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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 2 March 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. Asia markets were trading lower on Monday after the latest U.S-Israel attacks on Iran over the past weekend.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.35%, paring earlier losses, while the Topix fell 1.02%.
- Hong Kong Hang Seng index was down 2.14%, leading losses in Asia, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.38%.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was down 0.68 points or 0.16%, to 425.28.
- Total trade volume was up with 101,544 shares changing hands at a total value of 612.3 million riel, or close to $153,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, only one stock, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, was up, while five stocks were down with Pestech Cambodia as the biggest loser of the day.
- Over on the growth board, DBD Engineering stayed flat while JS Land and Picasso City Garden were down.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the KHR weakened slightly to 4,012 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar Index hovered around 98.40.
- Turning to global commodities, oil prices surged after the U.S. and Israel launched major strikes on Iran, escalating geopolitical tensions and deepening global economic uncertainty.
- Brent jumped around 10% to $79.90 US dollars a barrel, while U.S. crude climbed 8.2% to $72.64 US dollars per barrel. (0640 GMT)
- Gold prices rose, with Spot gold up 1.88% at $5,376.44 US dollars an ounce, after hitting its highest point in more than four weeks.
- Earlier in the session, bullion prices had climbed as much as 2%.
- U.S. gold futures rose 2.7% to $5,389.20 US dollars per ounce. (0632 GMT)
- Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering near $66,149 US dollars, down 1.0% in the past 24 hours. Attempts to hold above $67,000 US dollars have faded, leaving Bitcoin in a tight, choppy range.
- Moving on now to other business-related news:
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has confirmed the official date and location of the 20th Francophonie Summit to be hosted in Cambodia. The summit will take place from November 15-16, 2026, in Phnom Penh. The summit was originally scheduled to take place in Siem Reap province, but was shifted to Phnom Penh to ensure all necessary facilities and requirements could be met. The official date and location of the summit were confirmed during a meeting on March 2 between the Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the visiting Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).
- Cambodia is officially positioning coffee and cocoa as primary strategic crops to bolster economic growth in its northeastern provinces. During a visit to PIDA Coffee Farm on Sunday, Senate Second Vice President H.E. Dr. Thun Vathana highlighted these crops as a "new frontier" for the nation's agro-industrial sector. The initiative aims to: Drive development specifically in the northeast, decrease reliance on foreign coffee and cocoa products and capitalize on the surging domestic appetite for these commodities.
- More than 3,000 former migrant workers and Cambodian citizens secured jobs or enrolled in technical training programmes during recent employment forums held in western Cambodia, a spokesperson said on March 2. The forums, focusing on employment opportunities, social security and vocational training, were organised by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training in Pursat and Battambang on February 28 and March 1.
Watch the 2 March 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: