SEZ Exports Nearly Double

[geovalin]

Khmer Times/Sum Manet

Exports from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are projected to reach about $1.2 billion this year, up more than 80 percent over last year, according to figures from the Commerce Ministry. Exports from SEZs totaled $672 million last year.

So Socheat, director of the ministry’s Europe, Middle East and Africa department, said the surge was due to economic growth and the government’s attractive investment policies. “Our economy is growing around 7 percent annually and our policies encourage investment, so this is attracting investors,” he said, adding that the SEZs provide everything an investor needs, from documents to factories.

Mr. Socheat also said more exports are going to Europe. “In general, the export destination has changed its direction a bit to the European market over the last few years,” he said, adding that the US market had been the major destination for Cambodian goods such as garments and footwear. Duty- and quota-free access to the European Union under its “everything but arms” trade treaty is the major driver of rising exports to the EU, Mr. Socheat said.

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