Phnom Penh Post. THURSDAY, 05 AUGUST 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
A SOUTH Korean housing developer has sold almost half of its US$4 million condominium development project in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, and the foreign property ownership laws passed three months ago has helped sales, an official said yesterday.
“We have already sold 25 units out of 56. We sold our condos since the National Assembly approved the foreign ownership law, and we hope to sell all of them by the end of the year,” Sy Veacha, personal secretary to the Maison Ruby condominium developer In Keun Oh, said yesterday.
The National Assembly passed the law providing foreigners with ownership rights in private units above the ground floor in April. It was followed by a sub-decree last month capping foreign ownership of such buildings at 70 percent.
Sy Veacha said the law had paved the way to attracting foreigners to buy the Maison Ruby condos, slated for completion early 2011. All the condos sold so far have been bought by South Koreans.
“Despite the economic crisis affecting Cambodia’s property market, we never delayed our project construction because we were confident of the foreign co-ownership law,” she said.
Once complete, Maison Ruby will be seven storeys high, with 56 units ranging from US$65,000 to $79,000 each.
The site spans over 1,595 square metres at Chom Chao Commune, Dangkor district.
Mang Savandara, property manager of the Cambodia Property Ltd Co, agreed yesterday that the foreign property co-ownership law had boosted confidence.
“Our company has received calls from so many foreigners since the law was approved,” he said.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Real Estate: Residential approvals stabilise
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
THE value of residential projects approved in Phnom Penh declined only slightly in the first half of this year from the same period last year, according to official figures.
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction gave the green light to 2,253 housing units worth US$150 million in the first half of 2010, a 1.42 percent drop on the 2,352 worth $152 million approved in the first half of last year.
Figures for the whole of 2009 showed a 47.2 percent decline in the number of units approved compared with 2008.
Construction Department Director Lao Tip Seiha said there were positive signs for the construction sector despite the slight decline in approvals in the year to the end of June.
“It’s a good sign that the numbers remain stable,” he said.
A total of 35 large villas and 2,218 houses and flats have been approved this year, according to the ministry, from a respective 189 and 2,163 units granted the go-ahead last year.
Still, Lao Tip Seiha said he was concerned demand would outstrip supply particularly among people in the lower income brackets moving to Phnom Penh.
“We must add another 1.2 million homes in Cambodia by 2030,” he said.
THE value of residential projects approved in Phnom Penh declined only slightly in the first half of this year from the same period last year, according to official figures.
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction gave the green light to 2,253 housing units worth US$150 million in the first half of 2010, a 1.42 percent drop on the 2,352 worth $152 million approved in the first half of last year.
Figures for the whole of 2009 showed a 47.2 percent decline in the number of units approved compared with 2008.
Construction Department Director Lao Tip Seiha said there were positive signs for the construction sector despite the slight decline in approvals in the year to the end of June.
“It’s a good sign that the numbers remain stable,” he said.
A total of 35 large villas and 2,218 houses and flats have been approved this year, according to the ministry, from a respective 189 and 2,163 units granted the go-ahead last year.
Still, Lao Tip Seiha said he was concerned demand would outstrip supply particularly among people in the lower income brackets moving to Phnom Penh.
“We must add another 1.2 million homes in Cambodia by 2030,” he said.
Construction to start soon on Phnom Penh port expansion
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2010 15:01 CHUN SOPHAL
The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is seen through a window of a guard post on the Japanese Friendship Bridge.
PHNOM Penh Autonomous Port is to quadruple its loading capacity in the next two years after securing US$68 million worth of Chinese financing for a second terminal 25 kilometres east of the capital, with construction slated to begin in September.
Authorities said yesterday that the second terminal would give Phnom Penh a loading capacity of about 300,000 TEU (20-foot equivilant unit) containers per year, a dramatic increase from the current limit of 60,000 to 80,000 TEUs per year.
The first US$28 million stage of the two-stage build – slated to begin in September and take 22 months to complete – will create a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs per year once complete. That figure will increase to 300,000 TEUs once the second stage is finished.
