PHNOM PENH — A conference designed to speed up co-operation between Cambodian and Vietnamese firms, including those in southern Dong Nai Province, was organised in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Wednesday.

At the conference, Ao Van Thinh, vice chairman of the Dong Nai Province People’s Committee, emphasised key business advantages in his province, including favourable geography and infrastructure for industry and trade such as National Highway 1A, the Sai Gon  Port and the Tan Son Nhat  International Airport.

Dong Nai Province already hosts industries such as rubber and wood processing, electricity, electronics and apparel. These sectors have shown consistent growth along with main export products like rubber, coffee, honey, ceramics and cashew nuts," he said.

This year witnessed a sharp increase in trade ties between the province and its Cambodian partners, including large contracts signed by Donafoods and Vinacafe Bien Hoa.

The vice chairman outlined agriculture as a key sector for boosting co-operation with Cambodia. It has co-ordinated with Cambodia’s Kratie Province to supply high-yield cashew strains and provide farming technology.

Specifically, the Vietnamese province expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to provide cashew farming technology with Cambodia’s Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom provinces, Thinh said. He added that businesses in Dong Nai Province would build purchasing and preliminary processing stations in the two provinces.

In the past nine months, Viet Nam’s total investment in Cambodia reached US$400 million.

  Fertiliser plant begins

KANDAL — Construction on a US$65 million fertiliser plant kicked off yesterday in Kandal Province, Cambodia, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as a witness.

Financed by Five Stars International Joint Stock Co, the plant will have the capacity to supply 350,000 tonnes of fertiliser per year once it begins operations in two years.
Hun Sen said he hoped the plant, the largest of it kind in Cambodia, would be a good example for Vietnamese businesses who wished to make investments here.