At the Council for the Development of Cambodia (Photo: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) - The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) recently approved three investment projects in the handbag and garment sector with a total capital investment of 8.8 million USD, according to the Phnom Penh Post.
The projects include the bag factory Quan Ming Handbag (Cambodia) Industrial Co Ltd, the bag and belt factory Gd New Sky Leather Products Co Ltd, and the garment factory Tao And Kiven Garment Co Ltd.
Once operational, they will generate 3,448 jobs in Phnom Penh, Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces.
Cambodian Ministry of Commerce spokesman Long Kemvichet said country has the best investment environment due to many trade preferences provided by the US and the EU, adding that the arrival of new companies is a positive sign that may attract other investors.
Noting that the country may be at risk of losing duty-free export opportunities to the EU if the Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement is withdrawn, he said Cambodia is diversifying its export portfolio to reduce any potential impact.
Kemvichet said Cambodia is striving to reinforce its productivity and competitiveness in the export sector so that its products can compete with those of other countries, whether they are tax-tolerant or not.
A report from the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance’s General Department of Customs and Excise showed that Cambodia exported more than 7.97 billion USD worth of garment, textile and footwear products in the first nine months of this year, up 13.18 percent year-on-year.
The National Bank of Cambodia’s 2018 report said the country’s garment and footwear exports were valued at 10 billion USD, up 24 percent from that in 2017./.
