PHNOM PENH: More than 24,400 businesses with a total of US$7.42 billion in investment capital have been registered in the first phase of the Online Business Registration System known as Single Portal under the Ministry of Economy and Finance – as of April this year.

Over 14,500 business names of companies are in the stage of checking for approval, a ministry’s report said. In terms of investment value by sector, construction took the lead, accounting for 15 percent, equal to US$1,050 million, followed by real estate at 12 percent, equal to US$893 million.

Management consultant activities represented 10 percent, manufacturing 5 percent, financial and insurance activities 4 percent, and others 54 percent, the report added. Men-owned businesses accounted for 62 percent of the total registered businesses, the same source pointed out.

The ministry launched the first phase of the Online Business Registration platform on June 15, 2020, and the second phase on Sept. 15, 2021.

H.E. Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance has said that the new system cut down on complex procedures, repetition of information, lost time, and the cost of the old process.

All registrations are automatically shared with the relevant ministries and institutions for review and approval, ensuring that all departments are kept in the loop, he stressed.