Cambodia's industrial zones attract 1.15 bln USD investments since inception

[XINHUA]

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 1 -- Cambodia's Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have attracted a total investment capital of 1.15 billion U.S. dollars since their operational inception in 2006, according to a government report on Wednesday.

Since 2006 to 2011, the zones have received 96 investment projects with the total capital of 1.15 billion U.S. dollars, according to the record of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

It added that the zones had created 61,400 jobs.

Sok Chenda Sophea, the CDC's Secretary General, attributed the investment growth into the SEZs to the country's preferential investment law and low labor cost. "Cambodia's law is very open and gives a lot of fringe benefits to investors," he told a seminar Wednesday.

SEZs have been firstly established in Cambodia in December, 2005 in order to attract investors to build factories inside and manufacture goods for exports. To date, the CDC has granted licenses to 21 SEZs, however, less than a dozen of them are operational.

Those SEZs are located along the borders with Thailand and Vietnam, and on the outskirts of Phnom Penh as well as in Preah Sihanouk province, where the international port is located.

Currently, products being produced in those SEZs include vehicles and spare parts, garments, bicycles, foot-wears, jewelry packaging, pure drinking water, electric products, sugar and agro- products.

The government sees the SEZs as an important part of the country's economic development as they bring infrastructure, jobs, skills and enhanced productivity, according to the CDC's report.

Investors in the industrial zones will benefit from a number of fiscal incentives, including income tax, customs and VAT benefits.