Hei Bavy, director general of the port, said that after receiving a loan from China last year the new port would be built in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district.
Hei Bavy said that China-based Shanghai Construction had been contracted for the first stage of construction. The first stage will cover an area of 12 hectares, and the second stage will cover another eight hectares.
“We hope that this construction project will enable the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to ship more and more goods in the future,” he said.
The current port, first established in 1952 and renovated twice so far, has seen demand increase.
Hei Bavy said that if capacity was not boosted, goods shipments would inevitably face delays and obstruction.
“When the new port is completely constructed, we will use it as a place for loading containers so that big trucks will not cause traffic congestion in the capital,” Hei Bavy said.
Hin Theany, Division General Manager of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), said: “I think expanding the port is a good idea because it will help make freight shipment easier in the future when shipping activities increase beyond their current levels.”
The Cambodian government had been trying since early 2009 to secure the loan from the Chinese government to develop the port.
On October 15, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed deals worth $850 million with the Chinese government to spend on development projects in Cambodia. About $68 million was slated for the development of Phnom Penh’s port capacity.
Hei Bavy said that the second stage of construction might not be funded by the loan from China if the port proved to be capable of earning an income between $6 million and $10 million per year during the period of 2012 to 2015.
“We plan to use the money which the port earns by itself for the second-stage development project because the Chinese loan is too expensive,” he said.
The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is seen through a window of a guard post on the Japanese Friendship Bridge.
PHNOM Penh Autonomous Port is to quadruple its loading capacity in the next two years after securing US$68 million worth of Chinese financing for a second terminal 25 kilometres east of the capital, with construction slated to begin in September.
Authorities said yesterday that the second terminal would give Phnom Penh a loading capacity of about 300,000 TEU (20-foot equivilant unit) containers per year, a dramatic increase from the current limit of 60,000 to 80,000 TEUs per year.
The first US$28 million stage of the two-stage build – slated to begin in September and take 22 months to complete – will create a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs per year once complete. That figure will increase to 300,000 TEUs once the second stage is finished.
Hei Bavy, director general of the port, said that after receiving a loan from China last year the new port would be built in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district.
Hei Bavy said that China-based Shanghai Construction had been contracted for the first stage of construction. The first stage will cover an area of 12 hectares, and the second stage will cover another eight hectares.
“We hope that this construction project will enable the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to ship more and more goods in the future,” he said.
The current port, first established in 1952 and renovated twice so far, has seen demand increase.
Hei Bavy said that if capacity was not boosted, goods shipments would inevitably face delays and obstruction.
“When the new port is completely constructed, we will use it as a place for loading containers so that big trucks will not cause traffic congestion in the capital,” Hei Bavy said.
Hin Theany, Division General Manager of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), said: “I think expanding the port is a good idea because it will help make freight shipment easier in the future when shipping activities increase beyond their current levels.”
The Cambodian government had been trying since early 2009 to secure the loan from the Chinese government to develop the port.
On October 15, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed deals worth $850 million with the Chinese government to spend on development projects in Cambodia. About $68 million was slated for the development of Phnom Penh’s port capacity.
Hei Bavy said that the second stage of construction might not be funded by the loan from China if the port proved to be capable of earning an income between $6 million and $10 million per year during the period of 2012 to 2015.
“We plan to use the money which the port earns by itself for the second-stage development project because the Chinese loan is too expensive,” he said.
Malls race to be first in Kingdom's second city
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2010 15:00 SOEUN SAY
The delayed Battambang Shopping Centre was empty when reporters visited this month. Jeremy Mullins
DEVELOPERS said yesterday that Borey Thmey Shopping Mall would be Battambang’s first, after the opening of Battambang Shopping Centre was pushed back a year.
The US$10 million four-storey Borey Thmey mall in Svay Por Commune will contain 600 units, its manager of sales administration Neang Nead Thanith said.
“We’re the first shopping mall in Battambang city, and we will allow our tenants to prepare their shops in November.
“We plan to open for business early next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Phou Puy, the owner of 1,500-store Battambang Shopping Centre, said yesterday that his project would not be completed by the end of 2010, as it was claimed in April.
