First start-up professional Rice exports down 5% service alliance launched

CAMBODIA Startup Advisers announced in a press release t he launch of t he first professiona l ser v ice a lliance dedicated to supporting t he fast-growing technolog y start-up industr y in Cambodia.

The a lliance of t hree well-established adv isor y firms will prov ide innovative and for ward-t hinking lega l, ta x and intellectua l propert y solutions to Cambodian start-ups and t heir investors.

“Building a successf ul start-up is hard. A founder has a long list of t hings to do: from setting up a company, to hiring employees, paying ta xes and registering a trademark,“said Srey peou Chaing, Attorney at Law and Managing Partner of a lliance member CSP & Associates.

Cambodia Startup Advisers is an a llia nce of lega l, ta x and intellectua l propert y adv isor y firms, ser v ing t he 360-degree needs of tech start-ups i n Cambodia.

‘Ver y young’ start-up scene

The Cambodian start-up scene has seen the launch of over 100 businesses in fintech, ecommerce, logistics, digita l media and ot her sectors, as well as a growing number of financing deals in recent months, according to Startup Advisers.

“The Cambodian start-up ecosystem is still ver y young, but growing exponent ia l ly.

“Through t his a lliance, we hope to support tech-based businesses reach t heir f ull potentia l,” said David Haskel, director of Cambodia Startup Advisers and a lliance-member Abacus IP.

According to a recent sur vey, over si xt y per cent of founders said information on lega l and ta x adv ice for start-ups was difficult or impossible to access, t he press release read.

Impediment to entrepreneurship

Furthermore, a lack of adequate business ser v ices for start-ups was identified by the World Bank as one impediment to entrepreneurship in Cambodia.

Cambodia Startup Advisers aims to address this need by adv ising founders, publishing materia l and holding informational events on a range of current lega l, ta x, and intellectua l propert y topics specific to start-ups, according to t he release.

Junro Binag, managing director of a lliance-member Donasco & Co, said with decades of experience, the Cambodia Startup Advisers team can help guide the way.

“Ignorance of t he law is no excuse, yet in Cambodia the law and current practice is often too hard to access for nonspecia lists,” he said. RICE exports last month were five per cent lower than in Januar y last year, af ter a f ull year of decline in 2018. However, a sector insider said it is not a major concern because it is only t he beginning of 2019.

A report from t he Secretariat of One Window Ser v ice for Rice Export Formalit y showed on Tuesday that Cambodia exported 59,625 tonnes of rice in Januar y – down five per cent compared to the same period in 2018 when 62,623 tonnes of rice were exported.

The report said 23,899 tonnes of rice, equiva lent to 40.7 per cent of t he tota l export volume, were sent to EU markets. China imported 18,671 tonnes, Asean member states got 9,226 tonnes, while ot her destinations received 7,839 tonnes.

Sectoral challenges

Last year, Cambodia exported 626,225 tonnes of rice – down slight ly from 635,679 tonnes in 2017.

The Cambodian rice export sector is current ly is facing challenges. On Januar y 18, the EU decided to re-impose duties, for t he next t hree years, on rice exported from Cambodia.

In t he first year, a ta x of $200 per tonne will be lev ied. This will reduce to $170 per tonne the follow ing year and in t he t hird year, it will be cut f urt her to $142 per tonne.

The sector is li kely to face more problems exporting to the EU market if the Ever y thing But Arms (EBA) preferentia l trade agreement is suspended.

‘Not worrying’

Hun Lak, t he v ice-president of the Cambodian Rice Federation and Chairman of Mekong Or yza Trading Co Ltd, said the decline of rice exports in Januar y is not a worr y ing problem because it is only a monthlong figure, and the drop was not severe.

“We cannot evaluate anything now. We need to wait and see in two or three more months,” he said.

Lak said he didn’t t hink t hat imposing tariffs on Cambodian rice exported to the European market would hurt much because t he price of rice af ter ta x has only increased slight ly.

“I t hink t hose who like t he taste of Cambodian rice will continue to eat it because prices have only risen a few cents per k ilogram,” he said.