Phnom Penh Post. THURSDAY, 05 AUGUST 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
A SOUTH Korean housing developer has sold almost half of its US$4 million condominium development project in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, and the foreign property ownership laws passed three months ago has helped sales, an official said yesterday.
“We have already sold 25 units out of 56. We sold our condos since the National Assembly approved the foreign ownership law, and we hope to sell all of them by the end of the year,” Sy Veacha, personal secretary to the Maison Ruby condominium developer In Keun Oh, said yesterday.
The National Assembly passed the law providing foreigners with ownership rights in private units above the ground floor in April. It was followed by a sub-decree last month capping foreign ownership of such buildings at 70 percent.
Sy Veacha said the law had paved the way to attracting foreigners to buy the Maison Ruby condos, slated for completion early 2011. All the condos sold so far have been bought by South Koreans.
“Despite the economic crisis affecting Cambodia’s property market, we never delayed our project construction because we were confident of the foreign co-ownership law,” she said.
Once complete, Maison Ruby will be seven storeys high, with 56 units ranging from US$65,000 to $79,000 each.
The site spans over 1,595 square metres at Chom Chao Commune, Dangkor district.
Mang Savandara, property manager of the Cambodia Property Ltd Co, agreed yesterday that the foreign property co-ownership law had boosted confidence.
“Our company has received calls from so many foreigners since the law was approved,” he said.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Real Estate: Residential approvals stabilise
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
THE value of residential projects approved in Phnom Penh declined only slightly in the first half of this year from the same period last year, according to official figures.
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction gave the green light to 2,253 housing units worth US$150 million in the first half of 2010, a 1.42 percent drop on the 2,352 worth $152 million approved in the first half of last year.
Figures for the whole of 2009 showed a 47.2 percent decline in the number of units approved compared with 2008.
Construction Department Director Lao Tip Seiha said there were positive signs for the construction sector despite the slight decline in approvals in the year to the end of June.
“It’s a good sign that the numbers remain stable,” he said.
A total of 35 large villas and 2,218 houses and flats have been approved this year, according to the ministry, from a respective 189 and 2,163 units granted the go-ahead last year.
Still, Lao Tip Seiha said he was concerned demand would outstrip supply particularly among people in the lower income brackets moving to Phnom Penh.
“We must add another 1.2 million homes in Cambodia by 2030,” he said.
THE value of residential projects approved in Phnom Penh declined only slightly in the first half of this year from the same period last year, according to official figures.
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction gave the green light to 2,253 housing units worth US$150 million in the first half of 2010, a 1.42 percent drop on the 2,352 worth $152 million approved in the first half of last year.
Figures for the whole of 2009 showed a 47.2 percent decline in the number of units approved compared with 2008.
Construction Department Director Lao Tip Seiha said there were positive signs for the construction sector despite the slight decline in approvals in the year to the end of June.
“It’s a good sign that the numbers remain stable,” he said.
A total of 35 large villas and 2,218 houses and flats have been approved this year, according to the ministry, from a respective 189 and 2,163 units granted the go-ahead last year.
Still, Lao Tip Seiha said he was concerned demand would outstrip supply particularly among people in the lower income brackets moving to Phnom Penh.
“We must add another 1.2 million homes in Cambodia by 2030,” he said.
Construction to start soon on Phnom Penh port expansion
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2010 15:01 CHUN SOPHAL
The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is seen through a window of a guard post on the Japanese Friendship Bridge.
PHNOM Penh Autonomous Port is to quadruple its loading capacity in the next two years after securing US$68 million worth of Chinese financing for a second terminal 25 kilometres east of the capital, with construction slated to begin in September.
Authorities said yesterday that the second terminal would give Phnom Penh a loading capacity of about 300,000 TEU (20-foot equivilant unit) containers per year, a dramatic increase from the current limit of 60,000 to 80,000 TEUs per year.
The first US$28 million stage of the two-stage build – slated to begin in September and take 22 months to complete – will create a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs per year once complete. That figure will increase to 300,000 TEUs once the second stage is finished.
Hei Bavy, director general of the port, said that after receiving a loan from China last year the new port would be built in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district.
Hei Bavy said that China-based Shanghai Construction had been contracted for the first stage of construction. The first stage will cover an area of 12 hectares, and the second stage will cover another eight hectares.
“We hope that this construction project will enable the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to ship more and more goods in the future,” he said.
The current port, first established in 1952 and renovated twice so far, has seen demand increase.
Hei Bavy said that if capacity was not boosted, goods shipments would inevitably face delays and obstruction.
“When the new port is completely constructed, we will use it as a place for loading containers so that big trucks will not cause traffic congestion in the capital,” Hei Bavy said.
Hin Theany, Division General Manager of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), said: “I think expanding the port is a good idea because it will help make freight shipment easier in the future when shipping activities increase beyond their current levels.”
The Cambodian government had been trying since early 2009 to secure the loan from the Chinese government to develop the port.
On October 15, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed deals worth $850 million with the Chinese government to spend on development projects in Cambodia. About $68 million was slated for the development of Phnom Penh’s port capacity.
Hei Bavy said that the second stage of construction might not be funded by the loan from China if the port proved to be capable of earning an income between $6 million and $10 million per year during the period of 2012 to 2015.
“We plan to use the money which the port earns by itself for the second-stage development project because the Chinese loan is too expensive,” he said.
The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is seen through a window of a guard post on the Japanese Friendship Bridge.
