UN confirm LDC graduation date for Cambodia

[phuketrichard]

sounds good BUT is it really a good thing??

Cambodia will officially graduate from the “least developed country” (LDC) category on December 19, 2029.

The graduation was confirmed in the UN General Assembly’s resolution A/79/L.49, adopted on December 19, 2024. The resolution also applied to Senegal.

“The two countries will graduate from the LDC category on 19 December 2029 after being granted, on an exceptional basis, an extended preparatory period of five years – the standard period is of three years – to enable them to effectively prepare for graduation and ensure a smooth transition out of the category,” said a UN press release.

The Kingdom received LDC status in 1991, enabling it to enjoy selected trade preferences, including the Everything But Arms (EBA) of the EU and other generalised systems of preferences.

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... r-cambodia?

some of the challenges arising from this exit include the loss of tariff preferences from Cambodia’s major export markets, such as the European Union (EU) and the United States, where the tariff preference utilization rate is approximately 90 percent.

In addition, Cambodia must comply with the rule of origin, which requires that the local content rate used in production be increased from the current 30 percent to 60 percent after leaving the Least Developed Country group.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501606814/ ... sour-says/?

The results of a recent survey conducted by the World Bank indicate that Cambodia’s informal economy presents the largest barrier to doing business in the Kingdom.

The “Cambodia Economic Update December 2024”, released by the World Bank earlier this month, noted that the complexity of the tax system was ranked second, followed by corruption. It explained that these issues inhibit the labour productivity of Cambodian-based businesses, reducing the ability of some enterprises to successfully expand operations in the country.

In a concerning development, new business registrations at the Ministry of Commerce fell by almost 20% in the first 11 months of the year, when compared with the same period last year. In the same period, the number of requests for deregistration rose by more than 30%.
...............
He also noted that many legal businesses face issues with informal competitors, with an estimated 78% of businesses being unregistered.

Vichet explained that this means that informal businesses can offer products and services at lower prices than registered and tax compliant companies, creating an unfair competitive environment.

According to the World Bank report , tax rates came in at number two as the most problematic factor for doing business in Cambodia, with 68 percent of all firm’s surveyed citing it as a significant challenge.

https://phnompenhpost.com/business/worl ... ns-decline?


in a nut shell
Cambodia’s slow climb from the ranks of least developed nations is headed for a successful finish. The Kingdom, the U.N. announced this week, will graduate to the status of middle-income country on Dec 29, 2029.

The economic achievement brings enormous challenges, and the U.N. has extended the transition period to allow for extra preparation. After elevation, Cambodia will lose eligibility for preferential trade agreements, low-interest loans, foreign aid and more.

The government is racing to get ready. It will need a miracle to fix the hardest problems — informal businesses, a Byzantine tax system, endemic corruption — by graduation day.

good luck

[Kammekor]

I think it's a good thing, and it's about time time Cambodia holds up its' own pants.

[Alex]

Sounds more like getting kicked out than a graduation.