Trade exhibition set to bring more opportunity for Kingdom’s products
Nissan Motor Zi-A Capital omitted from accounts
ACAMBODIAN trade fair is set to bring more opportunities for local products to access the international market, as well as serving as a platform to attract more foreign investors to Cambodia, says the Ministry of Commerce.
The 13th four-day Cambodia Import-Export and One Province One Product Exhibition is aimed at promoting local products, and import and export opportunities.
The event was launched on Saturday at Koh Pich, with a total of 272 display booths and participants from local enterprises, companies and provincial commerce departments.
Participants from Thailand, China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the US, Laos and Myanmar were also present.
‘More opportunities’
Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said the annual trade exhibition is aimed at promoting trade, investment, and especially exports to the international market, which contribute to Cambodian economic development.
“The trade fair will create more opportunities and impact loca l trading activ ities in t he prov inces, as well as help to establish links between Cambodian and foreign traders,” said the minister.
Minister for Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth said at t he ex hibition’s opening t hat t he countr y is regarded as the heart of Asean countries for potentia l investment.
“Cambodia is the location of the Asean heart, an open space for commerce t hat welcomes a ll investors. The private sector is t he head of the economic grow th promoting machine,” Pornmonirot h said.
The minister said the government is tr y ing to reduce logist ics costs by linking infrastructure and bringing down energ y costs.
Federation of Associations for Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia president Te Taingpor said t he trade fa ir is a key player in promoting Cambodian products. Cambodia is a regiona l hub of agricultura l raw materia ls.
However, loca l products still struggle to compete in t he internationa l market.
“The trade fair is not only a link to loca l and internat iona l consumption. Our SMEs could forge links to the business net work to promote their products within the standard and technica l packaging.
“Our challenge is financial shortages. SMEs need to support access to finance to promote better production lines to reduce costs,” he said.
Kampong Speu Mangoes Association president In Chay van said t he trade fair was an opportunit y to promote agricultura l products and build up further trading net works.
“It is an opportunit y to promote our products to our people and for internationa l businessmen to understand the qualit y of our mangoes. It a lso helps us to build our business networks around t he world,” he said.
Chay van added t hat t he mango sector st i l l needs sanitar y and phytosanita r y certification to boost exports, and that mango farmers need to understand internationa l standards and technica lit ies to compete abroad. NISSAN Motor Co subsidiary Zi-A Capital BV, allegedly used by former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn to purchase houses for his family, has been excluded from company’s consolidated accounting since it was established, according to sources close to the matter.
Apparently, the Amsterdambased subsidiary was excluded so Nissan’s auditors would not find any problems with it.
The sources said Nissan established Zi-A Capital in December 2010 as an investment vehicle, funding it with more than 5 billion yen ($44.35 million). Ghosn asked former Representative Director Greg Kelly to direct Nissan executive officers and others to go through the procedures to establish Zi-A Capital.
Kelly and others exempted Zi-A Capital upon its founding from being associated with Nissan’s consolidated accounting. Documents filed with a Dutch chamber of commerce and industry reveal the names of the Nissan executive officers as Zi-A Capital’s executives, including Kelly’s, but there are no employees listed.
Sources said the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has gained information on how Zi-A Capital was established after agreeing to plea bargaining deals with the executive officers who were involved in forming the subsidiary.
In 2011 and 2012, Zi-A Capital spent about 2.1 billion yen to buy luxurious houses in Brazil and Lebanon and renovate one of them through shell companies formed outside the Netherlands. There seem to have been no records of any investments made, the subsidiary’s stated purpose, as Nissan’s internal investigation found that those houses were actually used by Ghosn’s family.
From 2012 to 2014, the auditi ng f i r m for Nissa n made inquires about Zi-A Capital as the auditor felt that the actual activities were unclear. Nissan responded that the affiliated company performed strategic investment and that there were no problems.
The auditing firm did not pursue the matter further as it had no authority to audit Zi-A Capital since the subsidiar y was not part of Nissan’s consolidated accounting, according to sources.
A s for hou s e s over s e a s bought or renovated by Zi-A Capital, Ghosn has told those around him after being arrested that he was using them for work and that there was no problem, sources said.