The Cambodian government says it has recorded close to 300 new investment projects in the first five months of 2025, with over 60 percent of those projects backed by Chinese investors.
According to the Council for the Development of Cambodia, a total of 290 investment projects were approved between January and May this year. That marks a 90 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
In a post on his official Facebook page, Deputy Prime Minister and Council Vice-Chairman Sun Chanthol reported that more than 200 of these projects were registered under a combined investment capital of approximately 4.2 billion US dollars. These initiatives are expected to create over 200,000 jobs nationwide.
China was the dominant source of investment, accounting for more than 62 percent of total capital. Cambodian domestic investors followed with just over 23 percent, while the United States represented the smallest share, contributing only 0.15 percent of total investment.
In May alone, Cambodian authorities approved 59 projects with a combined value of around 816 million US dollars. These projects are projected to generate roughly 44,000 jobs. The industrial sector attracted the largest share of investment that month, totaling over 579 million dollars.
The top ten sources of foreign investment in Cambodia during this period include China, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, the Cayman Islands, Samoa, South Korea, and the United States. Notably absent from this list is Japan, despite recent efforts by Prime Minister Hun Manet to encourage Japanese companies to invest in the Kingdom.
Commenting on the figures, senior opposition figure Mr. Hing Soksan of the former Cambodia National Rescue Party said during a recent Idea Talk event hosted by The Cambodia Daily that high US tariffs remain a challenge for Cambodia. He cautioned that despite the surge in investment registrations, there is no guarantee that all projects will materialize.
Meanwhile, Mr. Khun Tharo, Programme Manager at the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), said in a separate statement that ongoing issues such as corruption, fraud, and other criminal activities reported by international watchdogs continue to pose major obstacles to attracting credible foreign investment to Cambodia.
