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Thai, Cambodian troops clash near disputed temple

Friday, April 03, 2009

Thai, Cambodian troops clash near disputed temple
<http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2009/04/thai-cambodian-troops-clash-near.html>

Fri, Apr 03, 2009
By Ek Madra
Reuters

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged rocket and
rifle fire on a disputed stretch of their border on Friday, killing one
Thai in the latest flare-up of an ancient feud over a 900-year-old Hindu
temple.

Both sides accused each other of firing first in two separate clashes
near the Preah Vihear temple, which is claimed by both Southeast Asian
nations and saw an armed stand-off last year.

One Thai soldier died from a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Cambodian
troops when fighting resumed after midday talks between the border
commanders failed.

Seven Thai soldiers were also wounded in the second battle, Wiboonsak
Neepan, commander of Thailand's Second Army, told Reuters.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said he
had received reports of two Cambodian soldiers killed in the initial
fighting this morning, but it was not confirmed.

Cambodian officials claimed two Thais died in the morning clash.
Thailand said no one was hurt then and it planned to lodge a formal
protest with the Cambodian government.

The latest fighting comes a day after a Thai soldier lost a leg when he
stepped on a land mine in an area claimed by Thailand.

A Thai patrol visited the blast site on Friday morning and encountered
20 Cambodian soldiers.

"After talks between the two sides failed, the Cambodian side started to
walk away and turned back to open fire at Thai troops with rifles and
RPG rockets, forcing the Thai side to fire back in self-defense,"
Thailand's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand, sits on an
escarpment that forms the natural border between the two countries and
has been a source of tension for generations.

The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but
the ruling did not determine the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq
km) of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.

Tensions rose last month when 100 Thai troops crossed into a disputed
area near the temple and were stopped by Cambodian soldiers, but no
fighting occurred.

The border had been quiet for months while the Southeast Asian neighbors
sought to jointly demarcate the jungle-clad area where one Thai and
three Cambodian soldiers died in last October's exchange of rifle and
rocket fire.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander, warned
this week that his soldiers would fight if Thai troops crossed the
disputed border again.

The site is 600 km (370 miles) east of Bangkok and only a decade ago was
controlled by remnants of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrilla army.

Few foreign visitors go there, although both countries have said they
would like to develop the area as a tourist destination.

The Cambodia-Thailand Joint Border Committee will meet again on Sunday
for three days of talks in the Cambodian resort town of Siem Reap to try
to find a solution to the row.

Port traffic down by as much as 30% this year

<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfePddjfqXRdbfpVHbHmOcor_H_7Vvb9_jyxCQdmk5igfuMKcrCgQKTMA7Quq3x6WbgBVimrKy0NEIfiGTUnTcPWGhqFnQqdT7ST3-3KUCDUARPrjXpBNvvUVXQCQFtonP5oER7fSFG3Hh/s1600-h/Freight+ship+in+PPenh+Port+%28Bloomberg%29.jpg>A
freight ship docks at the Phnom Penh Port awaiting a consignment of
cargo in this file photo. A global slowdown in trade has hit heavily
Cambodia's two main shipping terminals. (Photo: Bloomberg)

Thursday, 05 March 2009
Written by May Kunmakara and George Mcleod
The Phnom Penh Post

30% drop in throughput at Phnom Penh Port
Cambodia's second largest container port has been affected more
heavily than Sihanoukville by the global economic crisis during the
first two months of this year

Global downturn hits trade, with flagging construction imports
accounting for the bulk of the losses since January

CARGO shipments at Cambodia's second-largest port have declined sharply
in the first two months of the year as global trade slows, say port
authorities, adding that hundreds of jobs have also been axed in the
downturn.

The Phnom Penh International Autonomous Sea Port reports a 30 percent
drop in throughput, largely due to falling imports of construction
materials, officials told the Post Wednesday.

"The decline is caused by the global financial storm that started to hit
at the end of last year. This affected not only our ports, but also
others in the region," said Hei Bavy, director general of the Phnom Penh
port.

He said that about 90 percent of goods crossing through the docks are
construction materials. With many of the country's construction projects
stopping or on hold, the port says shipments are in free fall.

"Developers are suspending their imports because they face the credit
crunch," he said, adding that staff had been cut from 700 to 400.

"I do plan to cut more staff, but I have reduced salaries to prevent
more layoffs," Hei Bavy said.

