[PHNOM PENH POST]
Cambodia offers plenty of opportunity for Vietnamese investors, though
challenges such as high transportation costs and a shortage of skilled
labour remain, experts said yesterday.
Represents of about 100
Vietnamese firms met with Cambodian counterparts yesterday for a one-day
Oversea Entrepreneur Forum in Phnom Penh, organised by the Vietnamese
embassy, said Vietnam commercial attaché Tran Tu.
“I think
Cambodia is making improvements to infrastructure, but it could be
developed more as the cost of transportation is higher than Vietnam,” he
said.
Increased intra-ASEAN linkages also stood to improve the human resources situation, he added.
Vietnam
Rubber Group President Leng Rithy said that further cooperation among
government officials could also benefit the economy.
“Lower-ranking officials should pay more attention to the country’s development rather than their own,” he said.
Vietnam
Rubber Group operations in Cambodia comprise of 17 companies with
100,000 hectares of concession land, and aims to invest millionsof
dollars in rubber plantations.
Vietnam Deputy Minister of
Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh said the two countries had signed a
number of important agreements facilitating trade.
“Now there is
a good and favourable environment for entrepreneurs from both side to
seize the chance to strengthen investment and trade activities,” he said
at yesterday’s event.
Tran Tu said that over 200 companies from neighbouting Vietnam are presently operating in the Kingdom.
University
of Cambodia Business and Economics lecturer Chheng Kimlong said the
government had done plenty of work upgrading connectivity at
international border points in order to reduce unnecessary payments.
The
total direct investment from Vietnam to Cambodia rose by 87 to $156
million in the first half of the year a jump from $83 million for the
period in 2010, according data from CDC. Bilateral trade increased by 57
percent in the period to $1.351 billion, figures from the Vietnam trade
office in Phnom Penh show.
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