football tournament. Although some may well argue that UEFA has even more power than a former US administration.

Therefore it is worth looking at this particular "conspiracy theory" in a little more depth.

It is one thing to allege that English teams are being targeted out of the competition, but what if also the remaining quality teams are then being kept apart until the last possible juncture?

Using last season's quarter final draw as an example, one can easily reach a rather disturbing conclusion. The four best sides that reached the final eight last time around were naturally Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

There is no seeding whatsoever during this part of the draw. Were the "big four" then kept away from each other?

Such a scenario would obviously generate a larger interest on many levels. Higher media coverage, an increase in public enthusiasm, potentially more and preferable sponsorship deals and greater revenue from television rights and gate receipts?

That aforementioned quarter-final draw, random or otherwise, had Barcelona playing Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich taking on Juventus, Borussia Dortmund versus Malaga, and last and by no means least, Real Madrid were handed a tie against Galatasaray. All of the "big four" therefore somehow managed to avoid each other.

One thing is for certain, it would have taken only one of the big four teams to play against another one for there not to be argument.

So I will highlight just one further example that surprisingly gives a great deal of credence to Ahmet Cakar's case. In the 2002 World Cup, which is of course done by FIFA and not UEFA, it is interesting to see the draw that concluded the group that England were set to participate in. Their rivals were the number one ranked team in the world at the time, Argentina, Sweden, whom England had not beaten since the days of black and white television, and Nigeria, who were the reigning African Cup of Nations finalists.

Furthermore, the game against Nigeria, a country naturally able to deal with hot and humid conditions, was arranged to be played in the hottest and the most humid venue on co-hosts Japan's list.

All of this of course would only be considered conjecture in a court of law, so until such time as there is sufficient evidence to infer the contrary, I can only assume that UEFA and FIFA are the nicest of people that have never been involved in anything at all suspicious. Maybe I just do not have the bouncing balls to think otherwise.

Defending SEA Games men's champions Malaysia sealed a spot in today's football semi-finals with a decisive 2-1 victory over Vietnam on Tuesday in which all three goals were scored in the dying moments.

Ashri Chuchu and D Saarvindran had put the result beyond doubt in the 81st and 89th minutes respectively, although Mac Hong Quan grabbed a consolation goal for the five-time silver medallists.

Malaysia will face Indonesia, who they beat via penalties in the final two years ago, at 4:30pm Cambodian time today at Naypyidaw's Zayar Thiri Stadium. Eleven-time gold medal winners Thailand take on Singapore in the other semi-final at 7:15pm.

A single bronze was added to the Cambodian cause at the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar yesterday, but it was not enough to stop neighbouring rivals Laos from leapfrogging the Kingdom into eighth place out of 11 in the medal table.

The taekwondo team's Chhoeung Lyna came third in women's individual poomsae (forms performance) at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium in Naypyidaw, although there were only three participants in the competition. The Cambodian scored 7.565, while Singapore's Chelsea Ann Sim Shu Zhen took silver with 7.765 and Yamin Khine notched yet another gold for hosts Myanmar with 8.200.

Lyna teamed up with Phal Sovannat to finish last out of eight in the mixed pairs poomsae event with a total of 7.315, compared to Vietnamese winners Dinh Toan Nguyen and Minh Tu Nguyen on 8.355.

Sovannat also came bottom of the men's individual poomsae with 7.500, as Myanmar's Thaw Zin Han struck gold on 8.400.

There was disappointment for judoka Khom Ratanak Mony, who has represented Cambodia at the London Olympics last year and was looking to improve on his SEA Games silver from Indonesia in 2011.

Mony beat Thailand's Thailand's Janluechai Kanisorn in the men's 55kg quarter-finals but lost to eventual winner Nam Nhat Thong Huynh of Vietnam in the semi-finals. The 30-year-old, currently based out of the French city of Brest, went through to the repechage section (bronze medal playoffs) but lost to Malaysia's Muhamad Jafaannuar Jamaludin.

Over at the Ngalike Dam, Cambodia came close to a medal in the men's traditional boating 10-crew 1,000m final, crossing the line fourth out of five teams with a time of 4 minutes 34.659 seconds. They were three and a half seconds slower than race winners Myanmar, with Indonesia and Thailand taking silver and bronze respectively.

