PHNOM PENH: Cambodia approved fixed-asset investment projects worth 1.39 billion U.S. dollars in the first two months of 2024, a significant rise of about 500 percent compared to the same period last year, a Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC)'s report said on Sunday.

Some 545 million dollars, or 39 percent of the total investment capital, was from China during the January-February period this year, the report said.

Outstanding projects included an electronics manufacturing factory, an electronic bike and motorbike assembly plant, a steel factory, a garment and textile factory, a fruit processing plant and a luxury hotel, among others, the report added.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), and Cambodia's new law on investment, are key factors in luring more foreign investors to the Southeast Asian country.

“Both RCEP and CCFTA are magnets to attract foreign investors to Cambodia,” he told Xinhua. “Foreign direct investment, especially from China, is essential to help boost Cambodia's economic and trade growth.”

Sovicheat added that new investments will bring new capital, technologies and employment opportunities for Cambodian people.