Annual CEO & Entrepreneur Summit 2026 Spotlights Cambodia as an Ideal Investment Destination for Asia and Beyond
AKP Phnom Penh, January 22, 2026
The Annual CEO & Entrepreneur Summit 2026 kicked off at the SUN & MOON Riverside Hotel in Phnom Penh on January 22, 2026, bringing together business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the region and beyond to explore investment opportunities, direct business matching, and industrial partnerships in Cambodia.
Opening the summit, H.E. Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, highlighted Cambodia’s growing role as a competitive manufacturing and investment hub amid regional supply-chain reconfiguration, emphasising the country’s focus on resilience, sustainability, and higher-value production.
“Cambodia today stands at an important stage of its economic transformation. Our development trajectory is guided by political stability, sound microeconomic management and a clear commitment to private sector led growth, particularly in manufacturing, industrial operating and green investment, guided by the government and technical strategy,” he said.
He also remarked on growing investor confidence in Cambodia, as evidenced by the record USD 10 billion in investment capital Cambodia accrued in 2025.
“This achievement reflects growing investor confidence, not only in Cambodia's incentive regime, but also in our policy predictability, reform momentum, and long-term growth prospects,” the Minister added.
As of December 2025, the country had 3,083 factories nationwide – an increase of 658 year on year – forming an increasingly diversified industrial base spanning garments and footwear, agro-processing, electronics, supporting industries, construction materials, and emerging technology-enabled manufacturing.
Minister Vanndy also pointed to strengthened production fundamentals, including in clean energy, noting that over 62 per cent of Cambodia’s electricity generation now comes from renewable sources.
“For manufacturers, this transition is not only about environmental responsibility—it directly supports cost stability, supply-chain resilience, ESG compliance, and buyer requirements,” he said, adding that the government is actively promoting energy efficiency, cleaner production, and access to green financing.
Cambodia’s strategic location at the heart of ASEAN provides investors access to a regional and global markets through AFTA, RCEP, bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, supported by continued investments in infrastructure, logistics corridors, special economic zones, and industrial parks.
Minister Vanndy invited foreign investors to form concrete partnerships with Cambodian enterprises, particularly SMEs ready to scale and integrate into regional and global value chains.
