Bad Loans Alarm Banks, Beer Sales Hit $2.3 Billion, PM Expands Bodyguard Unit

Feb 02, 2024

POLL AHEAD: Ahead of crucial senate elections this month, the ruling party has already jailed four Candlelight Party officials. Two arrests this week were purportedly for forging election paperwork.
DISTRESS CALL: Human trafficking has become such a drag on the economy, the Interior Minister has shuffled his troops to focus on cybercrime. All he needs, he says, is more money, officers and training.
HECTIC METRICS: Social media just isn't what it used to be. That’s especially true in the Kingdom, where the opposition and media outlets are hounded by legions of spam bots. The CPP, oddly enough, is rarely targeted.

THE LEDE

Sand Trap

Critics have pounced on Hun Manet’s plans to rejuvenate Sihanoukville.

The government estimates at least $1.1 billion is needed to clean up the city’s so-called “ghost buildings,” referring to the hundreds of half-built eyesores abandoned by Chinese financiers during the pandemic.

The prime minister has offered new investors substantial tax breaks and other incentives — but detractors say it’s the Kingdom's culture of impunity that is scaring away high rollers, not its tax laws, and the only real fix is reform.

"The ghost building situation will worsen because only Chinese investors … will be willing to deal with all the corruption,” said one analyst. “European and American investors don't want to be involved with human rights abuses."

Bubble Watch

Bank executives warned of a looming crisis as bad loans surged to all-time highs and lenders with heavy exposure to the real estate sector faced a bruising cash crunch.

The number of borrowers behind on loan payments hit 5.4% in December, and at least four of the Kingdom’s top 40 banks were dealing with “extreme risk” in their loan books. Private lending grew by less than 5% in 2023, the slowest rate in more than two decades, as banks scrambled to tighten lending terms.

The property market grew a paltry .5 percent, with experts cautioning that prolonged weakness in the sector would soon start weighing on the broader economy.

Troll Troops

How much does criticism on social media worry the ruling party?

A small army of dubious Facebook accounts has for months flooded posts by opposition figures and Khmer-language media with spammy, off-topic comments, which serve to drown out legitimate voices and discourage authentic dialogue.

The thousands-strong bot network was first identified in September by researchers working for the opposition CNRP. Its targets included Sam Rainsy, Radio Free Asia and The Cambodia Daily Khmer.

Facebook has known of the problem since October, yet has failed to slow the onslaught.

TALKING POINTS

Home Alone

The Phnom Penh Appeals Court denied Kem Sokha’s request to lift restrictions barring non-family members from visiting him under house arrest — a rule that prevents him from meeting with legal counsel. The decision concluded the first of nine court appearances scheduled over the next four months, as the former CNRP president works to overturn a 27-year prison sentence for treason.

Ballot Box

Phnom Penh authorities jailed two Candlelight Party officials for allegedly forging election-related documents, although full details of the case remained unclear. Candlelighters called the arrests a form of intimidation ahead of Feb. 25 senate elections.

Key Strokes

A reshuffle at the National Committee for Counter Trafficking places renewed focus on cybercrime, according to Interior Minister Sar Sokha, who said Cambodia’s reputation for human trafficking is hurting the economy. Digital criminals were elusive, officials said, and more money and police training were needed.

Body Men

The government will add 111 soldiers to Hun Manet’s elite Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit. The group, believed to have at least 2,000 members, is well-armed and tasked with protecting the premier, his family and government leaders.

Graft Game

Cambodia ranked among the most corrupt countries in the Asia Pacific region on Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perception Index. The Kingdom scored a dismal 22 out of 100 points, beating only Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea.

Tests Drives

Capital police nabbed 161 drunk drivers during a three-day clampdown and warned that strict enforcement, including citywide sobriety checks, would continue. At least one foreigner, a Chinese national, will be deported for driving under the influence of drugs.

Thirst Trap

Cambodians spend a whopping $2.3 billion annually on beer. That amounts to roughly 72 liters, or about 220 cans, for every man, woman and child in the Kingdom.

BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault

Arrests Don’t Calm Nerves of Potential Targets

February 2, 2004
Two arrests in the killing of union leader Chea Vichea have done nothing to pacify critics of the government or quell fears that similar assassination-style attacks on government critics are imminent.

Thai Business Returns to Cambodia, but Riots Are Not Forgotten

January 31, 2004
A phone call placed to the Thai employees of Modern Plastic and Packaging on National Road 2 in the early evening of Jan 29 last year relayed an urgent message: The Thai Embassy is in flames and an angry mob of youths is headed to destroy your business. Get out.

After Chea Vichea, Many Wonder ‘Who’s Next?’

January 27, 2004
As the thousands of mourners who attended Chea Vichea’s cremation ceremony returned to their homes and workplaces on Sunday afternoon, the question on many minds was who killed the union leader, and why?

The Weekly Dispatch

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