Golfer Thong Sokhamony, meanwhile, was having a torrid time at the Royal Myanmar Golf Club across town and ended up a distant last in the field of 32. The Cambodian was 55-over-par with a four-round total of 343, 24 shots worse than his closest rival.

Malaysia's Gavin Kyle Green, who at No 18 in the amateur world rankings is the first from his country to break the top 20, and Thailand's Danthai Boonma shared first place with a total of 278. Poom Saksansin of Thailand was third on 281.

Cambodia's men's table tennis team – namely Sok Long Lim, Tola Soeung and Sroy Huor Oeung – lost all three of their Group B matches at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium, falling 3-1 to Vietnam, 3-0 to Thailand and 3-1 to Myanmar.

The Wunna Theikdi Equestrian Field saw no podium spots for the Cambodian contingent, although the team can be proud of some promising jumping performances.

Soth Puthminea's fifth in the first round and Sim Narith's seventh in the second round were the best placings for the Kingdom yesterday in the individual show jumping event, while the team discipline, which featured the pair along with Ly Sovanchandara and Phat Makara were fifth out of seven squads.

The embattled women's hockey team were thrashed 16-0 by Singapore on Tuesday to continue their woeful campaign in which they scored no goals and let in a total of 93 goals. They play hosts Myanmar in their final game today.

Editor's note: Phnom Penh's property market is racing towards the future, especially in terms of hardware. However, the software side of the market cannot be overlooked if truly international standards are to be achieved. The Post invited CBRE Cambodia property manager Simon Griffiths to explain the purpose of property management and describe the current state of property management in Cambodia.

Everywhere you look in Phnom Penh you see green netting around the construction of new buildings or the renovation of old buildings. Phnom Penh is modernising and moving toward its future after a period of only modest growth following the global financial crisis. The skyline of Phnom Penh will have drastically changed by 2016.

While I would love to write about all the exciting developments which will spring out of the ground in coming months and years, it is important to understand that these buildings must be managed well. Services must be provided which ensure the ongoing safety of the users of the building and customer service that allows these spaces created by developers to be utilised to their fullest.

Property management, albeit not the sexiest topic in the world, is an essential service which should be going on behind the scenes to ensure safety, cleanliness and customer satisfaction. Without good property management, the aesthetics of a building, customer service, maintenance and repairs, internet provision, cleaning and security all suffer. Facilities such as lifts, gyms, spas and swimming pools can deteriorate, creating health and safety risks. Effective property management will always benefit a building and is a good way to retain tenants.

[img]

In Cambodia it is common for developers to seek short-term profits and neglect effective property management. Invisible to the untrained eye, this puts users of the buildings at risk. For example, elevator maintenance can be neglected, proper evacuation training not provided to the users or staff of the building, proper evacuation signage or firefighting equipment not provided or electrical equipment not properly maintained. These are unnecessary risks.

The situation is not all doom and gloom though. With very little in the way of regulatory controls or governance, the market is stepping in and raising standards. As new developments open and new businesses are established in Cambodia, people are demanding higher standards. Developments which can deliver these high standards in property management – whether they be condominiums, serviced apartments, offices or shopping centres – are increasingly gaining a competitive advantage. Consumers, (effectively you, the users of these buildings) are coming to expect higher standards, better safety and excellent customer service, and that is driving up standards across Cambodia. Progress is being made in the unseen world of property management.

CBRE Cambodia has been working hard on bringing international property management standards to Cambodia for the last four years and continue to do so by partnering with De Castle Royal as their property management agent to provide international property management standards to this premium luxury condominium development in Phnom Penh.

We want to see more though. CBRE Cambodia adopts international property management practices as part of global CBRE practices and calls upon experience from Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, but property management in Cambodia is almost entirely self-regulated. There is a lack of training, experience and knowledge in the industry. Coupled with a lack of regulation, this has an impact on both developers and property management.

Hopefully, market forces will continue to raise standards and quality in important matters such as fire prevention and health and safety. Ideally, developers will increasingly view property management as a way to extend competitive advantage to buildings, and not just a way to make short-term profit. But regulation and guidance are the keys to providing the safest and highest quality built environment for Cambodia. Much needs to be done, but a lot can be achieved and we hope that property management standards will continue to improve across the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The Post thanks Simon Griffiths for his contribution. CBRE Cambodia's Phnom Penh office can be reached at 023 964 099 or through its website at www.cbre.com.kh.