The number of enterprises continued to grow during the past year and new businesses now account for almost 17 percent of all enterprises in the country, according to a new government survey, which also found that the total annual business sales in the country are worth $14.3 billion.
Khin Sovorlak, deputy director general of the National Institute of Statistics, said yesterday that the Pilot Survey of the 2011 Economic Census “found that the total number of new establishments has increased much” since early 2009.
According to preliminary findings of the survey, released recently on the NIS website, enterprises in Cambodia numbered 533,515 early this year and 89,580 of these businesses, or 16.8 percent, had opened between January 2009 and March 2010.
Other survey findings showed that annual total sales in Cambodia were worth $14.3 billion, with larger business that employed more than 50 workers generating 46.5 percent of all sales and enterprises with between 10 and 49 workers representing 10.2 percent of sales.
Almost 30 percent, or $4.2 billion, of the total sales revenues came from businesses involved in selling and repairing motor vehicles and motorcycles, the survey said.
Mich Kanthul, director of economic statistics at the NIS, said the pilot survey, which in part served to train officials for the nationwide 2011 Economic Census scheduled for March, had interviewed a representative sample of 7,000 businesses from across the country.
Bankers contacted yesterday did not comment directly on the survey’s findings but said an increase in the amount of business loans this year indicated businesses were now experiencing substantial growth.
So Phonnary, executive vice president of Acleda Bank, said Acleda had seen a strong rise in loan demand from businesses, indicating an increase in business activity.
“The average loan growth is $20 million per month” this year compared to a few million dollars loan growth per month in 2009, she said, adding, “almost all our loans are for” small and medium enterprises.
Dieter Billmeier, vice president at Canadia Bank, said his bank had seen 25 percent growth in loans this year due to increased demand from new and established business.
“Businesses are now more confident and look to re-invest. That will stay like that. We see this loan demand increasing into 2011,” he said.