PHNOM Penh Autonomous Port is to quadruple its loading capacity in the next two years after securing US$68 million worth of Chinese financing for a second terminal 25 kilometres east of the capital, with construction slated to begin in September.
Authorities said yesterday that the second terminal would give Phnom Penh a loading capacity of about 300,000 TEU (20-foot equivilant unit) containers per year, a dramatic increase from the current limit of 60,000 to 80,000 TEUs per year.
The first US$28 million stage of the two-stage build – slated to begin in September and take 22 months to complete – will create a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs per year once complete. That figure will increase to 300,000 TEUs once the second stage is finished.
Hei Bavy, director general of the port, said that after receiving a loan from China last year the new port would be built in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district.
Hei Bavy said that China-based Shanghai Construction had been contracted for the first stage of construction. The first stage will cover an area of 12 hectares, and the second stage will cover another eight hectares.
“We hope that this construction project will enable the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to ship more and more goods in the future,” he said.
The current port, first established in 1952 and renovated twice so far, has seen demand increase.
Hei Bavy said that if capacity was not boosted, goods shipments would inevitably face delays and obstruction.
“When the new port is completely constructed, we will use it as a place for loading containers so that big trucks will not cause traffic congestion in the capital,” Hei Bavy said.
Hin Theany, Division General Manager of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), said: “I think expanding the port is a good idea because it will help make freight shipment easier in the future when shipping activities increase beyond their current levels.”
The Cambodian government had been trying since early 2009 to secure the loan from the Chinese government to develop the port.
On October 15, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed deals worth $850 million with the Chinese government to spend on development projects in Cambodia. About $68 million was slated for the development of Phnom Penh’s port capacity.
Hei Bavy said that the second stage of construction might not be funded by the loan from China if the port proved to be capable of earning an income between $6 million and $10 million per year during the period of 2012 to 2015.
“We plan to use the money which the port earns by itself for the second-stage development project because the Chinese loan is too expensive,” he said.
Malls race to be first in Kingdom's second city
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
The delayed Battambang Shopping Centre was empty when reporters visited this month. Jeremy Mullins
DEVELOPERS said yesterday that Borey Thmey Shopping Mall would be Battambang’s first, after the opening of Battambang Shopping Centre was pushed back a year.
The US$10 million four-storey Borey Thmey mall in Svay Por Commune will contain 600 units, its manager of sales administration Neang Nead Thanith said.
“We’re the first shopping mall in Battambang city, and we will allow our tenants to prepare their shops in November.
“We plan to open for business early next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Phou Puy, the owner of 1,500-store Battambang Shopping Centre, said yesterday that his project would not be completed by the end of 2010, as it was claimed in April.
He revised the target for completion to the beginning of 2011.
“We are rushing to complete the project. Now, we’re doing only interior design,” he said.
The Post has visited the project site twice in the past month, and no work or construction equipment was in evidence on either occasion. Only the shell of the Battambang Shopping Centre was complete.
Borey Thmey Shopping Mall is owned by Lim Chhiv Ho, managing director of Attwood Import-Export.
It has sold about 80 percent of its store locations, Neang Nead Thanith said. “Customers will come here because it will be the first one in Battambang, and it is in a good location,” she said.
“Hopefully we can attract more shops to our mall next year, but realistically we don’t hope to sell out this year.”
Lao Tip Seiha, construction department head for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said the ministry had approved Borey Thmey’s licence in 2008.
“The ministry will be proud to see the first new shopping mall in Battambang. We really do support them,” he said. “Battambang is a city with a lot of potential.”
The new mall will create local jobs and boost the local economy, he said.
The delayed Battambang Shopping Centre was empty when reporters visited this month. Jeremy Mullins
DEVELOPERS said yesterday that Borey Thmey Shopping Mall would be Battambang’s first, after the opening of Battambang Shopping Centre was pushed back a year.
The US$10 million four-storey Borey Thmey mall in Svay Por Commune will contain 600 units, its manager of sales administration Neang Nead Thanith said.
“We’re the first shopping mall in Battambang city, and we will allow our tenants to prepare their shops in November.
“We plan to open for business early next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Phou Puy, the owner of 1,500-store Battambang Shopping Centre, said yesterday that his project would not be completed by the end of 2010, as it was claimed in April.
He revised the target for completion to the beginning of 2011.
“We are rushing to complete the project. Now, we’re doing only interior design,” he said.
The Post has visited the project site twice in the past month, and no work or construction equipment was in evidence on either occasion. Only the shell of the Battambang Shopping Centre was complete.
Borey Thmey Shopping Mall is owned by Lim Chhiv Ho, managing director of Attwood Import-Export.
It has sold about 80 percent of its store locations, Neang Nead Thanith said. “Customers will come here because it will be the first one in Battambang, and it is in a good location,” she said.
“Hopefully we can attract more shops to our mall next year, but realistically we don’t hope to sell out this year.”
Lao Tip Seiha, construction department head for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said the ministry had approved Borey Thmey’s licence in 2008.
“The ministry will be proud to see the first new shopping mall in Battambang. We really do support them,” he said. “Battambang is a city with a lot of potential.”
The new mall will create local jobs and boost the local economy, he said.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Recovery watch: Real estate licences see modest rise
Phnom Penh Post. FRIDAY, 23 JULY 2010 15:01 SOEUN SAY
COMPANIES licensed to operate in the real estate and land valuation sector have slightly increased in Cambodia since January, a fact commentators hope could hint at a recovery in the industry after firm numbers halved during the financial crisis.
