2012 Aug 21 by otc communication

Obama's chief trade advisor to visit Cambodia, meet ASEAN ministers

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Tuesday, 21 August 2012 10:25 DAP

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, President Obama's Chief Trade Advisor, will be visiting Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Aug. 30-31 to participate in the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers' meetings and the ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit, according to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia on Monday. "The ten ASEAN countries are key economic and strategic partners for the United States, and Ambassador Kirk's visit to Cambodia will demonstrate the United States' support for ASEAN integration and desire to deepen economic engagement with the region, as well as highlight broader U.S. goals for economic relations in the Asia-Pacific," said the press release. Kirk's schedule will include a meeting of the ASEAN-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) Council, an informal meeting of the East Asia Summit Economic Ministers, and the first ever ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit. The press release said that the ASEAN-U.S. Business Summit provides an opportunity for business representatives from the United States and ASEAN to exchange views on promoting economic growth and innovation, and to convey their shared recommendations in direct dialogue with the ASEAN trade ministers. With a theme of innovation and the digital economy, it will focus on topics such as cloud computing, innovations in the food industry, and the use of technology to enhance business competitiveness, trade, and economic growth, it added. On the margins of the Ministers' meetings, Kirk will also meet separately with Cambodian leaders and other participating ministers to discuss bilateral trade issues and objectives for regional partnerships, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting and related meetings will be held in Siem Reap, the cultural province of Cambodia from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, according to a press release from Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will open the 44th meeting on Aug. 27. The meeting will discuss topics relevant to trade liberalization and economic cooperation among the ten ASEAN countries and the meetings between ASEAN economic ministers and dialogue countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States, Canada and Russia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

8/21/2012 1:41 PM

Opposition party merger unveils plans | National news | The Phnom Pen...

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Opposition party merger unveils plans Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Meas Sokchea 0

Mu Sochua (C), secretariat of the Cambodian National Rescue Party, speaks yesterday, flanked by deputy president Pol Ham (R) and deputy secretary Yem Ponharith. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post The newly formed Cambodian National Rescue Party held a press conference yesterday at its Phnom Penh headquarters to announce the make-up of the fledgling political force – although a bit of sloppy paperwork will delay the official registration. A union of the two largest opposition groups, the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party, the CNRP tried to register with the Ministry of Interior yesterday so it can participate in the 2013 national election. A slip-up in the filing would mean a two- to three-day delay, HRP spokesman Pol Ham said. He said certain addresses of communes were incorrect, among other “technical problems”, and the ministry needed up-to-date figures to process the application. Ham dismissed the possibility that the application was held up for political reasons. After the form is filed and accepted, the ministry has 15 days to approve the application. “If they do not reply, it means that they recognise [our party], Ham told reporters yesterday. About 50 members showed up at the party’s headquarters, a donated plot of land that includes a garden and a small wooden villa. Ham told reporters Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-exile in France, was the president of the CNRP, and Ham himself a temporary deputy president. To avoid losing seats, Ham said, elected officials in both parties would wait until right before the next election to campaign as CNRP members. Several questions remain, however, such as what will happen if Rainsy, who was convicted in absentia in 2010 of racial incitement and destroying border posts, is prevented from taking part in the election. Ponharith said one

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8/21/2012 1:53 PM

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possibility was to boycott the election in protest. “In front of some of the CPP officials and the court, Mr Sam Rainsy is a convict, but in front of the heart of millions of people Sam Rainsy is a hero,” SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said. When contacted yesterday, Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, was blunt about Rainsý’s future in Cambodia. He said the opposition leader’s legal status meant that he did not have the right to vote and he could not stand for public office. To contact the reporter on this story: Meas Sokchea at sokchea.meas@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 1:53 PM

NGO obtains delay for land row trial | National news | The Phnom Penh Post http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012082158178/National-ne...

