Cambodia and the Philippines are searching for ways to extend mutual trade and investment following the recent visit of the Filipino leader to the Kingdom.
Kith Meng, president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on the sidelines of his two-day state visit to the Kingdom, based on CCC Vice President Lim Heng.
“During the meeting, the two sides discussed increasing mutual investment between Cambodia and the Philippines,” Mr. Heng said yesterday.
The meeting also pushed the 2 sides to higher understand one another, Heng said, adding that Duterte wants to fulfill members of Cambodia’s private sector to indicate them potential investment sectors in his country.
“We are in the same Asian community. We want Filipino investors to come here because we have a favorable tax-free status in markets including the EU and America,” he said. “So that they will see this helpful aspect of Cambodia.
“For the Philippines, we want to look for opportunities and know what sectors our investors should invest in there.”
The two sides also discussed making it easier to transfer money in and in another country and certain legal procedures, Heng said, adding that this was just the start. They agreed to carry more meetings with the private sector and government leaders within the near future.
“We have not yet seen potential investment sectors in the Philippines. But he has suggested the agriculture, real estate and construction sectors and if we go, he will support us,” Heng said.
Both sides also discussed a direct flight from the Philippines to Phnom Penh – added the president of CCC.
Philippine media quoted Wanda Teo, the Philippine tourism secretary, as saying that direct flights between the 2 countries could possibly offset the variety of Cambodian tourists visiting the Philippines.
According to Ms. Teo, only 2,000 to three,000 Cambodians visit the Philippines annually, in comparison with 70,000 Filipinos who visit the Kingdom annually.
Ms Teo said she was working with airlines to launch direct flights to Phnom Penh. Budget airline Cebu Pacific now offers direct flights from Manila to Siem Reap, home to the world-famous Angkor Archaeological Park.
Cambodia Airlines was first unveiled in April 2013 as a three way partnership between Philippine Airlines (PAL), controlled by San Miguel Corporation from 2012 to 2014, and Royal Group.
Both shareholders announced that they plan to introduce a brand new carrier to the domestic market in June this 12 months.
Last 12 months, a senior aviation official told the Khmer Times that PAL had withdrawn from its planned three way partnership to launch Cambodia Airlines but said Royal Group was searching for a brand new partner.
According to data from Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, some 88,192 tourists from the Philippines visited Cambodia in the primary 10 months of this 12 months, a virtually 30 percent increase from the 67,877 tourists who visited the country through the same period last 12 months.
Duterte ended his visit to Cambodia on Wednesday evening, taking with him agreements signed with Cambodia on transnational crime, labor, sports cooperation and tourism.
