China-aided projects spur Cambodia development
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PHNOM PENH — Ongoing China-assisted rural water supply and road projects have been playing a crucial role in supporting socioeconomic development and alleviating poverty in Cambodia’s countryside, a senior official from the Southeast Asian nation said recently.
From 2017, the projects — Phases I and II — managed by Cambodia’s Ministry of Rural Development, have proved successful, Chan Darong, the ministry’s secretary of state and spokesman, told Xinhua News Agency.
He said China Jiangxi Corp for International Economic & Technical Cooperation has been the contractor for the rural water supply project, while Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd and Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding Group Co Ltd have been contractors for the rural road project.
“These companies have obtained recognition and support from the government, local authorities and people of Cambodia,” he said, adding that these Chinese companies, besides digging wells and constructing roads, have donated medical products to rural families and teaching materials to rural schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the implementation of the projects, Chinese staff also trained hundreds of Cambodian engineers and technical workers, he said. “This socially responsible behavior is a concrete manifestation of cultural interlinkage.”
He added that since the outbreak of COVID-19, most China-assisted local projects under the MRD have not been affected by the pandemic.
The official, who is also the project director of the China-Aid Cambodia Rural Water Supply and Rural Road Projects Phase II, said the projects have played a vital role in improving the national economy and rural people’s livelihoods in Cambodia.
“Previously, women and children in rural areas usually went to collect water far from their homes for daily consumption. But now they no longer need to do that because wells dug by the China-aided project are available near their homes,” he said.
“For the rural road project, it has greatly benefited locals, allowing them to use reliable and convenient roads and providing them yearround access to markets and social services. There is also no dust during the dry season, which affects their health, nor mud during the rainy season,” he added.
The official praised China for having
paid more attention to small and medium-sized social welfare projects and public facilities, saying that these projects directly helped improve the livelihoods of rural people in Cambodia.
He said when he participated in site inspections, many villagers told him that the completed roads and water supply facilities had improved both their livelihoods and health.
The official added that during project implementation, Chinese companies also provided employment opportunities for local Cambodians.
“The people who were offered jobs obtained knowledge learned from Chinese engineers, wages and jobs that were near their homes,” he said.
The official said friendship between Cambodia and China has a long history of brotherhood and that China’s help is sincere and pragmatic.
“These projects are clear evidence of our cooperation toward building a community with a shared future between Cambodia and China. I’d
like to express my sincere appreciation to the Chinese government for its contribution and to the Chinese companies for their dedicated hard work. I sincerely hope that all Chinese employees remain safe during this pandemic.”
He said the MRD will continue to cooperate with Chinese counterparts to manage current and subsequent projects based on the general framework of the rural water supply and rural road grant agreement reached by the two governments.
The official believes China will continue to support Cambodia until the Southeast Asian nation achieves its goal of supplying clean water to all rural residents by 2025.
“It is hoped we can work together for Cambodia’s 12 million rural residents to obtain clean water by 2025 and to construct as many rural roads as possible in Cambodia. I have found that this is a significant contribution to the development of the national economy in Cambodia.”
It is hoped we can work together for Cambodia’s 12 million rural residents to obtain clean water by 2025 and to construct as many rural roads as possible in Cambodia.”
Chan Darong, spokesman of Cambodia’s Ministry of Rural Development
China’s ongoing recovery from COVID-19 and its strong growth potential has supported foreign market watchers’ optimistic outlook on A-share market performance this year.
In “10 Surprises of 2021” by investment firm Blackstone released at the beginning of the year, ViceChairman Byron Wien and Chief Investment Strategist Joe Zidle of Blackstone agreed that A shares will lead emerging markets higher this year.
Steven Sun, head of research at HSBC Qianhai Securities Ltd, wrote in the organization’s China Equity Strategy 2021 that the Shanghai Composite Index is likely to hover around 3800 points when the year ends while the Shenzhen Component Index should approach 16000 points. The bluechip focused CSI 300 Index is projected to finish the year at around 5500 points.
The auto, brokerage, light industry, mechanical equipment and transportation sectors are favored by HSBC Qianhai analysts this year.
Under the dual-circulation strategy, China aims to develop a large domestic market while also focusing more on value-added exports. Continuing urbanization and largescale commercialization of emerging technologies in China are set to drive sustainable growth for the consumer, technology and high-end manufacturing sectors. Therefore, there will be six major investment themes for the A-share market in the long run — new consumption, diversified consumption, healthcare, industrial supply chain upgrades, core technologies and clean energy, Sun said.
Global financial services provider Credit Suisse expects China’s A shares to continue performing well in 2021 despite some volatility arising from uncertainties in vaccine development, monetary policies and geopolitical risks. The company expects the CSI 300 to be around 5600 by the end of the year.
Edmond Huang, head of research at Credit Suisse China, said that investment styles in Chinese equity markets this year will
rotate from a focus on growth to an emphasis on value creation — a trend that has already been set in motion with the development of promising vaccines.
“Given that China is already on track for recovery, we will likely see a less volatile shift between styles and sectors. Looking forward, we
expect more upside for Chinese equities,” Huang said.
In view of a further recovery in 2021 and rising regulatory and stimulus exit risks, more “old economy” sectors will benefit from a late-cycle recovery, particularly industrials, consumer discretionary goods, information technology and financials, he added.
UBS expects the CSI 300 will rise 13 percent this year under optimistic scenarios. While Chinese households allocated about 17 percent of their assets to equities, funds and insurance in 2020, the rate will gradually increase over the next few years, with the rate expected to hit 21 percent in 2025. Household assets’ increased exposure to stocks will help to elevate the A-share indexes, said Wendy Liu, head of China Strategy at UBS Global Research.
Liu said central regulators’ tighter grip on property market speculation, stricter regulation over shadow banking products, protection of individual investors and the improved quality of listed companies will also help to elevate Chinese interest in the A-share market, thus pushing up the indexes.
Nicholas Yeo, head of China equities at Aberdeen Standard Investments, confirmed the positive outlook on the improved profitability of Chinese companies this year, thanks to the earlier recovery of the country’s economy. Structural growth impetus from consumption, new technologies and green energy will further boost A-share market performance this year, Yeo said.
Given China’s steady GDP growth, industry giant BlackRock said in its 2021 investment report that the country is a “distinct pole of global growth” and also “an investment destination separate from emerging markets”.
Holding a similar opinion is Wang Qian, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Vanguard Investment Strategy Group.
Wang said the domestic market is the major engine of China’s economic growth. As a result, China’s economic cycle is not fully synchronized with the rest of the world. The relatively low correlation is conducive to diversified investment, which is also one of the major reasons for Vanguard’s continued optimistic outlook on the Chinese market. For the next decade, Vanguard predicts average returns on A-share investments will be 6.3 percent.