He added that the company is also instituting across-the-board cost cuts
to prevent further job losses.

"This affected not only our ports, but also others in the region"

Port traffic is falling globally, with Asia bearing the brunt of the
international trade slowdown. Singapore, the world's largest container
port, said container traffic was down 20 percent, and Shanghai, the
world's second biggest, down 19 percent, according to Bloomberg.

Cambodia's ports are reporting similar troubles, with officials blaming
not only a slowdown in the construction sector, but flagging overseas
garment sales as well.

The Finance Ministry in February reported a two-percent drop in garment
exports at the beginning of the year.

Lou Kim Chhun, director general of Sihanoukville International
Autonomous Port, told the Post Wednesday that he is waiting on figures
for February, but that container shipments were down 20 percent due to
the economic slowdown.

"The crisis has impacted our port revenue, which will hurt the
government's tariff and tax income," Lou Kim Chhun earlier told Rasmey
Kampuchea.

Hei Bavy said that the export of agricultural goods have been one bright
spot for the Phnom Penh Port.

"Agricultural exports have been stable, but I expect the crisis to
affect us for a long time," he said, adding that Cambodians should rely
more on domestically produced goods.

"If our people stop using imported products, it will support local
businesses. The crisis could drain our national wealth if people keep
buying foreign goods."

Deficit a risky business during global crisis

Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Written by George McLeod
The Phnom Penh Post

"Cambodia's trade deficit has increased steadily in the past decade
as imports have soared. In 1998, the country recorded a $364 million
trade deficit that has grown each year since except in 2001 and
2003, years that saw a slight dip, National Bank of Cambodia figures
show. In 2006, the deficit for the year climbed to over $1 billion
for the first time at $1.034 billion and since then has escalated at
an increasing rate. In 2007, the deficit was $1.331 billion jumping
to $1.852 billion last year, according to central bank estimates, as
imports reached $11.47 billion." - Steve Finch

Emerging markets expert Vanessa Rossi of Chatham House, the UK's Royal
Institute of International Affairs, warns Cambodia may require a bailout
due to a rising accounts deficit

Asian leaders maintain that the region is in better shape than other
areas of the world. Do you believe that Asia will escape the worst
effects of the crisis?
Asia has two major problems - current accounts deficits are rising and
trade is in decline.... Over the next six months or so, countries with
current accounts deficits will run into problems.... The second issue is
trade. Trade is falling quickly, and Asia has a high percentage of
exports to GDP - with Western demand falling, this is going to hit Asian
countries hard.

The National Bank of Cambodia said the current accounts deficit may rise
from 11.2 percent of GDP in 2008 to 12.1 percent in 2009. Should that
raise concerns?
That rings bells, and it shows that this is not a regional problem - it
is a problem within certain pockets in Asia. Most Asian countries have
[current accounts] surpluses and large foreign exchange reserves, so
they are not as vulnerable to the problems that were seen during the
Asian crisis. But there are some specific spots that are exposed, and
Cambodia is one of them. Cambodia will find it very difficult to fund
these kinds of deficits with private sector capital flows.

"Its worrying, especially with the cambodian central bank coming out
with those figures."

[Investment] has been buoyant in recent years but this year it is
disappearing very fast. Neighbouring Vietnam had similar problems....
It's worrying, especially with the Cambodian central bank coming out
with those figures ... and it might require an eventual IMF bailout.

Running a deficit
Cambodia's current account balance year-on-year:

* 2007: -8.2 percent of GDP
* 2008: -11.2 pc of GDP (E)
* 2009: -12.1 pc of GDP (F)

E-estimate F-forecast
Source: National Bank of Cambodia

What are the options available to Cambodia?
Depending on the scale of the foreign-debt buildup, one of the options
is to be discussing this with the IMF - a number of countries are
already taking pre-emptive action in talking to the IMF about
assistance, possibly the same with the World Bank, to try to be able to
tide over these capital flows.

Other policies to be considered would cut back the import bill because
you very rapidly need to reduce the trade deficit, so the government may
have to impose some kind of trade restrictions, unpopular even if they are.

