The Kingdom recorded US$5.66 billion imports from the RCEP countries, up 10 percent from US$5.14 billion, it added.

Cambodia’s trade with RCEP countries has increased thanks to trade preferences under the mega-regional trade pact, said H.E. Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce.

“With almost zero trade tariffs, exporters have been able to take advantage of the trade deal, resulting in increased exports and imports from Cambodia,” he said.

The RCEP free trade agreement entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022. The regional trade pact comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including the ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

RCEP nations collectively represent about 2.2 billion people, or 30 percent of the global population, contributing US$26.2 trillion to the gross domestic product (GDP), which is 30 percent of the worldwide GDP. Member countries account for approximately 28 percent of global trade, as per the ministry.

Cambodia’s total international trade volume was valued at US$12.4 billion during the first quarter of 2024, a 11.9 percent increase from US$11.16 billion in the corresponding period last year, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).

The post Cambodia earns $2.69 billion from exports to RCEP countries in Q1 first appeared on Estatedia | Economy & Real Estate Media in Cambodia.

According to a webinar by the affiliate of The Economist newspaper in London, Brunei, the Philippines, and Vietnam are also expected to have high levels of growth in 2024 along with Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania.

“It’s mainly an emerging markets story for next year,” said Tom Rafferty, the EIU’s head of global forecasting and economics.

“Overall, growth is expected to remain flat next year, at a slow and steady pace,” he said.

With the world global economy projected to expand by 2.3 percent next year, the EIU said the United States was likely to suffer a “slowdown but no recession” in 2024.

Deflation in Japan is meanwhile forecast to come to an end next year and China’s economy is seen as “weak but stabilizing,” the EIU said.

Other Asian economies are expected to benefit from export recoveries, falling interest rates, and supply chain investments, it added.

At the same time, the EIU said, Europe is expected to grow faster than the United States as it rebounds from weak growth this year.

The post EIU sees Cambodia as one of world’s fastest growing economies in 2024 first appeared on Estatedia | Economy & Real Estate Media in Cambodia.