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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 8 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 shares were mixed on Wednesday and oil prices surged more than 3% after the US launched strikes on Iran following attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- South Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index fell 5.35% lower, dropping more than 20% from a record close in late June and signalling that the market is in bear territory.
- The Nikkei 225 dropped 2.11%, marking its lowest finish since June 12.
- Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.6%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 2.9%.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was down 3.62 points or 0.8% to 449.16.
- Total trade volume was down with 137,844 shares changing hands at a total value of 885.7 million riel or over $220,000 US dollars.
- On the main board, four stocks were down, with Sihanoukville Autonomous Port as the biggest loser of the day.The remaining stocks stayed flat.
- Over on the growth board, Picasso City Garden was down, while JS Land and DBD Engineering remained flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the Khmer riel to USD weakened slightly to 4,036 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar index hovered around 101.10.
- Looking at global commodities, oil prices gained over 2% on Wednesday, climbing to a two-week high after Iran and the U.S. traded airstrikes and Washington reimposed crude sales sanctions on Tehran, raising fears their fragile truce was unravelling and Middle East supplies could again be disrupted.
- Brent crude futures gained 2.33% hitting $75.89 US dollars a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 2.23% to $72.01 US dollars a barrel.
- The benchmarks are at their highest levels since June 24. (0755 GMT)
- Gold prices edged higher from a near one-week low, as investors looked ahead to minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's June meeting with renewed inflation concerns from fresh U.S.-Iran strikes capping gains in the precious metal.
- Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,123.55 US dollars per ounce, after dropping to its lowest since July 2 earlier in the day.
- U.S. gold futures for August delivery shed 0.5% to $4,135 US dollars. (0731 GMT )
- Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin slipped to $62,657 US dollars in Asian trading hours, down nearly 1% since midnight UTC.
Ether, and solana fell between 1% and 2.3%.
- Moving on now to other business-related news,
- Cambodia is stepping up efforts to modernise its national logistics system as the government seeks to strengthen trade competitiveness, improve supply chain efficiency and attract more foreign investment. H.E. Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Logistics Council (NLC), chaired the 11th NLC Meeting on July 8. This high-level session was attended by H.E. Peng Ponea, Minister of Public Works and Transport and Chairman of the National Logistics Committee (NLC-Com), alongside representatives from the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the Cambodia Logistics Association (CLA), relevant technical experts, and numerous private sector stakeholders. The primary objective is to continuously guide and modernise Cambodia's national logistics and transport infrastructure, ensuring heightened competitiveness, and seamless integration into regional and global supply chains.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on July 8 projected Cambodia’s economic growth to slow to 3.0 percent in 2026, amid higher energy prices, trade policy uncertainty, weak tourism, and subdued domestic demand. In a press release, the IMF said Cambodia’s economy has shown resilience amid successive shocks but growth has weakened. Real GDP growth, supported by external demand, foreign direct investment and infrastructure spending, eased to 5.3 percent in 2025 from 6.0 percent in 2024. The Kingdom’s economy is mainly driven by garment, footwear and travel-goods exports, tourism, agriculture, and real estate and construction.
- More than 135 leading women scientists, researchers, and innovators from India and ASEAN Member States gathered in Phnom Penh on July 8 for the 2nd ASEAN-India Women Scientists Conclave, launching a three-day forum aimed at advancing women's leadership and addressing persistent barriers in science, technology and innovation (STI). Co-organised by Cambodia's Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI) and the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, with support from the ASEAN-India Science & Technology Development Fund (AISTDF), the conclave is being held under the theme "Building Inclusive STI Communities". Discussions focus on four priority areas: food security, sustainable energy, equitable education, and emerging technologies.
Watch the 8 July 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: