Cambodia’s economy to grow by 6 pct this year: central bank

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 12– Cambodia’s economy is projected to grow around 6 percent in 2023, up from 5.1 percent in 2022, driven by garment exports, tourism, agriculture, and construction and real estate, according to a National Bank of Cambodia’s outlook on Thursday. The report underlined that as inflation remains high, the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to continue…

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) — Cambodia’s economy is projected to grow around 6 percent in 2023, up from 5.1 percent in 2022, driven by garment exports, tourism, agriculture, and construction and real estate, according to a National Bank of Cambodia’s outlook on Thursday.

“This projected growth rate is supported by an expected 6.9 percent increase in the garment sector and 14.3 percent rise in non-garment manufacturing products,” the report said.

“The tourism sector is estimated to grow by 18.5 percent due to an increase in local tourists and international tourist arrivals as flight operations from China to Cambodia have been gradually resumed,” it added.

The agricultural sector is forecast to increase by 1.1 percent on the back of the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP) and the bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), as well as the withdrawal of the tariff preference for the import of rice to European markets, the report said.

“However, the construction and real estate sectors are expected to continue experiencing slower growth, at 1.7 percent and 1.2 percent respectively,” it said.

The report underlined that as inflation remains high, the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to continue increasing the federal fund rate, which could further tighten international financial conditions, causing a further appreciation of the U.S. dollar, and putting more pressure on other currencies and international reserves of emerging economies.

“Given the high dollarization, the appreciation of the U.S. dollar will also raise the prices of Cambodia’s exported goods, which is another potential challenge that Cambodia will face,” the report said. Enditem