Cambodia Property News Round-up | May 08th, 2020
CBRE Cambodia is delighted to present our Weekly Property News Round-up for May 08th, 2020.
Thai CP Group to Open 7-Eleven Stores in Cambodia in 2021
Nikkei Asian Review – May 07th, 2020
7-Eleven convenience stores are finally arriving in Cambodia in 2021, said Charoen Pokphand Group, a Thailand conglomerate and operator of Seven-Eleven stores in Thailand. The announcement was made on Thursday, May 7th 2020. The franchise agreement was signed between the U.S unit of Seven-Eleven and a Cambodian subsidiary of Thailand-listed CP ALL, CP Group’s retail unit. The new establishments in Cambodia will mainly concentrate on groceries while offering bank-related payment and delivery services. As of March 2020, Seven-Eleven total stores has reached 70,678 worldwide. The corporate is currently planning to expand into the Indian market by the end of this year.
Chinese Company Proposes USD160 Million Parking Garage on Phnom Penh Outskirts
Construction Property – May 06th, 2020
A modern parking garage notion is planning to be introduced to the Cambodian’s government by China Good Cars Holding Ltd. The investment capital estimated to cost USD160 million. The project shells under one purpose, to reduce traffic congestion in Phnom Penh. The first phase of the development is set to locate in the outskirt area of the city while expanding the inner city parking space. The second phase will offer modern public bus service along the national road, which connects the city centre to the outpost.
CBRE: Office Rental Rates on Downward Trend From Q2
Construction Property – May 01st, 2020
Despite the sturdy first quarter occupancy rate, the second quarter is experiencing a decline. The same reaction also noted in the office rental rates, begins to decline toward the end of the year. However, the declining trend of office rents is expecting to reverse the increasing supply of new office space which saw a stagnated trend earlier this year. With high supply expectancy, comes high vacancy rates. This is likely to result in rental prices reduction, in response to the high market competition.
Foreign Arrivals Drop by 38 Percent in Q1
AKP – May 04th, 2020
Pressured by the pandemic, the volume of foreign tourist arrivals to Cambodia witnessed a sharp downward adjustment of 38 per cent during the first quarter of 2020. According to the latest report published by the Ministry of Tourism, only some 1.15 million foreign visitors toured Cambodia in this period. With Chinese tourists as the highest contribution in the tourism sector, the first quarter observed a 62 per cent drop, down to 259,732. Meanwhile, the Cambodia outbound tourists volume also experienced a downward adjustment of 32 per cent, now at 308,350.
Co-Working Business Spaces Struggle During Corona Virus Pandemic
Khmer Times – May 06th, 2020
Coworking space owners have voiced concern over the prolonged health crisis. Ms Chea Mara, general manager of co-working space Emerald Hub said that she has perceived descending figure of some micro-businesses. Many have halted their business, while some have moved on to work from home. Phalang Phalla, a co-founder of Buyloy.com – a local tech start-up e-commerce platform, is currently operating as normal at the Emerald Hub. However, he noted that the sale revenue during the pandemic has dipped by 20 to 30 per cent. A representative at the Factory Phnom Penh also revealed that a large number of the members has requested to work from home.
Aviators Gradually Resume Flights In and Out of Nation
Khmer Times – May 05th, 2020
Flights to Cambodia’s international airports is gradually resumed this month. However, those flights shall oblige under strict biosecurity guidelines. Cambodia Angkor Air, China Air and Eva Air have revived flight routes to Phnom Penh International Airport. Other major airlines such as Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Emirates have scheduled to resume their flight routes to Cambodia in June and July this year.
All is not Well in the Garment Sector as Exports Drop by 50 Per Cent in Second Trimester
Khmer Times – April 30th, 2020
The export volume of garment and footwear products during the first quarter of 2020 is expecting to witness a fallback by 50 to 60 per cent. According to the update presented by H.E. Heng Suor, Spokesperson and Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, during the first quarter, the export from the industry only touched 80 per cent of last year volume of the same period. The pandemic started its widespread in the European Union and the United States of America, Cambodia’s biggest exports markets. From mid to late April, some 10 factories suspended their productions in response to the pandemic, concerned over 6,000 jobs. Between January to March, some 130 factories were suspended, affected circa 100,000 workers.
Kingdom-VN Trade Hits USD732 Million in Q1
The Phnom Penh Post – April 30th, 2020
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Vietnam has entered a large volume of USD732.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, equivalent to 15.2 per cent hike compared to the same period last year. The report announced by the Ministry of Commerce revealed Cambodia exports at USD62.5 million in the first quarter, 0.28 per cent dwindled y-o-y. However, Cambodia imported USD669.9 million, up by nearly 17 per cent. In January, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh stated that total trade volume between the two countries amounted USD5.2 billion annually. The total trade volume between the two counties reached USD4.704 billion in 2018, increased by 23.8 per cent from 2017, said Minh. He proceeded that there are currently 214 registered Vietnamese projects in the Kingdom, worth a total investment of USD3.074 billion.
See also our previous weekly news round-up:
April 17th | April 10th | April 3rd | March 27th | March 20th