Imported bicycles for sale at a store in Phnom Penh. KT/Siv Channa

Chhut Bunthoeun
September 3, 2019

American bicycle manufacturer Ken International said Cambodia will soon become one of its major assembling and manufacturing bases.

Ken International is now building a bicycle factory near Phnom Penh. The plant, which covers 40,000 square feet, is a joint investment with Shanghai General Sports and is slated for completion by the end of the year, according to South China Morning Post

The government recently said it is aiming to reduce imports by increasing the number of factories in Cambodia producing bicycle components, and added that the country is wide open to investments in this area.

Last year, Cambodia exported 1.5 million bicycles to the EU, worth a combined $331 million, according to a World Bank report released in May. In 2017, the Kingdom became the largest bicycle supplier to the EU market, overtaking Taiwan.

full https://www.khmertimeskh.com/639577/kin ... bike-firm/

The bicycles assembled in Cambodia will be exported mainly to the United States and the European Union, Mr Kamler said. These are markets where the Kingdom enjoys tariff-free access.

Ken International is now building a bicycle factory near Phnom Penh. The plant, which covers 40,000 square feet, is a joint investment with Shanghai General Sports

US bike firm with a Chinese partner? And so, this is how you get around the tariffs? How will Mr Trump deal with this?

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:57 pm

The bicycles assembled in Cambodia will be exported mainly to the United States and the European Union, Mr Kamler said. These are markets where the Kingdom enjoys tariff-free access.

Ken International is now building a bicycle factory near Phnom Penh. The plant, which covers 40,000 square feet, is a joint investment with Shanghai General Sports

US bike firm with a Chinese partner? And so, this is how you get around the tariffs? How will Mr Trump deal with this?

Front wheels will be made in USA and the back wheels will be made in China.

The company name is Kent, not Ken. The original article manages to get it wrong every time it's used.
To qualify for duty free import status 40% of the bicycle needs to be made here, I could find nothing about how you define 40%. # of components? Weight? Volume? Gender preference? Who knows

Clemen wrote: ↑Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:46 pm The company name is Kent, not Ken.

Great to see Cambodia diversifying away from the garment industry.

Cambodia's bicycle firms face bumps in the road
By Danielle Keeton-Olsen Business reporter, BBC News
5 December 2019
Made in Cambodia is a common label on clothing from shirts and skirts to cycling shorts, but these days there's a good chance the bicycle itself will also have been made there.

The south east Asian nation is making the most of shifting global trade patterns to diversify its economy, and it is now listed as the fifth-largest exporter of bicycles in the world after China, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Germany.

But concerns over democratic freedoms mean there could be bumps in the road ahead.

At the Bavet Special Economic Zone, right on Cambodia's border with Vietnam, and just 50km north west of Ho Chi Minh City, the industry is gearing up to make the most of growing demand.

Inside a factory belonging to Taiwanese-owned firm Speedtech, bicycle frames hang from hooks like meat carcasses at a market.

Workers, some in protective goggles or welding masks, are engrossed in their tasks along the production line, ignoring the biting scent of spray paint. The starting salary of $350 (£268) a month compares well with the garment industry, but the air is humid and heavy, and when the monsoon downpour arrives in early afternoon there's a whoop of delight but no pause in production.

When Speedtech first arrived at Bavet in 2013 it was only doing final assembly, says vice-general manager, Aliette Tong. Now the workers weld and paint frames too. The factory can turn out up to 2,000 bicycles a day if the demand is there, he adds.

But the industry still has shallow roots.

At Speedtech everything other than the frame is imported from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan or China, explains Mr Tong. Even the steel used to make the frame is imported from China.

"In this period, parts makers are more are interested in Vietnam," he says.

Moreover, the finished bicycles are exported, not from Cambodia's main port at Preah Sihanouk, which is a gruelling nine-hour drive to the west, but via Ho Chi Minh City's Cat Lai port, four to five hours east of here, even though that entails additional customs processes at the border.

China's loss
What prompted Speedtech to move its operations from Vietnam to Cambodia in the first place, alongside two other Taiwanese-owned manufacturers, A & J and Smart Tech, was a decision by the European Union in 2005 to impose anti-dumping measures on Vietnam, making Vietnamese exports more expensive...
Continued here: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50388764

Kingdom’s bicycle exports pedal past virus
Hin Pisei | Publication date 21 May 2020 | 22:37 ICT
Bicycles need to comprise of a minimum of 40 per cent local components to qualify for duty-free status in the EU. AFP

While bicycle industries around the world rust during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom’s locally-assembled ones continue to pedal into the international market in higher numbers.

Local channel BTV News reported that the Kingdom exported some 498,000 bicycles worth about $119 million in the first quarter of this year, more than $10 million over the same period last year.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng told The Post on Thursday that exports of locally-assembled bicycles can only gain traction as traffic and health concerns force people to reconsider their primary means of transportation.

“The market can only expand and unfold its potential in the future, as more countries around the world think about developing lanes for bicycles.

“Bicycle exports will continue to increase in the second quarter, buoyed by a heightened aversion to public transport. Cycling as a workout option is not likely to decline anytime soon,” said Heng.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ ... iFjk8kPNYc

June 26, 2020
Cambodia’s bicycle exports valued at nearly $200 million in first five months
Cambodia exported locally assembled bicycles of 876,612 units to foreign markets in the first five months this year, a 19 percent increase compared to the same period of last year.

Statistics from the General Department of Customs and Excises show that from January to May, Cambodia exported over $197 million worth of bicycles, up 26 percent.

The biggest market for Cambodia’s locally assembled bicycles is the European Union, followed by the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Japan

In breaking down, 495,341 bicycles were shipped to the EU, and 223,912 others to the U.S. worth $119 million and US$44 million, respectively.

At the same time, 125,602 units of $25 million were bought by the United Kingdom, while 338 units of $94,137 were sold to Japan, and 31,419 units of more than U8 million to other markets.

The bicycle assembly sector is attracting both world-renowned bike manufacturers and accessories factories to invest in Cambodia, mainly at special economic zones in Bavet city, Svay Rieng province.

Last year, Cambodia exported $418 million worth of bicycles, up from $331 million in 2018 to foreign markets.
Chea Vannak
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50738353/c ... ve-months/