On Monday evening, April 10, 2023, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, met with the owners of small and medium enterprises as well as business people in Cambodia. The event was held at the Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Center.
The event was attended by about 5,000 national and international guests, including Vice Chairmen, Board Members, Collaborators of the Samdech Techo Foundation Association, FASMEC Branch Presidents in partner provinces, NGOs, partner banks, partner companies and enterprises. Small and medium and Cambodian handicrafts from 25 capitals and provinces. This afternoon’s Solidarity Meeting and Dinner demonstrates Samdech Techo Hun Sen’s high concern for business people and small and medium enterprise owners in Cambodia, which is an important sector for the national economy.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen said that today’s meeting is the first large-scale meeting of the Samdech Techo Association for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Cambodia. Samdech Techo also encouraged such meetings in the following years to exchange views and ideas for the development of small and medium enterprises and handicrafts in Cambodia. At present, Cambodia has about 700,000 small and medium enterprises and handicrafts, equivalent to more than 90%, of which in the manufacturing sector there are about 40,000 bases, equivalent to about 7% and food processing is about 80% in The large factory has about 2,000 bases.
Samdech Techo said that small and medium enterprises have contributed to the development of the national economy and increase employment for Cambodians across the country, not only the small and medium enterprises and handicrafts are considered the backbone of the national economy. Samdech Techo added that out of the 1.5 million target youths who will be selected for vocational training, about 1 million will be from small and medium enterprises.
Today, Samdech Techo Hun Sen also continued to introduce locally processed products to supply tourists.
Samdech Techo continued that in 2020, the Royal Government established the Cambodian Small and Medium Enterprise Bank to provide support and set up various mechanisms to support the development of small and medium enterprises during the Kovid-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, the Small and Medium Enterprise Bank of Cambodia has been providing loans to small and medium enterprises through two major financing projects: the first direct financing project and the second co-financing project as of September 2022. Has disbursed a total of over US $ 400 million in loans to 3,085 small and medium enterprises. For tax measures, the Royal Government has developed laws and regulations to provide tax incentives to voluntarily registered small and medium enterprises. And to small and medium enterprises in priority sectors. As for customs measures, the Royal Government has developed tax policies and customs incentives to reduce production costs and increase the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in Cambodia.
Samdech Techo continued that the Royal Government has been working to improve the efficiency of small and medium enterprises through the introduction of the national nursery system, online business registration, the introduction of online payment system, the introduction of tax declaration system. Online and so on.
In order to contribute to the acceleration of the development of small and medium enterprises, as well as to improve the business environment, Samdech encourages and offers the following five perspectives:
1- Samdech encourages entrepreneurs in the field of small and medium enterprises and handicrafts in Cambodia to increase their capacity to strengthen their competitiveness and encourages ministries and institutions to make more efforts to solve challenges as well as reduce the cost of doing business. Aims to boost Cambodia’s productivity and competitiveness.
2- The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation shall cooperate with the Ministry of Commerce, the Alliance of Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Cambodia and the Samdech Techo Foundation Association for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Cambodia to develop training programs for capacity building of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and Institutional capacity of small and medium enterprises and handicrafts to increase the efficiency and resilience of the business.
3- The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation shall cooperate with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia and the Samdech Techo Association for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Cambodia to study and assess the need for skills to develop skills in accordance with the needs Practice and solve the problem of lack of skills that small and medium enterprises have been experiencing.
4- The Ministry of Commerce shall lead and coordinate the establishment of an inter-ministerial technical working group to promote trade facilitation in order to reduce the cost of trade and promote Cambodia’s exports, especially agro-industrial products to the countries in charge. Free trade agreement with Cambodia and promote the expansion of the domestic market.
5- All ministries and institutions, including sub-national administrations, must cooperate with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to accelerate the digital revolution in their respective ministries and institutions and promote the training of subordinates.
