PHNOM PENH: Cambodia on Tuesday launched a national strategy for the development of the informal economy for 2023-2028, aiming at bolstering protection, enhancing productivity, and fortifying the resilience of the informal economy.

Speaking at the launching ceremony in Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the strategy was designed to ensure that “no Cambodian is left behind.”

“The government sees the informal sector as a catalyst for the country’s sustainable economic development,” he said. “This strategy will importantly contribute to reducing poverty, enhancing social equity, and strengthening the resilience of the economy.”

He said the strategy focuses on five priorities including easier access into the formal system, reducing the burdens of registration compliance, providing social support to those who have entered the system, developing and strengthening skills and expanding outreach, and awareness on participating in the formal economy.

The informal economy is defined as businesses that are neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.

Some 6.2 million out of the 7.9 million employed people in the Southeast Asian country work in the informal sector, according to a labor force survey.

The prime minister said informal businesses are encouraged to register in the formal system for 2023-2028, during which all tax debts and fines before their registration will be waived. Moreover, they will also get other tax incentives. Xinhua