Investment approvals plunge, eclipsed by huge 2008 projects

Figures show $6.86bn drop in applications to invest in first seven months, but analyst says there is still growth in key industrial, agricultural sectors

AUS$6.86 billion drop in investments approved by the Cambodian government during the first seven months of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, can be attributed to a small number of massive projects greenlighted last year, according to official figures.

Detailed figures from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), the government's investment arm, show that the value of approved investments dropped 82 percent, from $8.34 billion to $1.48 billion. Click to read more...