Sino-Cambodia FTA talks wrap up, signing to follow
Delhi virus cases dip, but states lock down
CAMBODIA and China wrapped up free trade agreement (FTA) talks on Monday, the Ministry of Commerce said. The announcement was made during a video conference between Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak and his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan.
The deal is expected to propel bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2023, the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh said.
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and China was worth $9.42 billion last year, up 27.29 per cent from $7.4 billion in 2018, data showed.
Once signed later this year, the deal will enable the liberalisation of trade in goods and services and provide greater market access for the Kingdom’s products, Sorasak said.
He said it will also broaden investment options and provide socio-economic benefits to the people of both countries.
The next step in the process, Sorasak said, will be for the two sides to complete their respective internal procedures and prepare for a signing later this year.
“The successful conclusion of the FTA negotiations in such a short time exhibits the will of the two countries’ leaders to forge closer, stronger and broader ties.
“The agreement reflects the long tradition of relationships as well as cooperation under the comprehensive partnership between the two countries,” Sorasak said.
The two countries began to discuss the feasibility of a bilateral FTA in December and initiated the first round of negotiations in January.
Ministry spokesman Seang Thay told The Post on Tuesday that all terms of the deal have been agreed by both sides, which are deliberating on a suitable time for the signing.
“We hope that once the agreement comes into force, Cambodian exports to China
NEW Delhi recorded fewer than 1,000 coronavirus cases for the first time in seven weeks on Tuesday, even as more Indian states imposed restrictions to halt the spread of the pandemic.
India last week became the third country after the US and Brazil to hit one million cases but many experts say that with testing rates low, the true number could be much higher.
More than 28,000 people have died, with the western state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, suffering the highest death toll followed by the national capital Delhi and Tamil Nadu in the south.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in late March, but it has been steadily eased in recent months to lessen the devastating economic impact.
But, independently from the federal government, individual states have been tightening restrictions as case numbers soared – including in Bangalore, Bihar and parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
On Monday, authorities in the eastern state of West Bengal, home to about 90 million people, imposed a strict lockdown two days a week beginning on Thursday.
All government and private offices will be closed and there will be no public transport. Private vehicles will be allowed for essential needs only.
The small northeastern state of Sikkim, bordering Tibet, on Monday also ordered a lockdown until July 27.
Monday’s count of 954 new infections in the city marked the first time the daily tally was under 1,000 in 49 days, and was down from a peak of almost 4,000 late last month.
AS PART of the government’s effort to secure private investments for food production, the Council for the Development of Cambodia ( CDC) earlier this week approved a $31.7 million investment project by Kang Hwa E&C (Cambodia) Co Ltd to build a commercial animal farm in Kampong Cham province.
The CDC permitted Kang Hwa E&C to build the farm, a processing plant and a 4.5 MW solar power plant to be used there.
According to the provincial administration, there is currently one cattle farm, 15 pig farms, 17 chicken farms and 15 duck farms in Kampong Cham.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestr y and Fisheries Veng Sakhon told The Post on Tuesday that investments in animal husbandr y in Cambodia have steadily increased this year, with most funds being directed towards large-scale farms capable of exporting goods in the future.
Sakhon said the spread of Covid-19 has made investors more aware of the necessity of food.
“Animal husbandry in Cambodia is evolving into a commercialised industry, especially cattle and pig raising.
The amount of investment in animal husbandry is higher than last year,” he said.
The current increase in animal husbandry, he added, is also a response to the government’s policy to promote agricultural development.
Hong Vanak, an economics researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said investing in agriculture could be a big step forward for the
Kingdom. In the past, the country regularly imported some meat products from neighbouring countries to meet domestic demand.
“I t hink t his is a good sign that not only will Cambodia be independent in supplying domestic demand and be capable of exporting, it will a lso help create jobs for Cambodians,” he said.
He added that through government policies and favourable natural conditions, the agriculture sector in Cambodia will be stronger in the future.
Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said while visiting farmers in Takeo province’s Prey Kabas district that Cambodia must strive to strengthen its agriculture sector to export to the international market.
He said the expansion of the agriculture sector is not only about rice exports, but also other products such as cassava, mangoes, bananas and animal husbandry products.
“Cambodia must increase its capacity to produce what its people need and what the region and the world needs,” he said.
He added the spread of Covid19 shows that food demand is urgent, with some items being delayed or suspended.
“They can suspend travel, they can suspend buying clothes, they can suspend buying motorbikes and cars, but they cannot suspend buying things the stomach needs. So the countries that produce food are the ones that must be valued. The opportunity has come, we must turn this crisis into an opportunity for Cambodia,” he said.
On Monday, the CDC approved two other investment projects as well. The first is a cardboard factory owned by He Cheng Xing Packaging (Cambodia) Co Ltd in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district. The factory has a capital investment of about $2.3 million and will create 180 jobs.
The second project is a leather processing factory owned by Corium Leather (Cambodia) Co Ltd located in Takeo province’s Samrong district. The factory received a capital investment of $2.5 million and will hire 291 employees. will grow around 25 per cent per annum, given the extensive concessions accorded across a broad range of products,” he said.
Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) secretary-general Ken Loo previously told The Post that the FTA with China will strongly stimulate the Kingdom’s exports – not only in the garment sector.
There will be a greater flow of investment from China, he said.
“From what we have read from the Ministry of Commerce’s statement regarding the results of the third round of negotiations, exports from Cambodia are set to increase more than 20 per cent.
“At the same time, we will see more investment into the raw material supply for garment, footwear and travel goods, electronics and other industries. I believe the FTA will help other sectors much more than the garment sector,” said Loo.
Ministry of Economy and Finance permanent secretary of state Vongsey Vissoth told a press conference on July 8 that Prime Minister Hun Sen would lead a delegation of high ranking officials to sign the FTA in Beijing on August 12.