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NGO obtains delay for land row trial Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Phak Seangly 0

Four villagers accused of masterminding the theft and intentional damage of property belonging to Cheat Aphiwat Co Ltd in a land dispute will have another month to prepare for trial after right groups Adhoc garnered them a delay yesterday. A village chief and three other villagers from Banteay Ampil district’s Rumdul Chas village sought Adhoc’s legal assistance last month after they were sued by the Cheat company, with which they are involved in a land dispute, and sent a provincial court summons to a trial intended to begin today. Village chief Peng Oun told the Post that villagers demonstrated against the company in May 2011 after Cheat brought in bulldozers to clear land granted in a government concession without notifying the villagers. “The villagers took four metal-cutting machines and a water container from the company,” Oun said. “I tried to stop them, but they ignored me.” An Adhoc-provided lawyer, Hou Chheng Aon, said he was able to secure the delay as he had only just been appointed to the case. To contact the reporter on this story: Phak Seangly at seangly.phak@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 1:57 PM

Mystery surrounds S-21 faces | National news | The Phnom Penh Post

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Mystery surrounds S-21 faces Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Joseph Freeman 0

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, sorts through recently discovered photographs of S-21 prison victims in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post The Documentation Centre of Cambodia is trying to confirm the identities of two unnamed Westerners who died at the torture and prison centre S-21 and whose visages surfaced in a collection of recently donated photographs. The new photos were believed to be the first ever of Westerners to emerge from S-21, centre head Youk Chhang said. Beforehand, there were only confessions that lacked accompanying images. About 14,000 people were tortured and executed at the Phnom Penh prison, although estimates vary and it is almost impossible to pinpoint an exact count, as many documents were destroyed. Of all those who were imprisoned, however, there were seven known survivors. Only two of them are still alive. Confirmation of the identities is still pending, but after an initial review that involved ruling out other victims, Youk said the men in the photos could be Christopher Edward DeLance, who was seized while sailing off the Cambodian coast in 1978, and Andre Gaston Courtigne, a former employee of the French embassy, who was arrested more than two years earlier. “Right now, we are searching for DeLance’s relatives in the States to confirm the photograph, and we have also been contacted by the French em-bassy,” Youk said. Four Americans – DeLance, Michael Deeds, James Clark and Lance McNamara – died after being imprisoned in S-21, where they were tortured into confessing to working for the US Central Intelligence Agency. DC-CAM provided a list to the Post of 79 foreigners detained or killed at S-21. There were 11 from Australia, France, the US and New Zealand. The majority were prisoners from Thailand and Vietnam. Not much is known about Courtigne. A spokeswoman for the French embassy in Phnom Penh said she could not confirm his identity, and added that an investigation was under way.

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8/21/2012 1:51 PM

Mystery surrounds S-21 faces | National news | The Phnom Penh Post

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The photos were part of an anonymous donation of 1,427 images made to DC-CAM earlier this month. Youk said the photos, the first of imprisoned Westerners he had ever seen, served as an important legacy. “The confession is significant, but the photo is a living person,” he said. “This is to tell us that you cannot destroy the human race completely. That’s why memory is so powerful.” To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Freeman at joseph.freeman@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 1:51 PM

Minister asks garment factory to recall 37 workers | National news | The...

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Minister asks garment factory to recall 37 workers Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Shane Worrell 0

The Minister of Social Aff-airs has sent a letter to the management of the Tai Yang and Camwell garment factories, suppliers to Levi’s and Gap, requesting it reinstate 37 workers involved in a strike that has dragged on for almost two months. “In order to ensure security and public order and to end this persistent striking, I ask the director of Tai Yang Enterprises to reinstate all workers,” the letter from Ith Sam Heng, dated August 17 and obtained by the Post yesterday, states. Unions and the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity (ACILS) have been calling for the letter since August 3, when ACILS and the ministry met to discuss the fate of the remaining 37 strikers, whom the comp-any claimed to have sacked. ACILS country director Dave Welsh, whose organis-ation has been backing the workers, hopes the issue is now resolved. “It’s very positive,” Welsh said last night. “The only other time something like this has happened was during the general strike of 2010. That was the Prime Minister [Hun Sen] giving the order . . . and this is a much smaller issue, but it’s an important issue.” But according to GMAC secretary-general Ken Loo, the letter changed nothing. “I’m sure we will advise the factory to maintain its existing position,” he said, adding that the company had a court document that had ordered the strikers back to work before their sacking. “I’m not sure how, or in what form, the [minister’s] letter was presented, and I would assume that this letter can only be a letter of request . . . I don’t think it can come in the form of an order.” Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederat-ion of Unions, said the reinstatement request was a victory, but he was disappointed the workers’ original request for seniority bonuses had not been mentioned. Tai Yang Enterprises manager Wu Minghuor, who had previously said a letter would not make him accept the workers back, could not be reached last night. To contact the reporter on this story: Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phonmpenhpost.com With assistance from Khouth Sophak Chakrya

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8/21/2012 1:50 PM

Factory workers allege sexual harassment | National news | The Phnom ...

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Factory workers allege sexual harassment Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Mom Kunthear and Claire Knox 0

Police clash briefly with factory workers employed by Ocean Garment Co Ltd during a protest in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post Thousands of angry garment factory workers, en route yesterday to the Ministry of Social Affairs in a protest over alleged sexual harassment, were stopped in their tracks by about 100 armed police and ordered back to the workplace. More than 2,500 workers from Phnom Penh’s Ocean Garment factory, which manufactures clothing and footwear for retail giant Gap, made it barely 100 metres from the Dangkor-district site before police, bearing batons, intervened. On strike for more than a week, the workers have demanded the company’s director dismiss a manager who allegedly sexually harassed four female workers. None of the women have thus far made criminal complaints. Ocean Garment worker representative Keo Kim Heang said a slew of staff had faced unfair treatment from the manager, and would continue to strike until he was sacked. “He threatened the female workers . . . or did not allow them to work overtime when they refused to go out or sleep with him,” she said. Although the company yesterday agreed to negotiate with workers, Kim Heang said the workers had appealed to the ministry as a last resort after hearing nothing since the strike began on August 11. Ocean Garment administrative manager Choun Vicheka said he could not comment. “I do not want to say anything, because tomorrow [Tuesday] we are meeting with the workers and social affairs ministry officials to find out the solution,” he said. Houn Vanna, general secretary of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, said he thought the company

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8/21/2012 1:48 PM

Factory workers allege sexual harassment | National news | The Phnom ...

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should mediate with workers. Dave Welsh, country director of the American Centre for International Labor Solidarity, said the allegations were serious and it was crucial to resolve the issue immediately. “There are other ways to legally go about this. These fall under criminal charges, and we would give the unions and workers full support to go down that avenue," Welsh said. “If they do not deal with this, more pressure will follow,” The workers, union delegates and government officials are due to sit down with company representatives today. To contact the reporters on this story: Mom Kunthear at kunthear.mom@phnompenhpost.com Claire Knox at newsroom@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 1:48 PM

Drought hits Cambodia's rice exports | Business | The Phnom Penh Post

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Drought hits Cambodia's rice exports Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Rann Reuy 0

Paddy rice is dried and milled on Koh Dach, in the Mekong River near Phnom Penh. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post Rice exports this year had been flat compared to last year because of the many challenges growers were facing, insiders said this week. Lim Bunheng, president of Loran Import-Export Company and Rice Exporter Association, said that according to reports, the amount of exported rice had reached only about 100,000 tonnes this year. The data shows exports were no better than last year for the same period, as exports for the first eight months of the year reached 106,000 tonnes, according to the Econony and Finance Ministry’s review on the promotion of paddy production and rice exports during 2010-2011. The report said that as of August last year, official milled rice exports reached 106,000 tonnes. The report listed expectations for 2012 to reach only 180,000 tonnes, equal to 18 per cent of the Kingdom’s 2015 export target of one million tonnes. The rice export target of 250,000 tonnes for the this year is equal to 25 per cent of 2015’s target and 0.75 per cent of total world trade. “Exports are less than planned, but not much below the target because there will be a large amount exported in November,” Lim said, adding: “We don’t know yet if we will reach the target, but [at least] we think we will be near it.” Phoeun Phean, a paddy-rice trader in Pursat, said the drought in Pursat and Battambang provinces was pushing paddy crop prices higher. White paddy rice is up between 200 and 300 riel (US$0.04-$0.07) per kilogram compared to the previous year. Each day, Phoeun buys about 10 tonnes for export to Thailand or for sale to local rice millers.

8/21/2012 1:59 PM

Drought hits Cambodia's rice exports | Business | The Phnom Penh Post

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Hem Sophal, Director of Planning Department at Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, said the drought this year had devastated 9,990 hectares of paddy fields and affected 122,297 hectares across the country. The damage was mostly in Battambang province, with 19,289 hectares affected and half of it destroyed, he said, adding that last year, the amount of land affected by drought was around 1,000 hectares only. Cambodian officials often raise awareness of severe flooding in the months following droughts. In 2011, the flood affected 420,000 hectares of paddy fields, and left 230,000 hectares damaged. Hem Sophal said that due to a forecast of severe flooding this year, officials were preparing rice seeds for deseminating to farmers after the water recedes. Son Kunthor, president of the Rural Development Bank, said Cambodian rice was competitive with other countries in the region including Myanmar, which produces large amounts of paddy rice and has imposed a similar rice export policy recently. To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at reuy.rann@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 1:59 PM

Drought continues to hurt rice farmers | National news | The Phnom Pen...