There are 42 real companies with licences to operate in the Kingdom, slightly more than the 34 licensed in January this year, Moa Pov, deputy chief of Ministry of Finance and Economy’s real estate division, said yesterday.
While the number of issued permits still lies far below the 74 companies licensed at the beginning of 2008, before a global economic melt-down hit the domestic real estate sector, he was hopeful for a full recovery of the operator numbers.
“If the real estate market recovers this year or next year those real estate and valuation companies will come back,” he said.
But Kerk Narin, general manager of Bonna Realty Group, said smaller real estate agents had struggled to remain open for business. The cost of getting a yearly licence and a certificate is 700,000 riels (US$167) – as defined by a 2007 prakas, or edict. Any company operating without a licence incurs a fine of 5 million riels ($1,250).
COMPANIES licensed to operate in the real estate and land valuation sector have slightly increased in Cambodia since January, a fact commentators hope could hint at a recovery in the industry after firm numbers halved during the financial crisis.
There are 42 real companies with licences to operate in the Kingdom, slightly more than the 34 licensed in January this year, Moa Pov, deputy chief of Ministry of Finance and Economy’s real estate division, said yesterday.
While the number of issued permits still lies far below the 74 companies licensed at the beginning of 2008, before a global economic melt-down hit the domestic real estate sector, he was hopeful for a full recovery of the operator numbers.
“If the real estate market recovers this year or next year those real estate and valuation companies will come back,” he said.
But Kerk Narin, general manager of Bonna Realty Group, said smaller real estate agents had struggled to remain open for business. The cost of getting a yearly licence and a certificate is 700,000 riels (US$167) – as defined by a 2007 prakas, or edict. Any company operating without a licence incurs a fine of 5 million riels ($1,250).
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Business laws in pipeline
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 21 JULY 2010 15:01 MAY KUNMAKARA
DRAFT laws governing commercial contracts and a new commercial court, set to launch in 2011, are months away from being submitted to the Council of Ministers.
Var Roth San, director of the Department of Intellectual Property Rights at the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday the laws were likely to be approved by the National Assembly in 2011 once they had been checked by the Council of Ministers – a move expected in “ two or three months”.
“Once they are passed, a commercial court will probably be established sometime in late 2011 or early 2012,” he told reporters yesterday at an advanced workshop on civil adjudication of commercial, intellectual property and international trade cases, held in Phnom Penh.
The two laws were being drafted under “technical assistance” from development partners and have already undergone multiple drafts and revisions to prepare them for the final approval, he said.
Ten judges, selected by the Minister of Justice from Phnom Penh’s municipal court and the provincial courts of Takeo and Kampong Chnang, were attending the four-day session at the InterContinental Hotel this week to gain advice from commercial judges from ASEAN-member countries.
“This workshop is timely for our country as the government reforms the judicial system and prepares to establish the commercial court,” Var Roth San said.
“It benefits our judges, whose experiences and knowledge [in commercial law] is low because normally they are working on the general [case disputes].”
Chhorn Ravuth, manager of Confirel Co Ltd (Cambodia) which makes sugar, wine and vinegar, welcomed the news and said it would give local producers more confidence in protecting product brand names and business-dispute resolution.
“This will be good for us as we will have a place where we can deal with disputes,” he said. “Now when we have problems, we don’t know where we can go so we just try to resolve by ourselves.”
Var Roth San said the government would also set up a sub-committee for Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement and a sub-committee for Education and Public Awareness.
DRAFT laws governing commercial contracts and a new commercial court, set to launch in 2011, are months away from being submitted to the Council of Ministers.
Var Roth San, director of the Department of Intellectual Property Rights at the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday the laws were likely to be approved by the National Assembly in 2011 once they had been checked by the Council of Ministers – a move expected in “ two or three months”.
“Once they are passed, a commercial court will probably be established sometime in late 2011 or early 2012,” he told reporters yesterday at an advanced workshop on civil adjudication of commercial, intellectual property and international trade cases, held in Phnom Penh.
The two laws were being drafted under “technical assistance” from development partners and have already undergone multiple drafts and revisions to prepare them for the final approval, he said.
Ten judges, selected by the Minister of Justice from Phnom Penh’s municipal court and the provincial courts of Takeo and Kampong Chnang, were attending the four-day session at the InterContinental Hotel this week to gain advice from commercial judges from ASEAN-member countries.
“This workshop is timely for our country as the government reforms the judicial system and prepares to establish the commercial court,” Var Roth San said.
“It benefits our judges, whose experiences and knowledge [in commercial law] is low because normally they are working on the general [case disputes].”
Chhorn Ravuth, manager of Confirel Co Ltd (Cambodia) which makes sugar, wine and vinegar, welcomed the news and said it would give local producers more confidence in protecting product brand names and business-dispute resolution.
“This will be good for us as we will have a place where we can deal with disputes,” he said. “Now when we have problems, we don’t know where we can go so we just try to resolve by ourselves.”
Var Roth San said the government would also set up a sub-committee for Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement and a sub-committee for Education and Public Awareness.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Foreign developers anticipate home run
Phnom Penh Post. MONDAY, 19 JULY 2010 15:01 NGUON SOVAN
DEVELOPERS have tipped a sub-decree allowing foreigners to own up to 70 percent of a condominium complex to boost Cambodia’s real-estate and construction sectors, despite a mellowing of the proposal from an initial draft.
Approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday, the sub-decree provides a 70 percent cap on the proportion of a housing development a foreigner can own.
The figure has fallen from an 80 percent limit set out in a draft presented by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction last month, but remains far higher than the 49 percent earmarked in early versions of the foreign ownership law last year.
“The decision ... was to grant a greater percentage share to Cambodians and not make foreign ownership too dominant,” Nonn Pheany, spokesperson for the Land Ministry, said yesterday.
Despite the change, she billed the sub-decree as a starting point in encouraging foreign investors to push development forward.
Land and house prices in Cambodia have dropped between 40 to 60 percent from those recorded at the peak of the housing boom in early 2008.
Bretton Sciaroni, senior partner of Sciaroni & Associates and legal adviser to the government, said yesterday that the sub-decree had opened up
Cambodia’s economy to new opportunities.
“It would help Cambodia in a number of ways, not just to generate more long-term businesses but also to attract new outside investors,” he said.
He hinted that the move would help make Cambodia an attractive regional proposition, as the sub-decree is more “open” than housing laws in neighbouring countries.
In Thailand, foreigners are allowed own just 49 percent of a building.
Developers at Phnom Penh’s satellite cities also welcomed the government’s move yesterday, expressing hope that it will develop the market by boosting sales – as the number of investors able to buy into property increases.
“We expect that through the provision, more foreigners will consider Cambodia,” said Touch Samnang, project manager at the capital’s Diamond Island complex, yesterday.
Sung Bonna, president and CEO of Bonna Realty Group, also felt the sub-decree would make Cambodia a more attractive proposition to foreign investors.
But he warned that the sub-decree alone was not enough to secure FDI for the Kingdom's economy.
“Cambodia needs to grant more incentives to investors in various sectors,” he said.
DEVELOPERS have tipped a sub-decree allowing foreigners to own up to 70 percent of a condominium complex to boost Cambodia’s real-estate and construction sectors, despite a mellowing of the proposal from an initial draft.
Approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday, the sub-decree provides a 70 percent cap on the proportion of a housing development a foreigner can own.
The figure has fallen from an 80 percent limit set out in a draft presented by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction last month, but remains far higher than the 49 percent earmarked in early versions of the foreign ownership law last year.
“The decision ... was to grant a greater percentage share to Cambodians and not make foreign ownership too dominant,” Nonn Pheany, spokesperson for the Land Ministry, said yesterday.
Despite the change, she billed the sub-decree as a starting point in encouraging foreign investors to push development forward.
Land and house prices in Cambodia have dropped between 40 to 60 percent from those recorded at the peak of the housing boom in early 2008.
Bretton Sciaroni, senior partner of Sciaroni & Associates and legal adviser to the government, said yesterday that the sub-decree had opened up
Cambodia’s economy to new opportunities.
“It would help Cambodia in a number of ways, not just to generate more long-term businesses but also to attract new outside investors,” he said.
He hinted that the move would help make Cambodia an attractive regional proposition, as the sub-decree is more “open” than housing laws in neighbouring countries.
In Thailand, foreigners are allowed own just 49 percent of a building.
Developers at Phnom Penh’s satellite cities also welcomed the government’s move yesterday, expressing hope that it will develop the market by boosting sales – as the number of investors able to buy into property increases.
“We expect that through the provision, more foreigners will consider Cambodia,” said Touch Samnang, project manager at the capital’s Diamond Island complex, yesterday.
Sung Bonna, president and CEO of Bonna Realty Group, also felt the sub-decree would make Cambodia a more attractive proposition to foreign investors.
But he warned that the sub-decree alone was not enough to secure FDI for the Kingdom's economy.
“Cambodia needs to grant more incentives to investors in various sectors,” he said.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Solar future for Cambodia
Phnom Penh Post. FRIDAY, 09 JULY 2010 15:03 JEREMY MULLINS
CAMBODIA’S rural electrification fund is planning a bulk purchase of 12,000 solar panel systems next month to help spread green power to rural villagers who are not connected to the national grid, its executive director said.
The REF – a World Bank-supported public institution aiming to provide electricity to every Cambodian village by 2020 – plans to sell the solar panels to rural households on a monthly payment basis, executive director Loeung Keosela said.
Foreign and domestic vendors will be invited to submit bids next month to supply the REF with 12,000 sets of solar panels, batteries and wiring, he said, which will then be sold individually to rural Cambodian households.
“If we procure in bulk sizes, hopefully the cost of individual systems will come down,” he added.
To obtain the new solar equipment, Loeung Keosela said rural families would be required to make a down payment, as well as monthly payments of around US$3 or $4 depending on the size of the system.
Many rural households already spend a similar amount per month on batteries or diesel generators, he said.
The project is funded by the World Bank’s $67.92 million Rural Electrification and Transmission project loan, which is set to expire on January 31, 2012.
The REF previously experimented with grants directly subsidising the cost of solar panels for households, he said, but the plan had limited success. “Only about 90 systems were sold,” he said.
Privately owned supplier Solar Energy of Cambodia director Mao Sangat said that private companies are increasingly selling solar power equipment in Cambodia, taking over from nonprofit organisations who began to provide renewable energy about a decade ago.
“Over the last decade, it seems demand for solar home systems are growing,” he said.
At the first Asian Solar Energy Forum held in Manila earlier this week, Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials said Asia’s developing nations were in a perfect position to harvest power from the sun, and added that assistance from development institutions was crucial to growing the industry.
Margaret Ryan, part-owner of the Kingdom’s oldest solar firm, Khmer Solar, said she welcomed nonprofit assistance from development bodies, provided it was well-structured. That firm has already extended $300,000 in credit from its Battambang office for households to purchase solar panels.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Mekong Condominium
Phnom Penh Post. THURSDAY, 08 JULY 2010 15:01 SOEUN SAY
MANAGERS at Phnom Penh’s US$15 million Mekong Condominium hope that sales to foreigners boost occupancy when the new development is inaugurated in September, project manager Chhim Chan Virak said yesterday.
Legislation passed at the beginning of April allows foreigners to own property in Cambodian buildings above the ground floor. Developers of the 18-story, 146-unit Mekong Condominium predict that the recent changes will support the project’s bottom line.
“The new law on property ownership will boost foreign investment and real estate prices across the country,” Chhim Chan Virak said.
Located in the capital’s Russey Keo District about a kilometre from the Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge, units will be sold for between $800 and $1,000 per square metre, he said.
However, the firm plans to pursue rentals as a result of declining real estate prices following the recent recession.
“Until the economic situation gets better, we cannot focus only on sales, but we are also looking for rentals,” he said.
The firm plans to eventually construct a second condominium of the same size and price range along National Road 6 and the Mekong about a kilometre from the first.
Cambodia Property Limited valuation manager Seng Sopheak said that the Kingdom’s property market is improving this year compared to last, but is still below the 2007 to mid-2008 real estate boom.
“According to our research, buying and selling activities have increased step by step since the beginning of this year,” he said.
Seng Sopheak remains optimistic about the future of Cambodia’s real estate market. “Investment in Cambodia’s banking sector is growing, and they’re offering more loans to buy property. I hope things will have recovered by 2011,” he said.
MANAGERS at Phnom Penh’s US$15 million Mekong Condominium hope that sales to foreigners boost occupancy when the new development is inaugurated in September, project manager Chhim Chan Virak said yesterday.
Legislation passed at the beginning of April allows foreigners to own property in Cambodian buildings above the ground floor. Developers of the 18-story, 146-unit Mekong Condominium predict that the recent changes will support the project’s bottom line.
“The new law on property ownership will boost foreign investment and real estate prices across the country,” Chhim Chan Virak said.
Located in the capital’s Russey Keo District about a kilometre from the Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge, units will be sold for between $800 and $1,000 per square metre, he said.
However, the firm plans to pursue rentals as a result of declining real estate prices following the recent recession.
“Until the economic situation gets better, we cannot focus only on sales, but we are also looking for rentals,” he said.
The firm plans to eventually construct a second condominium of the same size and price range along National Road 6 and the Mekong about a kilometre from the first.
Cambodia Property Limited valuation manager Seng Sopheak said that the Kingdom’s property market is improving this year compared to last, but is still below the 2007 to mid-2008 real estate boom.
“According to our research, buying and selling activities have increased step by step since the beginning of this year,” he said.
Seng Sopheak remains optimistic about the future of Cambodia’s real estate market. “Investment in Cambodia’s banking sector is growing, and they’re offering more loans to buy property. I hope things will have recovered by 2011,” he said.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Land concessions: $1/hectare
Phnom Penh Post. MONDAY, 05 JULY 2010 15:02 MAY TITTHARA
TWO companies linked to Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat are among five that were granted economic land concessions requiring them to pay only US$1 per hectare in annual rent in exchange for development rights, according to newly discovered agreements with the government.
The contracts with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries state that the five concessionaires must begin paying the “rental fees” five years after the concessions were awarded.
One of the firms linked to Ly Yong Phat, the Koh Kong Sugar Industry Company, is at the centre of a land dispute that erupted in violence in 2006 when security guards fired guns to repel villagers protesting against the destruction of orchards.
The other, the Kampong Speu Sugar Company, is owned by Ly Yong Phat’s wife, Kim Heang. It borders a 8,343-hectare concession granted to another of his holdings, the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, which is embroiled in a heated dispute with more than 1,000 families.
That dispute has led to three arrests this year. According to a recent field report from the rights group Adhoc, more than 1,000 families are expected to face food shortages this year after being denied access to their farmland.
Ouch Leng, a land programme officer for Adhoc, which first obtained the agreements, said he believed it was a common practice for concessionaires to be charged what amounts to a nominal fee in exchange for development rights.
But he said the companies should be forced to pay higher rates, considering the costs incurred by villagers forced from their land.
“The government is not helping villagers get a better standard of living, but causing them to become poorer and poorer,” Ouch Leng said.
“No other country in the world is renting land at such a cheap price as Cambodia.”
Ly Yong Phat was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Chhean Kimsuon, a representative of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, said she could not discuss the financial arrangements between the firm and the government.
However, she said the land concession would ultimately be beneficial for locals, providing jobs to 300 people.
“We will provide a lot of jobs for villagers when our company is operating,” she said.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries could not be reached for comment yesterday.
TWO companies linked to Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat are among five that were granted economic land concessions requiring them to pay only US$1 per hectare in annual rent in exchange for development rights, according to newly discovered agreements with the government.
The contracts with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries state that the five concessionaires must begin paying the “rental fees” five years after the concessions were awarded.
