No license be revoked for developers of SEZs: Cambodian official

Dec 16, 2010

A senior government official said Thursday there is no license revocation for the developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Cambodia despite they have speed down or abandon their zone development since the global financial crisis.

According to the report from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), since 2002, the CDC has granted licenses to 21 SEZs with an estimate of the promised investment of more than 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Those SEZs are located along the borders with Thailand and Vietnam, and on the outskirts of Phnom Penh as well as in Preah Sihanouk province, where the international port is located.

Chea Vuthy, deputy secretary general of the CDC in charge of the Cambodia's SEZs, said that currently among the 21 licensed SEZs, only four are in operations with about 50 investors in the zones, and two are being built.

"Despite most of them suspend or quit their zone development, the government has no plan to revoke their license although the law stated to do so," he told reporters after a business forum on Thursday. "It's up to them to decide if they continue to develop or not."

"If they continue to develop, it benefits the government, but if they do not develop, we lose nothing because both land and money are their own properties," he said.

He said among the four operational SEZs are Phnom Penh SEZ, Manhattan SEZ and Tai Seng SEZ at Vietnam border, and Sihanoukville SEZ, which is a joint venture of 3 billion U.S. dollars between China's Jiangsu Taihu Cambodia International Economic Cooperation Zone Investment Co. Ltd. and the Cambodia International Investment Group Co. Ltd.

And the two being built are Neang Kok SEZ in Koh Kong province and Sihanoukville Port SEZ.

The government considers SEZs as an important part of the country's economic development because they bring infrastructure, jobs, skills, enhanced productivity, at the same time, investors in the SEZs will benefit from a number of fiscal incentives, including income tax, customs, and VAT benefits, said Chea Vuthy.

Source: Xinhua