MAY KUNMAKARA
Cambodia is actively wooing Hong Kong firms to invest in the country’s travel goods manufacturing sector following Washington’s decision to grant the Kingdom duty-free access to US markets for products like luggage, backpacks, handbags and wallets.
“Presently, we have only 15 factories in Cambodia that produce travel goods. Therefore, the new duty-free agreement with the US is a good opportunity for investors who are interested in this sector,” said Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak.
Yesterday, Mr. Sorasak led a group of business delegates to Hong Kong, including the secretary-general of the Council for Development of Cambodia , officials from the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and the US ambassador to Cambodia.
On July 1, Cambodia was granted duty-free benefits for exports of its travel goods to the US under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for least developed countries.
The US embassy in Phnom Penh said previously that this was the largest expansion for Cambodian products into the US market ever since the both countries started trading bilaterally back in 1995.
Before the delegation’s departure, Mr. Sorasak said that Cambodia was the sixth-ranked country in the world that produced travel goods for export. In 2015, he said exports of travel goods to the US amounted to $50 million.
He also pointed out that the Kingdom had incentives like the Cambodia Trade Integration Strategy and the Industrial Development Policy to attract foreign direct investment.
GMAC chairman Van Sou Ieng recently told Khmer Times that the duty-free status would boost Cambodia’s competitiveness in the travel goods export market and could attract more foreign investment. He added that 10,000 new jobs could also be created in the sector.
In August, Mr. Sorasak called on Malaysian businesses to also join the trade delegation to Hong Kong.
“We would like to invite Malaysian businesspeople to join us on this roadshow and invest in our travel goods manufacturing sector. We no longer have to pay duties for our exports to the US and this is a huge incentive to investors,” said Mr. Sorasak when he addressed the Cambodia-Malaysia Business Opportunities seminar.
Earlier Mr. Sorasak told Khmer Times that there was no specific time limit for Cambodia’s duty-free status for travel goods under the GSP. However, he pointed out Cambodia could lose that status in the US Generalized System of Preferences if it graduates from its least developing country status.
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