Thailand
Cambodia’s economic freedom down slightly, says Report
Cambodia has been witnessing a five-year decline in its economic freedom, further depressed by score decrease in terms of labour and trade freedom recording a 2.4-point overall loss of economic freedom since 2017 and remains mired in the “Mostly Unfree” category.
Despite this, Royal Academy of Cambodia researcher Hong Vannak insisted that the ranking was “not bad for Cambodia”, and that it was a reasonable reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of Cambodia’s economy.
“Cambodia’s economic freedom score is now 57.1, making its economy the 106th freest in the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom. Ranked 21st among 39 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Cambodia’s overall score is below the regional and world average,” he told Khmer Times, referring to the Index of Economic Freedom released by the Heritage Foundation.
The US-based conservative-leading think tank also revealed that Cambodia has an average economic growth of five percent annually over the past five years despite an economic downturn in 2020.
Under the Paris Agreement in 1991, Cambodia became an open market for Economic Reform. The Kingdom has developed infrastructure to lowering electricity tariffs, and improving national road conditions to attract foreign investors.
“The issue on institutionalisation needs some time to be sorted out, as it needs both human resources and some policies,” he said, adding that, Cambodia has revived new investment laws.
With the EBA agreement and GSP from US market, Cambodia’s economic growth has achieved higher growth in terms of garment and agriculture sector, he said.
Vannak substantiated that the impact of Covid-19 as of December 1 last year has seen some 2,944 deaths, attributing to the pandemic in Cambodia, and the government’s response to the crisis ranking 51st among the countries included in this Index in terms of its stringency.
The economy ontracted by 3.5 percent in 2020. The Kingdom’s 57.1 score puts it squarely in the middle of the Asia-Pacific region, ranking behind Vietnam and Thai-land, but ahead of Laos and Burma. “Cambodia’s score was affected by a decline in the already-low “property rights” category, and decrease in its “fiscal health” and “labour freedom” scores.
“In general, the country performed well on overall indications of economic health, but poorly on regulatory efficiency and rule of law categories,” he said.
Reports also showed that the government put forth new regulations and economic policies without consulting the business community with Chinese state-owned enterprises receiving preferential treatment.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501025759/cambodias-economic-freedom-down-slightly-says-report/