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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 23 July 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 rose on Thursday after U.S. technology firms outlined significant capital spending plans that are likely to benefit chipmakers in the region, while the escalating war in the Middle East pushed oil prices to six-week highs.
- South Korea's KOSPI surged more than 3%. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.7%.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 1.28%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.25%.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was down 1.53 points or 0.34% to 451.47. Total trade volume was up with 255,044 shares changing hands at a total value of 1.33 billion riel or over $331,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, two stocks were up, led by Pestech Cambodia, while four stocks were down with Royal Group Phnom Penh SEZ as the biggest loser of the day.
- Over on the growth board, DBD Engineering and Picasso City Garden were up while JS Land stayed flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the Khmer riel to USD weakened slightly to 4,041 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar index hovered around 101.15.
- Looking at global commodities, oil prices rose for a fifth day on Thursday on increasing concerns about supply availability amid attacks on tankers in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis and strikes between the U.S. and Iran that have once again nearly shut the Strait of Hormuz.
- Brent crude futures rose 2.6% to $96.49 US dollars, the highest since June 8.
- U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.8% to $88.42 US dollars, after Wednesday's rise of 3%. (0640 GMT)
- Gold fell on Thursday from a two-week high hit the previous day, as an escalating Middle East conflict drove oil prices higher, while traders awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting next week for clues on the timing of potential interest rate hikes.
- Spot gold slipped 0.6% to $4,103.39 US dollars per ounce, having climbed to its highest since July 7 at $4,165.87 US dollars on Wednesday.
- U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 1.1% to $4,106.40 US dollars. (0713 GMT)
Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin slipped to about $65,500 US dollars as rising oil prices and higher Treasury yields pressured risk assets and weighed on major cryptocurrencies, and remained up roughly 2% on the week.
Moving on now to other business-related news,
- Nine proposed investment projects worth nearly $95 million US dollars in the manufacturing, agro-industry and mining sectors are under review by the Cambodian Investment Board (CIB). The projects were discussed at the 7th One Stop Service Meeting of 2026, held on July 22 by the CIB of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) to examine applications for Qualified Investment Project (QIP) registration. If approved, the projects are expected to create approximately 3,500 jobs while strengthening Cambodia’s manufacturing and agro-processing industries.
- Cambodia and Australia convened a kick-off meeting for an Interim National Water Master Plan to discuss preparation of the plan and review its scope, implementation methodology, and draft content. The meeting, held in Phnom Penh on July 22, was co-chaired by H.E. Dr. An Pich Hatha, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, and representatives of the Australian Embassy in Cambodia. Participants noted that the discussions will provide crucial input to ensure the plan’s outcomes are high-quality, comprehensive, and practically applicable. The Interim National Water Master Plan is a key activity under the recently launched Australia–Cambodia Partnership for Climate Resilience. It aims to support the Royal Government of Cambodia in strengthening water management and in preparing a water master plan that is resilient to climate change.
- Cambodia exported approximately 1.03 million metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts in the first half of 2026, generating around $1.75 billion US dollars in export revenue, according to the latest report from the Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia (CAC) released on July 23. The data shows that the export, mainly to Vietnam, increased by 28 percent compared to the same period in 2025. Cambodia's raw cashew nut export continued to grow strongly during the first six months of 2026, despite the global cashew market facing tightening supplies, shifting replacement costs and increasing calls for producing countries to expand domestic processing.
Watch the 23 July 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: