What is being billed as the country’s first international trade fair will be held in Phnom Penh early next month in efforts to attract foreign investment in Cambodia, organizers said Wednesday.
The three-day trade fair Nov 4-6 has thus far attracted about 60 organizations from 10 countries, including the US, Japan and Singapore, said Eric Lim, a director at Asia Pacific Resources Inc, the company responsible for coordinating the event.
The fair is to be held at the Hotel Inter-Continental and will feature exhibits by multinational corporations, manufacturers, construction firms, telecommunications companies, management consultant firms and others.
Lim said the event will stress “a streamlined documentation procedure” that cuts government red tape for potential investors. Trade fair organizers include the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Council for the Development of Cambodia and the Phnom Penh Chamber of Commerce.
“Right now, the trend of [international interest] seems to be quite good, as evidenced by the response of Asian and European business groups to a number of investment seminars sponsored over the last couple of weeks by the Ministry of Commerce,” Lim said. “Moreover, the most recent conference [for the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers] featured a [Commerce] Ministry central committee that offered one-stop service.”
Neat Polvibor, a management representative for Asia Pacific Resources, said the trade fair is designed to “increase import-export markets, give international businesspeople a chance to meet with counterparts in Cambodia, and spread awareness of investment opportunities in Cambodia.”
The third day of the trade fair will be open to the public.
