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Cambodia: Vehicle assembly investments roll into Kingdom
At least five investment projects on vehicle assembly have been approved and the constructions are set to be completed soon in Cambodia.
With this, the number of vehicle assembly factories in Cambodia will go up to nine, three of which are already operational, said Soeun Dara, executive director of the Cambodia Automotive Industry Federation.
The three auto assembly factories already in operation are Hyundai located in Koh Kong province, Daehan in Bavet city, Svay Rieng province, and RMA Cambodia’s Ford in Pursat province.
Cambodia’s Isuzu factory located in Kampong Speu province has completed its facility construction and is about to inaugurate operation soon, he said.
The other five companies are HGB Motor Assembly, EM Automotive, GTV Motor, Toyota, and China Matrix Technology Group, which have already been approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia, he said.
“The new factories will create more jobs for local people,” Dara said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has encouraged the training of technical experts in response to large industrial investments using high technology, as Cambodia is gaining access to electrical components, and vehicle assembly plants.
The Prime Minister said earlier this week that currently there are many vehicle assembly companies in Cambodia, including Ford, Hyundai and in the future Toyota in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone.
“Some German companies have also unveiled their business plan to expand the business of vehicle assembly factories in Cambodia. I welcome them but at the same time, we have to pursue more sophisticated skills development and increase the number of technical experts to feed cutting-edge investment,” the Premier said.
In late 2021, Cambodia introduced a new investment law to increase the country’s competitiveness for foreign investors by modernizing local industries and protecting the rights of investors.
Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, attributed the new investment inflow to the stability and peace of the country, particularly the effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With new investment law, trade preference schemes under the FTAs and RCEP, investors are interested to come and invest in Cambodia as the country has a huge market for export,” Heng told Khmer Times.