Cambodia has run a current accounts deficit for years. Why is it only a
problem now?
Because if you have a deficit, you have to have a counterpart to pay for
it, so you have to have capital inflows that cover this, otherwise the
country runs out of foreign exchange reserves. And you have a balance of
payments crisis. In recent years, there have been very buoyant capital
flows, and investment coming into emerging economies. But unfortunately
with this crisis, many of these flows have not just disappeared, but
they have actually reversed. In this case, it will be very difficult to
get those flows to match continuing trade and current accounts deficits.
So the implications are quite severe.

How long can Cambodia hold on before it needs an IMF bailout?
If you look at the foreign exchange reserves, you can see how many
months of cover the country has.

I think most countries aim to have something like five or six months of
cover to protect themselves, but if you start to run this down, you face
an escalating problem of confidence in your economy.

The central banks need to be very attentive to how much reserves they
have, and not just to use up these reserves but they need to take
pre-emptive measures before they get down to two or three months.

Economist Niall Ferguson predicted that Asian economies could fare worse
than the US. How do you respond to that?
Well, there are pockets in Asia that will have to be extremely careful -
Singapore is already announcing a very big loss of GDP and there are
some very serious problems in northeast Asia with Taiwan, Korea and
Japan likely to be far worse than the US. And, of course, there are
pockets like Cambodia and Vietnam that may not be able to resist the
financial problems, as well as the trade problems. In that sense, it's
quite possible, and quite ironic, that the crisis originated in the US,
but may hit hardest in other regions.

I think that many people realise that this wasn't just a US financial
problem, there are genuinely difficulties with the debt situation that
has built up in other areas of the world. Its not the housing market
that's the biggest problem in Cambodia, but certainly this buildup of
external debt and a dependence on capital flows is a huge risk.

Kingdom's banks at risk: IMF

<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglt_xRwq3mvAOxz_7jAkm2UjG_KgjYvv5rlW7-vAoonQpb5a2njAmM3nYUXU7s0hEUtm0wenOjs9QBevP6vInZIdEw_cyJzVmz2T-8PFTlF5Mla5mv_8s3NNdQuvR6e1cn4e_O701z3lk/s1600-h/Bank+teller+with+money+%28PPP%29.jpg>More
oversight is needed if Cambodian banks are to weather the storm, says an
IMF report. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)
<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts8Yxc-u0Ye1E-SsYxEGBtQadmCV_ihRzPBbc_C02fUrCjJBVMGB29fDOAD58MP-EgCDyi_dg1k5qy0KEiCM6CAzOOhyphenhyphenVDI9pCwlzfajzDOOCppjzIGn-JVEpJmgA31wxAY5BD1cCu1E/s1600-h/Deposit+and+credit+growth.jpg>Thursday,
12 February 2009
Written by George McLeod
The Phnom Penh Post

Nonperforming loans could soar to 13 percent and reserves fall below
limits if deposits and foreign capital continue to shrink, says new report

Cambodia's banks are under threat from rising nonperforming loans, slow
deposit growth and low liquidity, according to an International Monetary
Fund report released this week.

If the situation deteriorates, some banks could be unable to meet the
government's minimum capital requirements, the report says.

"The global financial crisis has exposed vulnerabilities among
Cambodia's banks and is beginning to affect their financial soundness,"
it says.

The annual economic review adds that poor compliance with reporting
rules could mean Cambodian banks are even worse off than thought.

The IMF assessment adds to warnings that the global financial crisis is
spreading to Cambodia's banking industry - a sector that until recently
was seen as a pillar of stability amidst falling garment exports and
dwindling tourist arrivals.

It follows last week's annual World Bank report that also raised
concerns about the Cambodian financial sector.

More supervision needed

The IMF's resident representative for Cambodia said the report
highlighted the risks that Cambodian banks face in 2009 but did not
serve as a negative forecast for the sector.

But John Nelmes told the Post Wednesday the report was a warning the
National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) needed to watch closely the sector in 2009.

"There is a real need for the NBC to supervise these banks," he said.

"[The NBC] has got to be the first line of defence. ... In that sense,
that's where we really need to see careful work. The NBC has to increase
surveillance of the banking sector," he said. He added that the IMF
noted improvements in NBC monitoring last year.

Nelmes stressed that although liquidity was a growing concern and local
banks faced the double hit of falling deposits and declining foreign
capital, the IMF did not "expect [Cambodian] banks to run into trouble
[in 2009]".

"There is a real need for the national bank ... to supervise these
banks."

The report says liquidity shortages have arisen at some banks. "In
response, banks have been raising deposit rates, drawing excess reserves
and, in a few cases, borrowing from abroad," it says.