He revised the target for completion to the beginning of 2011.
“We are rushing to complete the project. Now, we’re doing only interior design,” he said.
The Post has visited the project site twice in the past month, and no work or construction equipment was in evidence on either occasion. Only the shell of the Battambang Shopping Centre was complete.
Borey Thmey Shopping Mall is owned by Lim Chhiv Ho, managing director of Attwood Import-Export.
It has sold about 80 percent of its store locations, Neang Nead Thanith said. “Customers will come here because it will be the first one in Battambang, and it is in a good location,” she said.
“Hopefully we can attract more shops to our mall next year, but realistically we don’t hope to sell out this year.”
Lao Tip Seiha, construction department head for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said the ministry had approved Borey Thmey’s licence in 2008.
“The ministry will be proud to see the first new shopping mall in Battambang. We really do support them,” he said. “Battambang is a city with a lot of potential.”
The new mall will create local jobs and boost the local economy, he said.
The delayed Battambang Shopping Centre was empty when reporters visited this month. Jeremy Mullins
DEVELOPERS said yesterday that Borey Thmey Shopping Mall would be Battambang’s first, after the opening of Battambang Shopping Centre was pushed back a year.
The US$10 million four-storey Borey Thmey mall in Svay Por Commune will contain 600 units, its manager of sales administration Neang Nead Thanith said.
“We’re the first shopping mall in Battambang city, and we will allow our tenants to prepare their shops in November.
“We plan to open for business early next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Phou Puy, the owner of 1,500-store Battambang Shopping Centre, said yesterday that his project would not be completed by the end of 2010, as it was claimed in April.
He revised the target for completion to the beginning of 2011.
“We are rushing to complete the project. Now, we’re doing only interior design,” he said.
The Post has visited the project site twice in the past month, and no work or construction equipment was in evidence on either occasion. Only the shell of the Battambang Shopping Centre was complete.
Borey Thmey Shopping Mall is owned by Lim Chhiv Ho, managing director of Attwood Import-Export.
It has sold about 80 percent of its store locations, Neang Nead Thanith said. “Customers will come here because it will be the first one in Battambang, and it is in a good location,” she said.
“Hopefully we can attract more shops to our mall next year, but realistically we don’t hope to sell out this year.”
Lao Tip Seiha, construction department head for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said the ministry had approved Borey Thmey’s licence in 2008.
“The ministry will be proud to see the first new shopping mall in Battambang. We really do support them,” he said. “Battambang is a city with a lot of potential.”
The new mall will create local jobs and boost the local economy, he said.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Recovery watch: Real estate licences see modest rise
Phnom Penh Post. FRIDAY, 23 JULY 2010 15:01 SOEUN SAY
COMPANIES licensed to operate in the real estate and land valuation sector have slightly increased in Cambodia since January, a fact commentators hope could hint at a recovery in the industry after firm numbers halved during the financial crisis.
There are 42 real companies with licences to operate in the Kingdom, slightly more than the 34 licensed in January this year, Moa Pov, deputy chief of Ministry of Finance and Economy’s real estate division, said yesterday.
While the number of issued permits still lies far below the 74 companies licensed at the beginning of 2008, before a global economic melt-down hit the domestic real estate sector, he was hopeful for a full recovery of the operator numbers.
“If the real estate market recovers this year or next year those real estate and valuation companies will come back,” he said.
But Kerk Narin, general manager of Bonna Realty Group, said smaller real estate agents had struggled to remain open for business. The cost of getting a yearly licence and a certificate is 700,000 riels (US$167) – as defined by a 2007 prakas, or edict. Any company operating without a licence incurs a fine of 5 million riels ($1,250).
COMPANIES licensed to operate in the real estate and land valuation sector have slightly increased in Cambodia since January, a fact commentators hope could hint at a recovery in the industry after firm numbers halved during the financial crisis.
There are 42 real companies with licences to operate in the Kingdom, slightly more than the 34 licensed in January this year, Moa Pov, deputy chief of Ministry of Finance and Economy’s real estate division, said yesterday.
