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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 19 January 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. Stock markets slid in Asia on Monday after the U.S. President threatened to slap extra tariffs on eight European nations until the U.S. was allowed to buy Greenland, pushing the dollar down against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.7%, and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.1%.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was up 0.15 points or 0.04%, to 421.9. Total trade volume was down with 133,513 shares changing hands at a total value of over 844 million riel, close to $210,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, three stocks were up, led by MJQ Education, while only one stock, Grand Twins International, was down, and the rest of the main board stayed flat. Over on the growth board, JS Land and Picasso City Garden were up, while DBD Engineering stayed flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the KHR weakened slightly to 4,027 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar Index was down to 99.24.
- Turning to global commodities, oil prices fell 1% on Monday, reversing the previous session's gains, as civil unrest in Iran subsided, lowering the chance of a U.S. attack that could disrupt supply from the major Middle Eastern producer. Brent crude was trading at $63.48 US dollars a barrel, down 1%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate for February around 1% to $58.84 US dollars a barrel. The more active March contract was at $58.77 US dollars. (0912 GMT)
- Gold and silver prices have hit record high, after the US President’s threat to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries in an increasingly aggressive attempt to claim Greenland. Gold rose 1.6% to $4,666 US dollars an ounce. US gold futures for February gained 1.7% to $4,671.90 US dollars. (0949 GMT)
- Moving on now to other business-related news,
The Trust Regulator of Cambodia recently released its annual data for 2025, revealing that 590 new trusts, worth a total of USD 602 million, were registered in the year. The rise in new trust registrations reflects a rapid growth in the country's financial landscape, particularly a growing structured asset management investor pool. - The Cambodia Digital Social Protection Platform was awarded a Gold Medal at the ASEAN Digital Awards 2026 on January 15, marking a significant achievement for the Kingdom’s digital transformation development. The ceremony was held in Vietnam under the framework of the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting.
- The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications announced in a press release on January 16 that Cambodia has improved its standing in the Government AI Readiness Index, according to a report released by UK-based Oxford Insights. The Government AI Readiness Index showed Cambodia ranked 118th globally in 2025 out of 195 countries, a rise from 145th place in 2024. The MPTC has said this “remarkable progress shows that Cambodia is moving in the right direction towards adopting artificial intelligence as a strategic tool”.
Watch the 19 January 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: