Cambodia

Economy

For three decades, constant warfare between the incumbent Cambodian government allied to Vietnam and the communist Khmer Rouge resulted in complete economic mayhem. The country’s natural resources became a pawn in the hands of the controlling power and were used wholly and solely for buying arms and ammunition. For example, the income generated from the country’s gem mines and forests were used by the renegade Khmer Rouge faction to fund their war kitty. In the years after the UN brokered peace, the South-Asian economic crisis coupled with drought in 1998, further deteriorated the economic situation of the country.

However, things are beginning to look up with the increasing assistance from external donors, and with the government’s efforts to revitalize the economy. The political stability also played a huge role in helping the economy get back on its feet. From 2004- 2007 the economy grew at the rate of 10% every year, primarily because of the expansion in the garment sector, construction, agriculture, and tourism. The global economic crisis of 2008 slowed down the economic growth and the economy dropped below 7%.

Some facts:

Total GDP: $31.264 billion (2010 est.)

GDP per head: $2,470 (2010 est.)

Annual Growth: 5. 5% (2010 est.)

Inflation: 4.1% (2010 est.)

Major Industries: garments, rubber, cement, gem mining, construction, textiles, tourism, wood, rice milling, timber, shipping, and fishing.

Major Trading partners: Japan, India, Vietnam, U.S.A, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and some of the East European countries.

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Currency

The Riel is the local currency. Cambodia, especially when compared to nearby countries like Thailand and Malaysia, is a very cheap place to travel in. Accommodation is cheap and Food is also inexpensive, though transport- and more particularly long distance travel- tends to be a major expense. If you’re carrying US$, you shouldn’t have much trouble- dollars are widely accepted as are Thai baht and you won’t pay any more than you would if you were paying in riel. On the whole, the country’s a good option if you’re on a shoestring budget- and the widely accepted habit of bargaining for virtually everything and anything makes it even better.

Cambodia has its banks and moneychangers, but only large national banks do foreign currency transactions. Although you’ll find US$ being freely accepted and exchanged, go only to authorised money changers- they’re your best bet.

Foreign currency is not widely accepted and changed in Cambodia- except for US$. When bringing foreign currency into the country, the best you can do is to carry it in the form of cash and not travellers’ cheques- other than the Foreign

Trade Bank in Phnom Penh, there’s hardly anywhere else you can get them encashed, and that too as US$. Credit cards are not accepted everywhere, so don’t bank on them.

Banking hours

Banks generally operate five days a weeks- Monday to Friday, from 8 to 3.30. They’re all closed on public holidays as well.

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Business Guide

Most offices in Cambodia, whether they’re government offices or privately run enterprises, work five days a week, Monday to Friday. Most start work pretty early, around 7.30am and carry on at least till 5pm. Government offices usually have a very long lunch break, stretching from around 11.30am to 2pm; private offices, on the other hand, work very long hours: most remain open till 8 at night.

Most shops and markets open long hours: they open early in the morning and down shutters only late in the evening: many do not have holidays on Sundays or public holidays either.