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Drought continues to hurt rice farmers Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya 0

The year of the dragon is synonymous with rain, but the lack of water falling from the skies this rainy season suggests the mythical creature is not holding up its end of the bargain. Farmers in provinces across the Kingdom are feeling the effects of drought after a month of dry weather in which an estimated 10,000 hectares of rice seedlings were destroyed and 135,000 hectares left at risk, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. A report from the ministry, dated August 15 and obtained by the Post yesterday, reveals that rice cultivation is six per cent less than it was this time last year. It’s enough to have Ou Eth, 46, a farmer from Banteay Meanchey’s Thma Pouk district, fearing for his future. “I have little hope that my rice field can net me three tonnes of rice per hectare like last year, because of severe drought,” he said, adding that he has already lost two hectares of rice seedlings. “I will find a job in Thailand for a while to get money to do dry-season rice cultivation.” Pich Romnea, deputy director of the rice plantation department at the Agriculture Ministry, said he hoped tropical and Pacific storms would provide relief. The ministry has rescued about 20,000 hectares of rice fields via an irrigation scheme and prepared transplants so farmers can grow rice at the end of the rainy season, he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 1:47 PM

Cambodian Muslims on Thai border's watch list | National news | The P...

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Cambodian Muslims on Thai border's watch list Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Vong Sokheng 0

Thailand immigration authorities will be keeping close tabs on Cambodian Muslim tourists, according to a senior official quoted in the Bangkok Post yesterday. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa said nearly 1,000 Cambodian Muslims were arriving in the country each day, but he did not provide a reason for suspicion, or any connection to the Islamic insurgency Thai forces have battled in the south. He also said the Cambodian government would be asked to provide “information” about its Muslims. A spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior neither confirmed nor denied the request. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to comment in detail. “About the request made by Thailand to provide information about Cambodian Muslims, maybe they requested directly to [the immigration department], I am not sure,” he said. Pin Piseth, director of the immigration department at the Ministry of Interior, declined to comment. To contact the reporter on this story: Vong Sokheng at sokheng.vong@phnompenhpost.com With assistance from Bangkok Post

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8/21/2012 1:49 PM

Acleda bank to sell vehicle tax stamps | Business | The Phnom Penh Post

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Acleda bank to sell vehicle tax stamps Tuesday, 21 August 2012 May Kunmakara 0

Traffic passes the General Department of Taxation office in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post Cambodia's government yesterday announced it had chosen the largest local bank, Acleda Bank Plc, to be its partner for vehicle tax stamp sales. Acleda will operate for the General Department of Taxation of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in all 23 provinces and Phnom Penh. Political activists said the government needed to be more transparent and take more effective action to combat corruption before it could think of seeking increased tax revenue. Son Chhay, a Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian, said the initiative will help the government increase its revenue from taxes and to help the department be more transparent. “It can help the government a lot to become more transparent in its tax-collection activities, because we will be able to monitor corrupt officials who may try and sell the tax stamp,’’ he said. “Our people trust the banking system. This will provide them with more convenience and cut down on wasted time. In addition, it can help the government increase its revenue.” Sim Eang, royal delegate in charge of the General Department of Taxation, said in a statement that with the broadening operation coverage of Acleda bank nationwide, the department decided to choose it as its partner, to provide convenience and a smoothly working system. “For the first time the General Department of Taxation has selected Acleda Bank Plc, to be its partner in the sale of tax stamps for the operation of all forms of transportation. “The selection of Acleda as our partner was due to its wide branch network connected by modern telecommunications systems and its establishment in the country. The sale of the stamps from a modern commercial bank, and its system of managing information on the collection of tax-stamp sales, will be far more effective than

8/21/2012 2:04 PM

Acleda bank to sell vehicle tax stamps | Business | The Phnom Penh Post

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we could otherwise implement on our own,” he said. In Channy, president and CEO of Acleda Bank Plc, said the bank was selected by the government for handling other financial services or transactions as well. “Acleda Bank Plc has always been highly trusted by the public institutions of Cambodia for its financial service needs and now it has been selected for their partner in this endeavour,” he said. “This will encourage Acleda to continue to expand its network, improve service quality and equip its branches with the most advanced online electronic banking and mobile banking systems, as well as deploy ATMs throughout the country to service customers 24 hours a day and seven days a week,” he said in a statement from the bank. Acleda has 237 branches and offices throughout Cambodia, 25 branches and offices in Laos and is preparing a subsidiary in Myanmar. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed by Channy and Eang. The General Department of Taxation will provide the tax stamps to the headquarters, branch offices, district offices and service offices of Acleda in order to sell the tax stamp to the owners of vehicles. The government decided to sign the MoU with Acleda under a pilot scheme to use commercial banking services for its national revenue and expenditure transactions by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2010. Presently, it also handles 18 provincial treasuries as well as the National Social Security Fund for Civil Servants to maintain and secure the providing of services to the retirement fund and other benefit policies from the Royal Government of Cambodia to the retirees or their authorised persons within the 24 provinces. To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at kunmakara.may@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 2:04 PM