While the number of issued permits still lies far below the 74 companies licensed at the beginning of 2008, before a global economic melt-down hit the domestic real estate sector, he was hopeful for a full recovery of the operator numbers.
“If the real estate market recovers this year or next year those real estate and valuation companies will come back,” he said.
But Kerk Narin, general manager of Bonna Realty Group, said smaller real estate agents had struggled to remain open for business. The cost of getting a yearly licence and a certificate is 700,000 riels (US$167) – as defined by a 2007 prakas, or edict. Any company operating without a licence incurs a fine of 5 million riels ($1,250).
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Business laws in pipeline
Phnom Penh Post. WEDNESDAY, 21 JULY 2010 15:01 MAY KUNMAKARA
DRAFT laws governing commercial contracts and a new commercial court, set to launch in 2011, are months away from being submitted to the Council of Ministers.
Var Roth San, director of the Department of Intellectual Property Rights at the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday the laws were likely to be approved by the National Assembly in 2011 once they had been checked by the Council of Ministers – a move expected in “ two or three months”.
“Once they are passed, a commercial court will probably be established sometime in late 2011 or early 2012,” he told reporters yesterday at an advanced workshop on civil adjudication of commercial, intellectual property and international trade cases, held in Phnom Penh.
The two laws were being drafted under “technical assistance” from development partners and have already undergone multiple drafts and revisions to prepare them for the final approval, he said.
Ten judges, selected by the Minister of Justice from Phnom Penh’s municipal court and the provincial courts of Takeo and Kampong Chnang, were attending the four-day session at the InterContinental Hotel this week to gain advice from commercial judges from ASEAN-member countries.
“This workshop is timely for our country as the government reforms the judicial system and prepares to establish the commercial court,” Var Roth San said.
“It benefits our judges, whose experiences and knowledge [in commercial law] is low because normally they are working on the general [case disputes].”
Chhorn Ravuth, manager of Confirel Co Ltd (Cambodia) which makes sugar, wine and vinegar, welcomed the news and said it would give local producers more confidence in protecting product brand names and business-dispute resolution.
“This will be good for us as we will have a place where we can deal with disputes,” he said. “Now when we have problems, we don’t know where we can go so we just try to resolve by ourselves.”
Var Roth San said the government would also set up a sub-committee for Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement and a sub-committee for Education and Public Awareness.
DRAFT laws governing commercial contracts and a new commercial court, set to launch in 2011, are months away from being submitted to the Council of Ministers.
Var Roth San, director of the Department of Intellectual Property Rights at the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday the laws were likely to be approved by the National Assembly in 2011 once they had been checked by the Council of Ministers – a move expected in “ two or three months”.
“Once they are passed, a commercial court will probably be established sometime in late 2011 or early 2012,” he told reporters yesterday at an advanced workshop on civil adjudication of commercial, intellectual property and international trade cases, held in Phnom Penh.
The two laws were being drafted under “technical assistance” from development partners and have already undergone multiple drafts and revisions to prepare them for the final approval, he said.
Ten judges, selected by the Minister of Justice from Phnom Penh’s municipal court and the provincial courts of Takeo and Kampong Chnang, were attending the four-day session at the InterContinental Hotel this week to gain advice from commercial judges from ASEAN-member countries.
“This workshop is timely for our country as the government reforms the judicial system and prepares to establish the commercial court,” Var Roth San said.
“It benefits our judges, whose experiences and knowledge [in commercial law] is low because normally they are working on the general [case disputes].”
Chhorn Ravuth, manager of Confirel Co Ltd (Cambodia) which makes sugar, wine and vinegar, welcomed the news and said it would give local producers more confidence in protecting product brand names and business-dispute resolution.
“This will be good for us as we will have a place where we can deal with disputes,” he said. “Now when we have problems, we don’t know where we can go so we just try to resolve by ourselves.”
