PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Minister of Information H.E. Neth Pheaktra has encouraged more investors from the ASEAN member countries and China to invest in Cambodia thanks to the country’s peace, political stability, and young labour force.

“Thanks to peace, political stability, adult population and human capital combined with strong economic growth, Cambodia has been able to attract many investors from Europe, the United States and Asia,” he said in his speech at the ASEAN-China (Shanxi) Trade and Investment Promotion Seminar, held in Changzhi, China’s Shanxi province this afternoon under the theme “New Opportunities, New Momentum, New Cooperation, and New Development,” as part of the ASEAN-China Week 2024.

As of 2023, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia amounted to a total of US$48.4 billion, an increase by 7.9 percent compared to a year earlier, he pointed out, attributing this growth to the favourable investment environment, incentives policies for new investments, and large-scale free trade agreements (FTAs) between Cambodia and her strategic trading partners, including the Cambodia-China FTA, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, Cambodia-Korea FTA, and Cambodia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

According to the minister, last year, China remained the largest investor in Cambodia, with a total investment of up to US$3.7 billion. “Cambodia will provide many opportunities for Chinese companies and investors, especially from Shanxi and ASEAN countries, to invest in the Kingdom,” he stressed.

Cambodia-made products are exported and supplied to a total of 250 million people in the Mekong sub-region, about 630 million consumers in the ASEAN market, and 2.2 billion people in the RCEP countries.