0m backing for Cambodia's railways | Business | The Phnom Penh Post

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$850m backing for Cambodia's railways Tuesday, 21 August 2012 Gregory Pellechi and Don Weinland 0

Workers manning a railway. Photograph: Sovan Philong/Phnom Penh Post A company with ties to one of China’s top state-owned firms will look to push Toll Royal Railways and its local partner Royal Group of Companies out of a 30-year railroad concession with pledge to invest nearly US$850 million to revamp existing lines and build an additional one. The company, Rail Services (Cambodia) Ltd, pitched its plan for what it calls “Kampuchea Rail” to government officials on August 3, Chairman and Chief Executive Daryl Dealehr said a company statement obtained by the Post. With backing from Sino-Pacific Construction Consultancy Co, Ltd, Rail Services, along with Hikmat Asia Sdn Bdh of Malaysia, claimed that they were prepared to invest nearly $850 million in Cambodia’s existing rail lines that run between Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh and the Thai border, and build a link from the capital to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The Cambodian government watched as Toll Royal cargo trains on its southern line rolled to a halt on May 1, weeks after the Post reported that the Australian company would suspend operations in the Kingdom. Neither Toll or the government have commented publicly on the matter, although local media reported that cargo shipments would resume this month. Rail Services yesterday in a statement hammered on that fact, listing the numerous issues that have plagued Toll Royal through the rehabilitation, including Toll’s failure to restart the cargo shipments, lack of investment, and seeking concessional fee waivers. The statement failed to mention that the delays may have been caused by the resettlement of over 1,000 households, an issue that proved problematic for the project and garnered international condemnation due to the government’s handling of the issue. The statement said, “Toll Royal: ceased existing rail services and operations in February 2012; retrenched the majority of its workforce; has not invested in rolling stock and equipment; has not undertaken rail infrastructure improvements supplementing the existing rail network; advised the [Royal Cambodian Government] it was unlikely

8/21/2012 2:01 PM

0m backing for Cambodia's railways | Business | The Phnom Penh Post

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to recommence rail operations before March 2013; and demanded that the RGC forgo concession fees for years five through eight and half of year nine, amounting to a waiver of revenues estimated in excess of $9.5 million.” Rail Services’ pitch should sound tempting to Cambodian officials, as it offers up to $850 million in foreign direct investment after years of concessional loans from regional donors. Rail Services said it would “at no cost to the RGC [. . .] fully finance [the project]”. In return, Rail Services would operate the railway concession between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City for at least 60 years and seek to list on the Cambodian Stock Exchange upon completion of the Kingdom’s current rail network. The current concession for the northern and southern lines would be extended from 30 to 40 years for Rail Services. To work, either Toll Royal would need to give up its 30-year concession or the government would need to declare Toll in violation of its contract and push the company out. Meanwhile, a Chinese consulting firm has surveyed the 280-kilometre link with Vietnam; previously no company has publicly shown interest in its development, let alone pledged up to $750 million needed to finance it. Rail Services’ interest in connecting the network to Vietnam is part of its plan to “postion Cambodia as a true-subregional transport hub”, which would require further investment on the company’s part to create additional rail spurs, intermodal rail and freight terminals and connections to the Special Economic Zones that can be found along the line. The offering includes the $90 million to shore up the northern line shortfall and complete the rail rehabilitation; construction of a railway mechanical and technical trade school as well as a repair facility in Bat Doeng; and investment in Sihanoukville port, Poipet, Sisophon, Battambang, Pursat, Bat Doeng, Kampot and other locations. “The government is considering the proposal. There was some interest in it. They were very polite and are considering its elements,” said Rail Services spokesman Dealehr. To contact the reporters on this story: Gregory Pellechi at gregory.pellechi@phnompenhpost.com Don Weinland at don.weinland@phnompenhpost.com

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8/21/2012 2:01 PM