Var Roth San said the government would also set up a sub-committee for Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement and a sub-committee for Education and Public Awareness.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Foreign developers anticipate home run
Phnom Penh Post. MONDAY, 19 JULY 2010 15:01 NGUON SOVAN
DEVELOPERS have tipped a sub-decree allowing foreigners to own up to 70 percent of a condominium complex to boost Cambodia’s real-estate and construction sectors, despite a mellowing of the proposal from an initial draft.
Approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday, the sub-decree provides a 70 percent cap on the proportion of a housing development a foreigner can own.
The figure has fallen from an 80 percent limit set out in a draft presented by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction last month, but remains far higher than the 49 percent earmarked in early versions of the foreign ownership law last year.
“The decision ... was to grant a greater percentage share to Cambodians and not make foreign ownership too dominant,” Nonn Pheany, spokesperson for the Land Ministry, said yesterday.
Despite the change, she billed the sub-decree as a starting point in encouraging foreign investors to push development forward.
Land and house prices in Cambodia have dropped between 40 to 60 percent from those recorded at the peak of the housing boom in early 2008.
Bretton Sciaroni, senior partner of Sciaroni & Associates and legal adviser to the government, said yesterday that the sub-decree had opened up
Cambodia’s economy to new opportunities.
“It would help Cambodia in a number of ways, not just to generate more long-term businesses but also to attract new outside investors,” he said.
He hinted that the move would help make Cambodia an attractive regional proposition, as the sub-decree is more “open” than housing laws in neighbouring countries.
In Thailand, foreigners are allowed own just 49 percent of a building.
Developers at Phnom Penh’s satellite cities also welcomed the government’s move yesterday, expressing hope that it will develop the market by boosting sales – as the number of investors able to buy into property increases.
“We expect that through the provision, more foreigners will consider Cambodia,” said Touch Samnang, project manager at the capital’s Diamond Island complex, yesterday.
Sung Bonna, president and CEO of Bonna Realty Group, also felt the sub-decree would make Cambodia a more attractive proposition to foreign investors.
But he warned that the sub-decree alone was not enough to secure FDI for the Kingdom's economy.
“Cambodia needs to grant more incentives to investors in various sectors,” he said.
DEVELOPERS have tipped a sub-decree allowing foreigners to own up to 70 percent of a condominium complex to boost Cambodia’s real-estate and construction sectors, despite a mellowing of the proposal from an initial draft.
Approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday, the sub-decree provides a 70 percent cap on the proportion of a housing development a foreigner can own.
The figure has fallen from an 80 percent limit set out in a draft presented by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction last month, but remains far higher than the 49 percent earmarked in early versions of the foreign ownership law last year.
“The decision ... was to grant a greater percentage share to Cambodians and not make foreign ownership too dominant,” Nonn Pheany, spokesperson for the Land Ministry, said yesterday.
Despite the change, she billed the sub-decree as a starting point in encouraging foreign investors to push development forward.
Land and house prices in Cambodia have dropped between 40 to 60 percent from those recorded at the peak of the housing boom in early 2008.
Bretton Sciaroni, senior partner of Sciaroni & Associates and legal adviser to the government, said yesterday that the sub-decree had opened up
Cambodia’s economy to new opportunities.
“It would help Cambodia in a number of ways, not just to generate more long-term businesses but also to attract new outside investors,” he said.
He hinted that the move would help make Cambodia an attractive regional proposition, as the sub-decree is more “open” than housing laws in neighbouring countries.
In Thailand, foreigners are allowed own just 49 percent of a building.
Developers at Phnom Penh’s satellite cities also welcomed the government’s move yesterday, expressing hope that it will develop the market by boosting sales – as the number of investors able to buy into property increases.
“We expect that through the provision, more foreigners will consider Cambodia,” said Touch Samnang, project manager at the capital’s Diamond Island complex, yesterday.
Sung Bonna, president and CEO of Bonna Realty Group, also felt the sub-decree would make Cambodia a more attractive proposition to foreign investors.
But he warned that the sub-decree alone was not enough to secure FDI for the Kingdom's economy.
“Cambodia needs to grant more incentives to investors in various sectors,” he said.
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