George Styllis

The Cambodia Securities Exchange presented two new trading tools to the public Thursday to speed up transactions and entice greater interest in the country’s lackluster bourse.

Microfinance institution Sathapana Ltd. and its majority stakeholder, Maruhan Japan Bank, announced Tuesday that they would merge to form Sathapana Bank in the first consolidation of its kind in an increasingly competitive finance sector.

Growth in tourist arrivals slowed down last year to the lowest rate since the global financial crisis, according to preliminary figures provided by the Ministry of Tourism on Monday.

Cambodia and Singapore signed an agreement last week to allow companies and individuals who register their ideas for patent protection in either country to have them recognized by both.

Hooters, the U.S. restaurant franchise famous for its scantily-clad waitresses and chicken wings, has signed an agreement with a Thai firm to open additional branches throughout Asia, including in Cambodia.

The official distribution of premium beer Heineken has sparked a dispute between two local companies, with full-page advertisements taken out in local newspapers to publicize the spat.

The government has urged gasoline companies to pass on the full benefit of declining global oil prices to consumers and avoid price rigging, with average gas prices in the country dropping 6.5 percent over the past 10 days.

Two Cambodian university students won $8,000 on Monday by placing second in a regional stock trading competition, after making it to the final round of the contest ahead of nearly 2,000 other teams from across Southeast Asia.

This was meant to be a milestone year for Cambodia’s rice industry, with the government aiming to export 1 million tons by the end of 2015. But the government has revised down its expectations for this year and experts say major hurdles must be overcome if the country is to hit the ambitious target in the years to come.

Cambodia and Japan on Wednesday signed an agreement that would allow the launch of direct scheduled flights between the two countries.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy on Tuesday held a press conference to refute a Radio Free Asia broadcast late last month claiming that the ministry had granted a mineral company a license to mine for gold in Ratanakkiri province before an environmental impact assessment had been completed, com­pany and ministry officials said Wednesday.

More than half the companies in Cambodia are being hampered by nontariff measures when trading goods internationally, with exporters most severely affected, according to a report released Friday by the Geneva-based International Trade Center.

Cambodia’s growing condominium sector shows no signs of slowing down, with construction on two new condominiums set to begin in the first quarter of this year.

Low-wage workers will be able to earn up to $200 a month before their salary is taxed at the minimum 5 percent rate, raising the tax-free threshold by about $75 from the current $125, according to a notice released Wednesday by the general department of taxation.

Cambodia’s total trade volume reached $18.1 billion last year, a 13.8 percent increase over $15.9 billion the year before, with the country’s trade deficit widening by more than half a billion dollars, according to the Commerce Ministry and state media.

U.S. fast-food giant Domino’s Pizza will open this month in Phnom Penh, with three more outlets set to open this year, according to the managing director of the local firm partnering with the global chain.

New television channel TV3 Asia is undergoing a major push to revamp its image and change its content after struggling since its launch six months ago to compete with major local channels, station executives said Monday.

The first shipment of cassava in a major deal between Chinese biofuel firm Henan Tianguan Group and a Cambodian logistics company left Cambodia on Friday, according to the local firm.

The annual New Year’s Eve ritual of seeing the night sky lit up by fireworks from a boat is growing more popular in Phnom Penh, where tour companies say they saw a sharp rise in the number of local revelers sailing the Tonle Sap on Wednesday night.

As artificial trees and glittery Christmas trinkets line Phnom Penh’s shop windows, the holiday spirit—and consumerism—is very much alive in the capital this week. But the country’s biggest supermarket rolled out a new product this year: real Christmas trees.