Ananth Baliga

Having established itself with Japanese automotive parts manufacturers, Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone said on Friday that going forward it will target German companies with similar operations, to increase investments at its current and proposed Poipet economic zones.

Hiroshi Uematsu, CEO of Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ), said the weakening of the yen against the dollar could slow down new private Japanese investments, but the SEZ could capitalise on the presence of German, French and American companies in the region.

“From Asian countries, probably Japan is the most developed [auto parts manufacturer], and from the European countries, Germany is the most developed,” Uematsu said. “So, we want to get German companies.”

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ppsez-sets-sights-german-manufacturers

Bah...Thailand is SE Asia's car and car parts manufacturing giant. Cambodia doesn't need to start an industry when it can just import these products at 0% duties after the implementation of AEC. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have more than enough infrastructure, skilled labour and capacity to churn out needed car parts and fully locally built cars for the ASEAN markets and beyond.

Cambodia should focus first of all what it is good at - garments, textiles and agriculture. With it's diabolical infrastructure that is 30-40 years behind Thailand, not to mention it's chaotic customs procedures I don't think they should be even considering attracting investments from industries that while they could benefit from lower labor costs also need to have access to good cheap and reliable electricity, water supplies, skilled labour and infrastructure. Cambodia can't compete in any of those areas when compared to Thailand.