PHNOM PENH: Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, reconfirmed here yesterday that the country's constitution does not allow any foreigners to become landowners, but they can rent land for a long period of time.

Speaking at the official inauguration ceremony of a cable-stayed bridge connecting the Koh Norea development area to Koh Pich satellite city, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet said there have been some suggestions to the Royal Government to amend existing laws to authorize foreigners to own land, but they have been rejected.

“That concept was proposed to facilitate the economy, but the Royal Government does not think that this proposal is necessary to help Cambodia's real estate sector because the sector has progressed in the past 20 years despite the strict respect of our constitution,” he underlined.

Anyway, the Premier added, Cambodia offers many favorable conditions to foreigners such as long-term leases for construction projects, while some foreigners seek Cambodian nationality, some others look for a Cambodian representative or set up a company to represent them locally.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet said foreigners are allowed to rent a plot of land for a long period of time with legal procedures from 15 to 50 years.