One of the firms linked to Ly Yong Phat, the Koh Kong Sugar Industry Company, is at the centre of a land dispute that erupted in violence in 2006 when security guards fired guns to repel villagers protesting against the destruction of orchards.
The other, the Kampong Speu Sugar Company, is owned by Ly Yong Phat’s wife, Kim Heang. It borders a 8,343-hectare concession granted to another of his holdings, the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, which is embroiled in a heated dispute with more than 1,000 families.
That dispute has led to three arrests this year. According to a recent field report from the rights group Adhoc, more than 1,000 families are expected to face food shortages this year after being denied access to their farmland.
Ouch Leng, a land programme officer for Adhoc, which first obtained the agreements, said he believed it was a common practice for concessionaires to be charged what amounts to a nominal fee in exchange for development rights.
But he said the companies should be forced to pay higher rates, considering the costs incurred by villagers forced from their land.
“The government is not helping villagers get a better standard of living, but causing them to become poorer and poorer,” Ouch Leng said.
“No other country in the world is renting land at such a cheap price as Cambodia.”
Ly Yong Phat was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Chhean Kimsuon, a representative of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, said she could not discuss the financial arrangements between the firm and the government.
However, she said the land concession would ultimately be beneficial for locals, providing jobs to 300 people.
“We will provide a lot of jobs for villagers when our company is operating,” she said.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Applications for building licences up
Phnom Penh Post. FRIDAY, 02 JULY 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
THE number of construction companies seeking building licences increased 14.5 percent in the first five months of 2010, according to government statistics obtained Thursday. Seventy construction companies received them, up from 61 for the same time last year. The Ministry of Land Management “has had a lot of companies asking for construction licences because [investors] believe the construction sector will recover soon,” director of the construction department Lao Tip Seiha said.
THE number of construction companies seeking building licences increased 14.5 percent in the first five months of 2010, according to government statistics obtained Thursday. Seventy construction companies received them, up from 61 for the same time last year. The Ministry of Land Management “has had a lot of companies asking for construction licences because [investors] believe the construction sector will recover soon,” director of the construction department Lao Tip Seiha said.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
OCIC builds shops on diamond island
Phnom PenhPost THURSDAY, 01 JULY 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
OVERSEAS Cambodia Investment Cooperation (OCIC) is set to complete building more than 100 shops in the Diamond Island project in the next month, according to Prak Chan Long, general manager of Diamond Island Convention Exhibition Centre. He said he did not know how much it cost to build. “We’ve built the shops for rent, not for sale, and will charge about US$500 per month. We’ve rented out most of the shops already,” he said. The Diamond Island Convention Exhibition Centre is part of a larger $200 million development being built by OCIC, which has the same owners as Canadia Bank. It is slated for completion in 2016, and is expected to occupy 75 hectares, according to government approval in 2006. The island, called Koh Pich in Khmer, is in Phnom Penh.
OVERSEAS Cambodia Investment Cooperation (OCIC) is set to complete building more than 100 shops in the Diamond Island project in the next month, according to Prak Chan Long, general manager of Diamond Island Convention Exhibition Centre. He said he did not know how much it cost to build. “We’ve built the shops for rent, not for sale, and will charge about US$500 per month. We’ve rented out most of the shops already,” he said. The Diamond Island Convention Exhibition Centre is part of a larger $200 million development being built by OCIC, which has the same owners as Canadia Bank. It is slated for completion in 2016, and is expected to occupy 75 hectares, according to government approval in 2006. The island, called Koh Pich in Khmer, is in Phnom Penh.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Skyscraper expo on diamond island
Models of Koh Pich's skyscrapers
Phnom Penh Post
MONDAY, 28 JUNE 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
CAMBODIA’S first international skyscraper expo, CamBuild 2010, will take place later this year, it was announced Sunday. The show will be an international trade show open for architects, civil and building constructors, building consultants and designers, engineers, government departments, interior designers and distributors. It will take place on Phnom Penh’s Diamond Island in October. Organiser Richard Yew, who is Vice President of AMB Events SDN, said Sunday that more than 200 exhibitors are expected at the event including pavilions from Singapore, China, Taiwan, the European Union and the US.
Phnom Penh Post
MONDAY, 28 JUNE 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
CAMBODIA’S first international skyscraper expo, CamBuild 2010, will take place later this year, it was announced Sunday. The show will be an international trade show open for architects, civil and building constructors, building consultants and designers, engineers, government departments, interior designers and distributors. It will take place on Phnom Penh’s Diamond Island in October. Organiser Richard Yew, who is Vice President of AMB Events SDN, said Sunday that more than 200 exhibitors are expected at the event including pavilions from Singapore, China, Taiwan, the European Union and the US.
Cambodia to launch new property tax by end this year
PHNOM PENH, Jun. 29, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency)
Buyers of constructions worth more than $25,000 are set to pay new levy if Ministry schedule goes ahead as planned.
THE government is set to launch a new property tax by the end of this year, officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday, in a move which has reportedly sparked protest in Cambodia’s capital.
Under the Finance for Management Law, passed in November, purchasers of constructions worth more than 100 million riels (around US$25,000) will be required to pay an annual tax worth 0.1 percent of property value.
“We are preparing a prakas to establish a committee to evaluate property and we will start implementing tax collection in the end of this year, as the National Assembly requires,” Norng Piseth, chief of the Real Estate Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said Monday.
“It is very important for increasing national income,” he added.
