Cambodia received roughly $4 billion in foreign direct investment last year—roughly the same amount as in 2013, the secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) said after a meeting with the National Assembly’s environment and rural development commission.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting at the Assembly in Phnom Penh, Sok Chenda Sophea said Chinese investors stumped up the largest amount of capital last year, followed by Malaysia and Japan.
He warned that Cambodia’s entry into the Asean Economic Community at the end of this year would increase competition for foreign investment.
“Every country in Asean wants to attract more investments than the others, and there are many factors that can attract investors’ interests, including minimum wages, electricity prices, transportation costs, land rent and so on,” he said.
Opposition CNRP lawmaker Pol Ham, who chairs the environment commission, told reporters that foreign investment projects sometimes produced negative effects.
“For example, people in Svay Rieng province are able to get jobs in the Manhattan Special Economic Zone in Bavet City, but [development firm] 7NG builds roads through people’s land,” he said.
