Office of the Council of Ministers
No. 433 Sar Chor Nar
ON THE
FORUM HELD ON FEBRUARY 28,2002
On February 28, 2002 at 8:30 the Fifth Royal Government - Private Sector Forum was held at the Inter-Continental Hotel under the high patronage of Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen. The meeting was considered as a plenary session of the Council of Ministers. Attending the Forum were members of the Royal Government of Cambodia, provincial/municipal governors, competent institutions, ambassadors to the Kingdom of Cambodia, neak oknhas, and national and international investors. The Forum focused especially on reviewing and resolving issues of concerns of investors in Cambodia.
The Royal Government, after discussions with the participants, hereby decided as follows:
1. Strengthen the development of industrial sectors such as garments, toys and footwear;
2. Promote the development of agro-industries through the enforcement of legal framework for the management of long-term land concession and encourage the establishment of agricultural processing factories such as processing of cottons, palms oil, cashews nut, sugar, rubber, potatoes and other fruits;
3. Promote the development of industrial sectors processing natural resources with special focus on the processing of local existing natural resources such as fisheries, meat, cement, bricks, roofing tiles, and floor coverings using technology and sustainable resources;
4. Improve the development of small and medium enterprises, small industries and handicrafts through the strengthening of micro-finance, streamlining of procedures, market access and production technology, managerial training, and provision of information on sectoral development;
5. Encourage the transfer of technologies so as to expand the export production base namely assembly and quality improvement of household and industrial electrical and electronic products. For that purpose there shall be established a quality control system which meets international standards for export and the enforcement of intellectual property laws;
6. Establish processing and industrial zones for export by setting up proper infrastructure networks and necessary high quality services conducive to promoting investment. Such zones shall be established at the outskirts of Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanoukville and along the border in Banteay Meanchey, Koh Kong, and Pailin. The government shall be responsible for infrastructure building like road construction, the provision of public Cities like electricity, water, waste and environmental management, provisions of educational and professional training, improvement health care services, construction of Warehouses streamlining and facilitation of customs matters, etc.;
7. Encourage the production for domestic use as a substitute for imported products through the development of a paper industry and some selected chemical industries - processing of agriculture fertilizer and acid - and manufacture of daily consumption products such as soap, paint, electric device, pumping water, agricultural equipment, etc.;
8. All relevant ministries and institutions shall collaborate to implement in an effective manner the Government Likhet Banhchea (Directive) No. 02 BB of December 19, 2001 regarding the Measures to Enhance Efficiency of the Prevention and Suppression of Smuggling Activities as well as dismantle illegal checkpoints;
9. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), and all relevant ministries/ institutions shall review the enforcement of “one stump-two tips” policy for all investment enterprises when reviewing the amendments of the Law on Investment. This policy implies that import duties on machineries, materials, equipments, and raw materials for production purposes shall be borne by the State without taking into account the previous rule of 80% for export. Finished products destined for export shall be tax exempted while those destined for local consumption shall be subject to existing tax obligations;
10. In addition to MEF. Prakas No. 303 which exempted the VAT on certain imported goods to serve the agriculture sector, MEF and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) shall review the possibility of granting, incentives for import with the government bearing the cost of the VAT and the import duties on machineries such as dryers, seeds selection machines, agriculture sorting machines, international standard rice-milling equipment, pesticides. This policy will contribute to the improvement of agriculture products so as to meet international requirements for the purpose of both market access and also for the development of the agriculture sector;
11. The MEF, the Department of Customs and Excise, and the SGS shall jointly review the PSI of investment companies on agriculture;
12. Further expand the open gateways policy - both road and water - in addition to the existing open sky policy so as to improve and expand the tourism industry;
13. The Ministry of Tourism and the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation (SSCA) shall look into the possibility of establishing three associations - hotel, tourist transportation, and aviation - to facilitate relation and increase quality services to attract tourists;
14. Within one month from February 28th, 2002, the APSARA Authority shall determine the sites for building toilet facilities within the Angkor areas according to the number specified and report to Samdech Prime Minister;
15. There shall be established an Ad hoc commission to monitor the high costs on loading and transporting goods at the Sihanoukville port, especially to focus on unofficial expenditures without invoices;
Meantime, investment enterprises and import-export companies shall strictly conduct and investigate their respective public relation agents/staffs to avoid blame on civil servants;
16. Royal Government welcomes the privatization and the investment on railways through B.O.T scheme;
17. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) shall conduct inspection of transport vehicles at all main roads to ensure proper compliance with laws and regulations on road usage and road weight.
18. The Office of the Council of Ministers shall cooperate with the SSCA to develop and expand, as soon as possible, the Siem Reap Airport in order to accommodate more landings from other countries like Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea,
Taipei, etc.;
19. The Working Group in charge of Banking and Finance and the Supreme National Economic Council shall review the “Rielization” policy and its impacts on the national economy by taking into account the economic efficiency for the circulation of various currencies in the Cambodian market;
The Chinese Yuan has been authorized free circulation in the Cambodian market in order to facilitate tourist spending and attract more Chinese tourists to Cambodia;
20. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation shall seek for proper procedures to encourage employers and employees to be tolerant and accommodating by implementing the Labor Law in order to avoid strike or demonstration which will affect the interests of both employers and employees;
21. The MEF, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, and the CDC shall continue to implement all necessary measures aiming at reducing bureaucracy by streamlining procedures so as to facilitate the investment enterprises.
Upon receipt of this Notice, all concerned ministries, institutions, provincial and municipal administrations shall collaborate within their respective competence to effectively implement this notice.
Sr. Minister
CC: Minister in charge of the Office of the
Council of Ministers
- Ministry of the Royal Palace Signed and Sealed Sok An
- Secretariat General of the Senate
- Secretariat General of the National Assembly
- All Ministries, Institutions
- All CDC's members
- Royal Government General Secretariat
- Cabinet of Samdech Prime Minister
- Cabinet of Co-Deputy Prime Ministers
- All provincial and municipal administrations.
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