Khmer Times, Opinion, 2 August 2023 (Link)
This is a dream.
We have been waiting for the Japanese to come for so long but their investment is still not significant.
Japanese companies often complain that they have difficulties in finding trustworthy Oknhas (tycoons) that they could work with. They can raise all the problems when they don’t want to come to Cambodia, like lack of skilled labor, electricity, middle management, small market, informal fee, etc.
So, the idea is that if the Japanese does not come, why don’t we go and bring them to Cambodia by buying their technologies or companies?
Technologies are not for free. Technology transfer is just a nice word to say but it is never a charity.
It does not have to be Japanese. It can be European, Korean, Chinese or Thai.
There are technologies and companies that investors can buy to expand the horizon of their investment.
It is a risky business, not fun and not easy like speculative real estate business. But one way or another, Cambodian Oknhas will need to move away from the following three business patterns.
Firstly, the tendency to do “me-too business”. Beer industry is the most visible example. Many Oknhas have beer factories, and they are competing in a small Cambodian market. Cambodia is often raised as a country with leading alcohol consumption in the region but this ranking is not a number that we should be proud of because this trend would create future burden for the health sector, and most important of all it weakens the active power of the Cambodian young labor force, especially male. Whenever there is a long holiday, parents in the countryside often complain that they need to take care of the leftover debts from their children’s drinking after a few days of their home visit. This is not a good sign at all for Cambodian society.
Secondly, the tendency to focus on speculative real estate business.
Thirdly, the tendency of “waiting for the return of the Chinese investment”.