The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Cambodia had its first official meeting with the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Manet, on February 1, 2024. The meeting provided a structured platform for AmCham to advocate for its members and their interests, as well as to engage in a productive discussion about exploring opportunities to attract more business and stimulate economic growth in Cambodia.
B2B Cambodia spoke with Devin Barta, President of AmCham Cambodia, and Tom O’Sullivan, AmCham Board Member and CEO of Realestate.com.kh, to get some insight into the discussions held between the chamber and the Cambodian government.
AmCham Committed To Continue Engagement With Cambodian Government
Barta told B2B Cambodia: “The main focus [of the meeting] was to acknowledge the change in direction and focus on engaging with the private sector that we've seen take place with the new administration, and to work to further [these efforts] and acknowledge the progress [that has been made].”
He added that the main throughline of discussions were on the different ways AmCham could engage with the government through advocacy and its different committees, to promote certain policies, regulations and changes that are seen to be helpful in growing the economy and bringing in more foreign direct investment (FDI) to Cambodia.
“That was all discussed as a broad brush, whether touching on real estate, law, tax, basically what all our different committees do. We also touched on some of the work we've done promoting Cambodia abroad for more foreign direct investment, [such as] when we've been to the United States and Washington, D.C., and the promotion of trying to get GSP (Generalised System of Preference) renewed, which also would benefit the manufacturing sector here,” Barta added.
Promoting Investment In Sihanoukville In 2024
One of the topics the delegation covered during the meeting was on the investment potential of Sihanoukville for industries, real estate, and tourism. The meeting took place right after the Cambodian government released its ‘Special Investment Promotion Program in Sihanoukville 2024’ at the end of January, which includes a range of measures to help address the ongoing problem of unfinished buildings, and also details incentives and opportunities for construction and non-construction investment activities in the coastal province.
For this reason, a large part of the discussion on Sihanoukville surrounded the introduction of new regulation and policy, O’Sullivan told B2B Cambodia.
“The Real Estate and Construction committee at AmCham are really supportive of what the Cambodian government is introducing into the market, we think it's the perfect time to introduce policies and regulation given the market is going through a slowdown at the moment and there's a correction taking place in the market,” added O’Sullivan.
He stated that the new investment promotion program aligns with what the AmCham Real Estate and Construction Committee have been pushing for in terms of shedding light on the investment opportunities in Sihanoukville while working in close partnership with the Sihanoukville Deputy Governor, Long Dimanche.
He noted the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway, deep sea port and special economic zones as features that already attract companies to Sihanoukville, but added that new government incentives and measures will definitely have a further positive impact on FDI inflows to the coastal province and Cambodia as a whole.
The impact of better regulation, better policy in real estate, but probably in every market or area of business, is that it further attracts foreign direct investment.
“We've seen early movers invest in the Cambodian market, particularly the Cambodian real estate market, but as you add more regulation, it becomes, I guess, safer, and the bigger multinational companies will start to get more confident in the Cambodian market so we can start to see more FDI come into the country," O'Sullivan added.
Cambodia As A ‘Plus One’ Destination In The Regional Supply Chain And Attracting U.S. Tech Companies
Another key area discussed during the meeting was on promoting Cambodia as a ‘Plus One’ destination to attract investment from companies who are already established in other countries in the region and to support existing supply chains, particularly in manufacturing.
Barta told B2B Cambodia:
One of the things that was expressed was the desire to also look at Cambodia as a Plus One destination, so where you have U.S. operations in Thailand or Vietnam, they can move part of that supply chain here to create jobs and opportunities here as well, it seems like [the government] Would be very open and welcoming to that.
Facilitating the entry of larger U.S. tech companies into Cambodia, and exploring the possibility of establishing a U.S. tech-based industrial park or zone was also described as an interest for both parties, particularly as AmCham has accessibility to both members and non-members alike in the U.S. tech industry.
“Certainly there's an interest in getting perhaps big U.S. tech companies here, that's something that I think that we’re interested in working on. There’s a lot of momentum in the right direction, we’ve just got to keep going,” said Barta.
Setting The Stage For Future Action
The meeting between AmCham and Prime Minister Hun Sen primarily served as a forum to express mutual interest and commitment in working together and to begin establishing the terms in which AmCham and the government can work together and engage in various activities to promote investment in Cambodia and build a more favourable business environment that meets the needs of the chamber’s members.
“This [meeting] was setting the stage for that kind of work to be done, really through committees and perhaps focus groups to address those specific areas,” said Barta.
“[Holding] a meeting with a broad section of the business community is one thing, but when you get a focus group [or committee] together… who are all professionals in a specific field, they probably have a lot of good input and ideas. So it’s a matter of how we can connect the government to these groups of people who have good ideas and kind of bring that forward.
“[This meeting was] trying to express to the government that we're a resource in many ways, and we represent our membership and their ideas and interests. So how do we tie these things together for a common good purpose? That's really where we were,” he added.
To that effort, the response from the government’s side appeared to be quite encouraging.
“I think what we got back was really a commitment to continue working together and continue to engage with us going forward, as well as further interest in having more foreign direct investment from the United States come in, which is a mutual goal that we're working on. I think it was very helpful, what we’ve communicated back and forth, and the path forward seems very positive,” Barta concluded.