The 8th Cambodia- Japan Public-Private Sector Meeting

On 29April 2013, the 8^th Cambodia-Japan Public-Private Sector meeting co-chaired by H.E SOK Chenda Sophea, Minister attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the CDC, and H.E Yuji KUMAMARU, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia was held at the Council for the Development of Cambodia headquarter.

Attending the meeting were representatives of Cambodia’s line ministries and agencies and officials from the Embassy of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agencies (JICA), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan Business Association in Cambodia (JBAC), and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). At the opening, H.E SOK Chenda expressed his excitement with the presence of a great number of Japanese investors which proved the increasing significance and relevance of the meeting. On the other hand, H.E Kumamaru, in his opening speech, hailed the concerted effort of the CDC in attracting Japanese investors in the past few years, but stressed that Cambodia had to work harder to retain the existing investors by trying to response to their needs.

The meeting is a mechanism to engage Cambodian officials on matter of concerns for Japanese investors. The eighth meeting focused on (1) the corporate tax exemption for additional investment, (2) prospect of electricity tariffs and supply, (3) introduction of advance ruling system on tariff classification, and (4) tariff schedules of the Government service fees. The meeting also brought up new issues for discussion and future consideration such as labour management, procedures for approval of import of some particular items, etc.

The meeting ended at 5:00 PM in a friendly atmosphere and both sides agreed to continue their efforts in assisting the Japanese investors in Cambodia.