Although the new levy is not expected to raise large amounts of additional funds, as Minister of Finance Keat Chhon has estimated tax revenue would be between $3 million and $9 million, the government has voiced its ambition to improve tax administration.
Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state for the Finance Ministry, said at a meeting of government donors held earlier this month that in 2010 the government aims to improve customs and tax administration, to meet the increased expenditure of sub-national administration and introduce a tax on all land assets.
This view was reiterated by Keat Chhon at a discussion of real estate law late last year.
“We want to establish a tax culture which allows us to collect tax directly in the future,” he said.
About 180,000 houses that are under municipal and provincial administration would be covered under the new property tax, he added.
Some commentators are considering whether it is the right time for a new levy.
Sung Bonna, president and CEO of Bonna Realty Group and president of National Valuers’ Association of Cambodia, said Monday: “In my point of view, I think that government [is acting] too early to collect tax on property while country is facing the [impact of the] global economic crisis.”
He believes that local investment may be affected “a little bit” by the fee, but it is the “duty for everyone to comply”.
But property developers, who are set to pass on the tax to vendors, did not oppose the move.
Kheng Ser, assistant to World City’s Duk Kon Kim, the developer behind Camko City project development, said Monday: “I think that those who are obliged to pay tax are buyers.
“But if the law required to pay – we must to pay to the government. This is a duty.”
However, according to the Deum Ampil News, 100 people representing 490 families living at the Borey Tang Kasang housing development in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district protested against the tax on Friday. The report said that developer Borey Tang Kasang confirmed to protesters that they must pay the tax.
Buyers of constructions worth more than $25,000 are set to pay new levy if Ministry schedule goes ahead as planned.
THE government is set to launch a new property tax by the end of this year, officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday, in a move which has reportedly sparked protest in Cambodia’s capital.
Under the Finance for Management Law, passed in November, purchasers of constructions worth more than 100 million riels (around US$25,000) will be required to pay an annual tax worth 0.1 percent of property value.
“We are preparing a prakas to establish a committee to evaluate property and we will start implementing tax collection in the end of this year, as the National Assembly requires,” Norng Piseth, chief of the Real Estate Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said Monday.
“It is very important for increasing national income,” he added.
Although the new levy is not expected to raise large amounts of additional funds, as Minister of Finance Keat Chhon has estimated tax revenue would be between $3 million and $9 million, the government has voiced its ambition to improve tax administration.
Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state for the Finance Ministry, said at a meeting of government donors held earlier this month that in 2010 the government aims to improve customs and tax administration, to meet the increased expenditure of sub-national administration and introduce a tax on all land assets.
This view was reiterated by Keat Chhon at a discussion of real estate law late last year.
“We want to establish a tax culture which allows us to collect tax directly in the future,” he said.
About 180,000 houses that are under municipal and provincial administration would be covered under the new property tax, he added.
Some commentators are considering whether it is the right time for a new levy.
Sung Bonna, president and CEO of Bonna Realty Group and president of National Valuers’ Association of Cambodia, said Monday: “In my point of view, I think that government [is acting] too early to collect tax on property while country is facing the [impact of the] global economic crisis.”
He believes that local investment may be affected “a little bit” by the fee, but it is the “duty for everyone to comply”.
But property developers, who are set to pass on the tax to vendors, did not oppose the move.
Kheng Ser, assistant to World City’s Duk Kon Kim, the developer behind Camko City project development, said Monday: “I think that those who are obliged to pay tax are buyers.
“But if the law required to pay – we must to pay to the government. This is a duty.”
However, according to the Deum Ampil News, 100 people representing 490 families living at the Borey Tang Kasang housing development in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district protested against the tax on Friday. The report said that developer Borey Tang Kasang confirmed to protesters that they must pay the tax.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Investors Positive on Impending Arbitration Center
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The Coca-Cola company is one of major foreign investors to Cambodia. (Photo: AP)
Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 24 June 2010
Foreign investors doing business in Cambodia say they would like to see the newly formed National Arbitration Center solve commercial disputes, but at least some remain skeptical that it will help them.
The center, due to be established this year, will resolve such disputes within crossing the current court system.
The center will be build with financial and technical assistance from various international partners, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Union and will house approximately 60 national and international arbitrators.
Analysts believe the center will build confidence among existing investors and draw more businesses.
Janet Hausen, president of the International Business Association, which has 70 members, said the center will encourage investors to expand their businesses here.
“One of the main concerns of foreign investors is dispute resolutions,” she said in an interview. “The court procedures not just in Cambodia but other countries are very tedious. So you tend not to be so aggressive in businesses.”
In addition, a local arbitration facility can cut costs, she said.
Currently, businesses must rely on the courts to solve business disputes. Sometimes, companies will take their disputes to Singapore or Hong Kong, where credible dispute bodies are found.
But a 2009 survey by the International Finance Corporation found a need for a local arbitration center. Court cases can take up to 400 days and can cost more than the original dispute, the survey found.
Sok Reden, executive director of the agro-industry company Enviro Corporation Cambodia, said his company is currently involved in a cash dispute for $350,0000 with a former partner. He has sought court resolution, but in two years has seen no movement, he said.
“We filed a lawsuit in the court in 2008, but we haven’t seen any intervention since then,” he said. “This makes the investors afraid, because we don’t have proper measures.”
Sok Reden said he was optimistic about the upcoming arbitration center.
