NO.5 (MARCH 01, 2019)

MARKET INDUSTRY TRENDS

CAMBODIAN CONSUMER SPENDING in $90 million surge. Consumer spending on mobile phones, consumer electronics and home appliances surged in 2018 with total spending for at least $413 million revealed by G-Gear CEO Sok Piseth, who is also LG Electronic partner in Cambodia. The data from market research firm GfK shows $282 million was spent on mobile phones, and $121 on consumer electronics such as television sets, and home appliances like washing machines air conditioners and refrigerators. The figure of 2018 jumped 28% from 2017 when Cambodians spent around $323 million – $214 million on mobile phones and $109 million in consumer electronics. (Phnom Penh Post).

CAMBODIA-CHINA TAX FORUM. The General Department of Taxation (GDT) held the first ever Cambodia-China Tax Forum in Phnom Penh to push awareness of the Cambodian taxation system among the growing Chinese firms in Cambodia. More than 500 accounting and financial employees joined the forum, with most of them from Chinese enterprises operating in Cambodia. Cambodia and China signed a deal in 2016 to avoid double taxation and prevent income tax evasion. (Phnom Penh Post).

CAMBODIA AND JAPAN signed an MoU on organizing the Public Private Forum of Urban Planning Development on February 26, 2019. (CPP Web).

THE STATE-OWNED RURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK (RDB) distributed $50 million in loans to private rice millers in 2018 to sustain the paddy market for farmers. Despite many provinces in Cambodia facing draught, the demand for loans remains high, RDB CEO Kao Thach said. (Phnom Penh Post).

AEON FINANCIAL SERVICES (AFS) CO., LTD, the owner of Japan’s Aeon retail chain wants to expand its financial services in Vietnam through the merger and acquisition, according to AFS Chairman Masaki Suzuki. Aeon considers Vietnam as key investment destination in the region, with the group planning to pour some $5billion into shopping malls nationwide, raising the total to 30 malls and creating jobs for 50,000 local laborers.

HKEX EYES BIGGER ROLE IN ASIA-TIME INVESTMENT. The operator of Hong Kong stock exchange, the third-largest bourse in Asia, is set to provide more diversified products and services in the next three years to facilitate its gateway role for investment in and out of Chinese mainland, as it eyes to be global market leader in the Asian time zone, according to its Strategic Plan 2019-2021. Its three focuses including China anchored, Globally Connect, and Technology Empowered, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing aims to “increase the international relevance to China and Asia and Asia relevance to the global markets.” (China Daily)

CHINESE PMI DROPS TO THREE-YEAR LOW IN FEBRUARY. Chinese factory activity measured by the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, slowed to a three-year low in February, indicating that Chinese economic growth remains weak. The official PMI fell to 49.2 in February from 49.5 in January, making the third straight month of activity contraction. (Chinese Bureau of National Statistics) CONTINUED IN BELOW TABLE…

MARKET DEALS

MEAL TEMPLE, CAMBODIA’S FIRST ONLINE FOOD DELIVERY SITE, HAS acquired the largest platform in Laos, MyDelivery.la, part of Kiwi Group. Meal Temple Group used funds raised from international private investors up to the end of last year to manage the acquisition. Within more than 300 daily deliveries from more than 200 restaurants in Lao Capital Vientiane, Meal Temple Group will continue MyDelivery’s operations while adding more on-demand delivery and logistics services, such as grocery deliveries. Meal Temple Group also agreed on an exclusive partnership with Kiwi Group and its fintech start-up Kiwi Pay to use their services locally to handle online secured payments. Kiwi Pay recently partnered with Alipay, Wechat pay, Google and Apple Pay to manage their expansion in Laos and unlock local e-commerce potential.

LEGAL AND REGULATIONS

COMMITTEE TO DECIDE SITE OF NEW PHNOM PENH AIRPORT. The Government established a Committee chaired by Minister of Land Management and Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara, with 21 members to oversee the new airport project following the government’s approval of Cambodia Airport Investment Co., Ltd. Proposed since December 2017. Cambodian Airport Investment is a joint venture between local Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) and the Cambodia state-owned SSCA. OCIC will own 90% of the share with the rest going to the government. The Committee functions include inspection and determination of the project site, land price evaluation, land issue settlement facilitation and coordination with relevant ministries to implement the project. The project is worth $1.5 billion and requires 2,600ha of land for the construction.

MACRO ECONOMY AND POLICIES
CHINESE MANUFACTURING PMI

(Note: Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is an index compiled and summarized through the results of the monthly survey of enterprises purchasing managers. It is one of the leading indices which was commonly adopted by international society to monitor the macroeconomic trends, and played an important role in forecasting and monitoring. Users can intuitively understand the changes in the breakdown of the different indices of the PMI. Usually, PMI covers other main category indexes such as Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (above Table), Non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, and Comprehensive PMI Output Index. The indexes in combination cover every link of the enterprises, including purchasing, production, logistics, and so on.)

Source: Chinese Bureau of Statistics.