Cambodia's economic growth expected at 7 pct this year: central bank expert

[geovalin]

PHNOM PENH, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's economic growth is expected at 7 percent in 2017, driven by garment export, construction, tourism and agriculture, a National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) expert said on Friday. With the expected growth, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will reach about 22 billion U.S. dollars, as the GDP per capita is forecast to hit 1,434 U.S. dollars this year, Duong Sophak, deputy chief of the NBC's Economic Research and International Cooperation Division, said during a seminar here.

 

"Industry (mainly garment and construction) and service sector (tourism, transport and telecom, trade and real estate) will significantly contribute to the economic growth, as agriculture will see a marginal contribution to the growth," he said. Sophak said garment export and construction were forecast to grow by 10 percent and 14 percent respectively in 2017, as tourism was projected to see strong growth based on the 12-percent rise in tourist arrivals during the first four months of this year.

 

Speaking at the seminar, NBC's deputy governor Neav Chanthana said the Southeast Asian country had achieved robust economic growth of 7.7 percent annually in the last two decades, coupled with low and manageable inflation as well as stable exchange rate. "One of the main challenges to Cambodia's economy is dollarization," she said, adding that despite its benefits, dollarization "exposes the economy to risks and losses, especially imposes constraints on monetary policy implementation." Foreign currencies, comprising mainly U.S. dollars, accounted for 83 percent of cash and bank deposits in Cambodia at the end of 2015, up from 56 percent in 1995, according to the NBC.

 

source http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-06/23/c_136389309.htm

[spidermike007]

Well, first of all, it is relatively easy to achieve 7% growth, when your economy was as small as the Cambodian economy was to begin with. And the Chinese are virtually taking over that country, with the full and complete blessing of Hun Sen the despot, and his band of ugly and greedy henchmen. 

 

Having said that, nearly all of the other countries of SE Asia, are achieving higher rates of growth than Thailand. The tiger is sleeping once more. As I stated previously:

 

The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons. I have a friend who recently stayed on Samui. He stayed at a resort that has 54 rooms. Normally, they are 100% booked, from about Dec. 20th, to about January 5th. This year, they only had 22 rooms filled. They are down 60% for the peak season. Many resorts are experiencing similarly alarming numbers. These hotels counted on the government to support them, when they spend millions on their properties, and the government has let them down, once again. They continue to drop the ball, at every opportunity. 

 

They trot out these projections, every time they get scared, and see the numbers dropping. Who was it that said, if you tell the people something often enough, eventually they will believe it? Well, not us. We are not buying your simpleton lies. Tourism is declining by the day. Perhaps 50 years from now, in a hospitality industry class at a university here, they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $1,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

The real solution is about encouraging tourists, and ex-pats, from countries that spend real money, to come here and visit. That message seems to have gotten lost, in the fervor to court the Chinese tourists, many of whom do not spend much money at all here. So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. 

 

The neighbors are trying too hard, and making too much effort, and investing money. Thailand is not. Though this topic relates mostly to tourism, in a way it pertains to ex-pats living here too. And I too am considering other spots. Currently the top spot under consideration seems to be Spain. So much culture, great wine, alot of fascinating places to visit nearby, reasonable real estate, a language I speak, and a reasonable standard of living. The other spots in this region offer too much similar nonsense, and bad infrastructure. Too many "so called leaders" in this region too, who lack creative juice, nor do they care one iota for their people. And the really hot weather, which seems to be getting hotter, and drier, is not all that appealing, as I get older. Thailand is making no steps whatsoever, to improve upon itself. On alot of levels, it feels like it is either standing still, or more than likely going backwards. Frankly, the biggest draw at the moment is being close to my wife's family, the food, the relatively pleasant people, and the weakening of the baht. But, I dislike the government, and the level of ignorance being perpetrated by the fabulously inferior educational system here does not appear to bode well for the future of the place. I also despise the practice of face, and the staggering level of cowardice that accompanies that weak, pathetic quality. 

 

It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. There are many aspects of life here, that I truly enjoy. I am sure many feel the same way. Just wish the country was not moving backwards, (and was instead moving forward under the leadership of progressive minds) due to a system of meritocracy, and a complete lack of forward looking vision. A nice dream indeed.

 

Moving the country forward? I think not. More like "Moving Thailand backwards at an alarming pace".