Cambodia also needs to bring in major investors from Japan, the US and Europe, which currently invest heavily in neighboring Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, economists say, even as it has gained foreign investment from China, South Korea and Vietnam.
About 200 European countries are here operating small and medium-sized businesses, especially in tourism, garments and import-export. But according to David Lipman, president of the EU’s delegation in Cambodia, only a few are investment companies.
An arbitration center will bring more European companies to Cambodia, he said.
“Direct investment will increase once investors are sure the climate is safe for their investment, and this center is exactly the right direction that we want,” he said in an interview. “Once European investors see their investments are secure and there is a proper system of arbitration when there is a dispute, then even more investors will come to Cambodia. And I do believe that we will see the fruit from this within the coming year or two.”
That fruit may not extend to the potentially lucrative oil and gas sector, said Michael McWalter, an adviser to the National Petroleum Authority.
“With respect to the establishment of an Arbitration Center in Cambodia, I do not believe that it will have any effect on the willingness of the petroleum industry to invest in Cambodia at all,” he wrote in an e-mail.
The international nature of most petroleum contracts means an international arbitration site is already agreed on at the early stages of deals, he said.
A national arbitration center would not be seen as “neutral ground” unless the dispute was between Cambodians, he said.
Meanwhile, the quality of the arbitration remains to be seen.
“The quality of the people and the quality of the center are very important to the private sector,“ said Billie Jean Slott, a law consultant for Sciaroni and Associates. If it looks like poor quality, disputes will be settled elsewhere.
Arbitrators will have to speak many foreign languages and must learn about international commercial law, such as Singaporean law and Hong Kong law, which would be used in arbitration, Slott said.
Mao Thura, secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce, said a lack of support for the center from the private sector will mean its collapse. So the ministry has been working on strengthening its quality and to provide training to arbitrators.
Finally, arbitrators will have to be above corruption, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh said.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Cambodia Foreign Ownership Property Law 2010
Phom Penh Post
Developers have welcomed a government move towards allowing foreign property ownership in private units to be up to 80 percent of a building, with stakeholders applauding it as a sign that Cambodia is opening up to more investment.
The government is considering a sub-decree on the foreign property ownership law to clarify the percentage of a building that can be privately owned by a foreigner, the Land Ministry said Wednesday. Previously the law had no limit, and it was not clear what the allowances were.
Reactions among key players in the property market and investment experts, interviewed by the Post on Thursday, were largely positive. Many predicted that the sub-decree would boost Cambodia’s market potential; however, some are uncertain of the time frame for change.
Douglas Clayton, chief executive officer of fund manager Leopard Capital, which has a US$1.5 million investment in residential housing in Siem
Reap, said the sub-decree would be a positive indication the government was opening to foreign direct investment.
“This will obviously be very favourable news if they pass this sub-decree,” he said.
Although he did not expect immediate results, at least not in cities such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, he pointed to Cambodia’s coastline as an area of potential growth.
“I’m not sure it would immediately stimulate the foreign property market – at the moment there’s not as much interest because of the global financial crisis,” he said.
“I think what we’ll see is the demand for property along the coast will increase. Foreigners tend to want to have a place more for the holidays, so I think that’s where you’ll see more developers targeting.”
Matthew Rendall, partner at law firm Sciaroni & Associates, said there is definitely a market for foreign ownership – “we get enquiries about that all the time” – but that just how big the market is, or could become, isn’t clear.
He said that demand from developers would probably increase as their sales scope went from being concentrated in Cambodia to global in nature.
“The higher the government makes the level of foreign ownership, the better it is for the property market generally because it increases the customer base,” he said.
Daniel Parkes, country manager for Cambodia at global property firm CB Richard Ellis, agreed. He said an 80 percent limit would help expand the market, opening it up to new foreign investment, which he deemed “very important” to the sector.
However, he said that only “time would tell” how it would affect the property market in terms of levels of both construction and development.
“This doesn’t give all the answers, but it is a good step along the way,” he added.
Commentators, however, said that some points remained to be clarified in the sub-decree to prevent a “dual economy” within a single apartment block.
“The idea 100 percent cannot be sold to foreigners will be a factor developers take into consideration when they design these apartments. If x amount can be sold to Cambodian’s only and the rest to foreigners, it would potentially create two different pricing structures,” Rendall said.
He said details of whether the 80 percent refers to the number of units or floor space could also have similar design ramifications.
But he played down fears that a broader customer base could inflate housing prices to the detriment of local Cambodians, saying there will always be a market for different levels of income.
Among property developers, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
Un Mouy, sales and marketing manager for Tow Town Co, a Taiwanese developer behind Bali Resort housing development project, said it has already seen a jump in demand from foreigners following the foreign property law’s introduction earlier this year and expects the sub-decree to drive demand.
“It is good news for us to build more apartments and condominiums to sell,” she said.
She said the company is preparing documents to ask permission for the Ministry of Land Management to build another apartment to meet client demand.
Kheng Ser, assistant to South Korean developer World City’s vice president, said the move would attract more investors as property opportunities opened up.
“I think it’s a good idea to allow up to 80 percent of units to be owned by foreigners,” he said. He added that his company had also sold the vast majority of condos at its $2 billion development in Camko City.
Foreigners “will come more and more to invest and live in our country because they can own property here,” he added.
According to the Ministry of Land Management, the sub-decree is awaiting approval from the Council of Ministers and is set to be passed within
the next month. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ELLIE DYER
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