An extreme scenario illustrated by the IMF shows non-performing loans
rising to a startling 13 percent, with six banks falling short of the
government's risk-weighted capital ratio of 15 percent.

Falling property prices have also put pressure on the sector, the report
says. "Large withdrawals have reportedly been made by firms concentrated
in the property sector, notably Korean-owned banks."

John Brinsden, vice chairman of ACLEDA Bank, said his bank's deposits
have been stable.

"I think that liquidity is very tight [in the banking sector as a
whole], and deposits have fallen by about one-sixth ... ACLEDA's
deposits have remained steady." ACLEDA is one of the few banks that has
expanded recently by increasing its ATM coverage and launching new
branches in Laos.

Both the IMF and World Bank warned that a number of banks were
especially at risk.

The IMF report says "several large [banks] could face a large
deterioration in credit quality and a need for recapitalisation,
depending on the magnitude of the current slowdown".

The World Bank report mentions "two large banks" being at risk from
nonperforming loans.

Spokesmen for the IMF and the World Bank would not name the banks in
question, but industry sources have identified Canadia and Vattanac Bank
as of particular concern.

"These banks are believed to be overexposed to the property sector," one
anonymous source said. "We are also watching a couple of others."

But Charles Vann, deputy general manager of Canadia Bank, said finances
remained solid. "These are just rumours. As far as I know, Canadia's
finances remain strong."

He said that the bank's liquidity and deposits been steady over the past
three months.

Vattanac Bank would not respond to requests for comment.

Tourist sector calls for help

10 Feb 2009
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French
<http://www.cambodgesoir.info/content.php?itemid=35460&p=>

Representatives of the working group from the tourism private sector and
officials from the ministry of Tourism will meet each other on Thursday
12 February, to stimulate a restart in tourist activities which were hit
hard in 2008 from the worldwide economic crisis.

Ho Vandy, the former president of the Association of tourist agencies in
Cambodia, declared that the private tourist sector will submit several
proposals to the ministry, and that it hopes that the ministry will take
them into serious consideration.

The private sector's proposals mainly point to a lowering price of the
"tourist package," such as, lower cost for airfare, lower access fee to
tourist sites managed by private companies, lower hotel cost, as well as
lower visa fee. "We want to offer a special tourist package to face the
crisis period," Ho Vandy said. "If the government accepts it, we hope to
pull up the tourist sector," he indicated.

Since the crisis affected the tourist sector in Cambodia, people
involved in this sector are complaining about a significant loss of
revenue. Each year, Cambodia welcomes more than 2 million visitors who
spend more than $1.4 billion. In 2008, the number of visitors increased
only by 5%, this is much lower that the 17% growth recorded in 2007.

Angered Workers Torch Korean Boss’s Car

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
/28 October 2008/

Khmer audio aired 28 October 2008 (883 KB) - Download (MP3) audio clip
<http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/khmer/2008_10/Audio/Mp3/081028_HR_Angered_Workers.Mp3>

A group of construction workers attacked the offices of the Camko City
development on the outskirts of Phnom Penh Monday night, lighting a car
on fire and throwing stones through the windows of the offices,
officials and workers said.

The angered workers are part of a workforce of more than 1,000 people
who went on strike Monday, claiming they were owed wages for the month
of October.

"The workers are angry enough to burn cars and throw stones because the
person who is in charge of the wages told them a lie," Ham Samnang, a
construction worker, said. "They promised to pay them by the 24^th . Now
it is the 27^th ."

Workers had no more money and were starving, he said, in addition to
owing rent.

The workers earn between $80 and $150 per month, he said.

A group of the striking workers gathered inside the compound of Camko
City Co. Monday and attacked the car of the company's South Korean
general manager.

Company officials declined to comment Tuesday, but Lim Samnang, an
advisor of administration at Camko City, said the company had erred by
not paying the workers on time.

The company usually pays its workers before the 25^th of the month, he
said, but the payment is currently late by two days.

Police said no workers were arrested during the demonstration. Camko
City is a South Korean investment of $2 billion developing 119 hectares
of commercial and residential areas in Phnom Penh's Russey Keo district.

Sok Sovanareth, president of the Cambodian National Federation of
Building and Wood Workers, said Tuesday the company should pay its
workers on time to avoid violence.