A half-yearly World Bank report released Thursday painted a grim picture for future economic growth.
The economy grew by only
5.5 percent in 2002, down from 6.3 percent growth in 2001. The World Bank expects growth to slow to 4.8 percent this year due to the adverse effects of the anti-Thai riots and the regional outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
While the economy has boomed with the garment and tourism industries in the past few years, “the foundations for future growth remain fragile,” the report said. Industries other than garments are “almost nonexistent” and “the private sector is not competitive because of relatively high wages and an opaque business environment.”
Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen told a regional conference on poverty reduction that the government’s war on poverty is not simply policy, but “a passion.”
“Poverty reduction defines and drives the substance, the content, the heart and soul of our entire strategy of government,” Hun Sen said at the Second East Asia
