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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 22 May 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 shares advanced Friday following modest gains on Wall Street, while oil prices rose as efforts to end the Iran war yielded limited results.
- Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.7%.
- South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4%.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng picked up 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index also climbed 0.9%.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was up 1.34 points or 0.31% to 431.46.
- Total trade volume was up with 148,778 shares changing hands at a total value of 719.8 million riel or close to $180,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, four stocks were up, led by Grand Twins International, while the rest of the main board stayed flat. Over on the growth board, all three stocks were up.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the Khmer riel to USD weakened slightly to 4,024 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar index hovered around 99.25.
- Turning to global commodities, oil prices climbed on Friday but were on track for a weekly loss as investors doubted the prospects of a breakthrough in U.S.-Iran peace talks.
- Brent crude futures were up 2.4% at $105.04 US dollars a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 1.9% higher at $98.17 US dollars. (0658 GMT)
- Gold prices fell on Friday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and as elevated oil prices have raised expectations for interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $4,519.72 US dollars per ounce.
- The metal has shed about 0.4% so far in the week.
- U.S. gold futures for June delivery lost 0.5% to $4,520.30 US dollars. (0738 GMT)
- Moving on now to other business-related news:
- The Australian Government and the Royal Government of Cambodia launched the Australia Cambodia Partnership for Climate Resilience (ACP4Climate), a flagship initiative supporting climate-resilient water governance and integrated water resource management in Cambodia, on May 21, under the presidency of the Cambodian Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology, and the Ambassador of Australia to Cambodia. Through this initiative, Australia will help Cambodia strengthen water governance systems, improve climate resilience and promote inclusive and community-based approaches to water management in key river basins, including the Upper Mekong, Lower Mekong and Tonle Sap Basin.
- H.E. Chea Vandeth, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, highlighted Cambodia’s digital development, particularly in artificial intelligence adoption, at Asia Tech x Singapore 2026, held from May 19 to 21 in Singapore. The event brought together ministers responsible for the digital sector from ASEAN member states, senior officials from ministries and institutions, representatives from partner countries, and executives from major international companies, including Amazon, Google, Nvidia, and other AI firms. Speaking at the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Roundtable on AI Collaboration, H.E. Chea Vandeth presented Cambodia’s progress in AI development, including key initiatives such as the formulation of a national AI strategy, AI literacy programmes, and efforts to promote AI adoption. On the sidelines of the event, the Minister held discussions with delegations from Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs, and also met with representatives from Google and Amazon’s Leo.
- Cambodia and Japanese air conditioner giant Daikin Industries Ltd. have agreed to expand their partnership to develop skilled talent in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sector – a key step in the nation’s push toward high-income status by 2050. The commitment came during a meeting on May 21 between the Cambodian Minister of Labour and Daikin’s Senior Executive Officer and General Manager of Global Operations. Both sides have reaffirmed their goal to strengthen the partnership, aligning workforce development with both corporate needs and Cambodia’s long-term labour market strategy
Watch the 22 May 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: