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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 5 October 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 markets opened the week firmer on Monday as a sharp slowdown in US hiring pushed investors towards a U.S. Federal Reserve pause this month, giving rate-sensitive technology stocks room to rebound.
- Japan's Nikkei rose 2.4%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished 0.28% higher, and the Shanghai Composite Index remained closed for a national holiday.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was down 17.19 points or 2.8% to 596.16.
- Total trade volume was down with 1,214,824 shares changing hands at a total value of 8.2 billion riel or over $2.02 million US dollars.
- On the main board, no stocks were up and seven stocks were down with ACLEDA Bank as the biggest loser of the day, while two stocks stayed flat.
- Over on the growth board, Picasso City Garden and DBD Engineering were down, while JS Land stayed flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the Khmer riel to USD weakened slightly to 4,057 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar index hovered around 102.10.
- Looking at global commodities, oil prices inched higher in volatile trade on Monday after crude exports from the Middle East increased and the Group of Seven nations pledged to boost supplies, although concerns about ongoing disruption linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran limited selling.
- Brent crude futures inched up 5 cents to $102.30 US dollars a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.62 US dollars a barrel, down 0.5%. Both contracts fell over 1% earlier in the session. (0900 GMT)
- Gold prices climbed as continued concerns of rising government debt and easing expectations of an immediate U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike lent support, although a firmer dollar limited gains.
- Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,165.49 US dollars per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.8% to $4,194.60 US dollars. (0901 GMT)
Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin briefly touched $87,000 US dollars but remained below its 2026 opening price of $87,570 dollars. Analysts see support near $82,500 US dollars and resistance around $86,700 US dollars, with a break above resistance potentially pushing Bitcoin toward $93,700 US dollars. Bitcoin has gained 1.4% in early October, outperforming its usual decline for this period.
- Moving on now to other business-related news,
- Cambodia’s strong exports of manufactured goods — especially non-garment merchandise — are offsetting weak services industries, the chief economist of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said on October 5. Speaking at a news conference in Singapore on the quarterly update to AMRO’s regional economic outlook, Dong He, Chief Economist at AMRO, said: “Cambodia’s industry growth has been quite solid, supported by both garment and non-garment manufacturing. “Garment exports and fabric imports grew by 6.7 percent and 8.2 percent year-on-year respectively in the first eight months of this year. “But what is also remarkable is non-garment manufacturing exports grew by 37.3 percent year-on-year in the first eight months — much faster than 16.8 [percent] growth recorded in 2025.” According to the Chief Economist, AMRO’s lowering of Cambodia’s growth forecast for this year from 4.2 percent in July to 3.9 percent mainly reflects a “sluggish recovery in the service sector, particularly in tourism and real estate.”
- The IMF have stated that Cambodia has a ‘Strong Foundation’ for LDC Transition in 2029. Only eight poor economies have graduated from the United Nations’ status of least developed country (LDC) since 1994, with a diverse sample across different continents. According to the IMF, their experience does not suggest that LDC graduation automatically leads to either faster or slower growth. With outcomes shaped by resource cycles, tourism dependence, natural disasters and the pandemic, their average real GDP growth was broadly unchanged at around 2.9 percent in the five years before and after graduation. For Cambodia, LDC graduation will gradually withdraw preferential trade arrangements, more flexible rules of origin, and some flexibilities under the World Trade Organisation. According to IMF economists, the absence of measures to offset such impacts in the four years after graduation could shave 0.5–1.5 percentage points off Cambodia’s GDP growth and lead to 165,000 job losses. However, overall, the economists find that Cambodia approaches LDC graduation with “real strengths” — namely sustained foreign investment, deep export integration, and a young workforce.
- On October 5, Cambodia's Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria received an agricultural engineer and longtime colleague who presented the initial yield of morning glory grown locally in Bulgaria. The milestone follows consultations held between the two early last year regarding the adaptation of Cambodian crops to European agricultural conditions. Cultivating native Cambodian produce in Southeastern Europe for export across the European Union has been progressing steadily from pilot cultivation to commercial structuring, since 2025, showcasing an active model of economic diplomacy. The cultivation trials extend beyond morning glory to evaluate a broader variety of indigenous Cambodian vegetables tailored to the culinary demands of the Asian diaspora across Europe. Beyond confirming crop viability, current assessments focus on maintaining quality standards, securing target yields, and integrating production into established regional supply networks.
Watch the 5 October 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: