Economic expansion of Cambodia; an opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs

12 May 2014

The retail marketing business in Cambodia has been growing at approximately 8% a year for the last 10 years and is expected to increase by 7.5% a year from 2014-2018. This economic expansion and greater purchasing power of Cambodians, is seen as presenting great opportunities to Thai entrepreneurs wanting to invest in retail business and modern forms of trade and marketing. There are huge opportunities for investment in Cambodia in new concept businesses, supermarkets, discount stores and mini marts. Interesting cities for investment are Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The capital Phnom Penh is highly populated, and its people have better purchasing power than elsewhere. However, Siem Reap is the most popular city for tourism. It attracts approximately 2.2 million tourists a year because of its position next to Angkor Wat and as such is likely to increase in size and activity. One real advantage for Thai products is that Cambodians prefer them to similar Chinese goods. Higher-income Cambodians love to visit big shopping malls and often come to Thailand to follow trends in fashion. Familiar companies operating in Thailand such as KFC, Swensen’s, Burger King and Black Canyon have expanded their shops or restaurants into Cambodia. CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the world's leading real estate agency reports that the retail space renting rate is USD20-32/sq.m. in Phnom Penh.   Many countries are interested in investing in this city. However, all investors need to consider the limitations of the country as well, such as the undeveloped transportation system, which might cause delays and damage during product shipping.

Source:

http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNRPT5705080010001