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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 19 August 2026, reviewing regional and global markets, and covering the daily business news you shouldn’t miss.
Watch the video in English above.
- We start with a quick look at regional markets. Asian stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, led by a near-6% rout in South Korea and a more than 3% slide in Japan, as a renewed semiconductor selloff collided with elevated bond yields and higher oil prices.
- The MSCI AC Asia Pacific equity gauge fell over 2%. South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled 5.5%, after falling as much as 6.4% earlier. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite lost 2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was roughly unchanged.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was up 0.49 points or 0.1% to 477.21.
- Total trade volume was down with 249,253 shares changing hands at a total value of 1.4 billion riel or over $352,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, three stocks were up, led by Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, while two stocks were down with Grand Twins International as the biggest loser of the day.
- Over on the growth board, DBD Engineering and JS Land were down, while Picasso City Garden stayed flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the Khmer riel to USD remained stable at 4,043 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar index hovered around 99.44.
- Looking at global commodities, oil prices hit a three-week high on Wednesday as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions supported the market.
- Brent crude futures climbed 0.49% to $91.47 US dollars, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.53% to $85.39 US dollars a barrel. Brent crude hit its highest level since July 30 and WTI reached its highest since July 31. (0754 GMT)
- Gold rose as U.S. Treasury yields eased on Wednesday, with investors awaiting minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting for fresh clues on its monetary policy outlook.
- Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,359.58 US dollars per ounce, after falling nearly 2% in the previous session due to higher Treasury yields, while U.S. gold futures slipped 0.2% to $4,413.40 US dollars. (0737 GMT)
Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin’s price reached $64428.04 US dollars, gaining 0.2% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum price reached $1,913.56 US dollars, soaring 0.4% in 24 hours.
- Moving on now to other business-related news,
- H.E. Cham Nimul , Minister of Commerce, presided over the opening ceremony of the Malaysia-Cambodia Business Seminar in conjunction with the Export Acceleration Mission (EAM) to Cambodia 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on August 19. The event was attended by senior officials, business leaders, and companies from both countries to explore new opportunities for trade, and business partnerships. H.E. Cham Nimul highlighted the strong momentum in bilateral trade between Cambodia and Malaysia, noting that the two-way trade reached approximately $1.08 billion US dollars in 2025, an increase of nearly 25 percent compared to $865 million US dollars in 2024, thereby surpassing the $1 billion dollar mark, as previously committed by both sides.
- A consultative workshop on Preparing Cambodia’s Workforce for a Green Transition was held on the morning of August 19 at the Rosewood Phnom Penh, led by representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and the Asian Development Bank. The workshop aimed to present the findings of a study on agro-processing and electric vehicle (EV) industries, and also gathered inputs to prepare the Cambodian workforce to meet industrial and labour market demands, supporting sustainable national economic development. H.E. Heng Sour, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, stated at the opening ceremony that the strong partnership with ADB and its technical support in conducting this crucial study have helped promote human resource development in Cambodia. This initiative also aligns with national development frameworks as EV adoption in Cambodia increases, highlighting the urgent need to equip the workforce with high-level technical skills to support, service, and ensure sustainability in a changing market.
- Cambodia’s banking sector must strengthen resilience, financial integrity and public confidence as it navigates a more challenging global and domestic environment, said the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) during the 5th Cambodia Banking Conference on August 19. The Governor said geopolitical tensions, conflict, higher energy prices, disrupted trade and travel, and financial market volatility were creating growing pressures. She further outlined three priorities for the two-day conference: resilience; integrity, trust and transparency; and secure and inclusive digital finance. She called for prudent credit risk management, sound capital and liquidity discipline, careful underwriting, responsible loan restructuring and early action on distressed assets.
Watch the 19 August 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: