Business Environment Snapshot for Cambodia - Highlights

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Region: East Asia & Pacific
Income category: Low income
Population: 14,446,056
GNI per capita (US$): 540

Below are select highlights for the data included in the profile.

Cambodia remained steady or declined in all available global rankings. It ranks lower than the regional and income group averages for all global rankings, except for the Index of Economic Freedom, where it performed better than the income group average.
According to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2006-07, the three most problematic factors for doing business are corruption, inefficient government bureaucracy, and policy instability. According to the Enterprise Survey (2003), over 50% of firms cite corruption as a major constraint to firm investment, followed by crime, and economic and regulatory policy uncertainty.
Among surveyed East Asian economies, Cambodia has the lowest percentage of bank finance for new investments. It also ranks 177 (of 178) for the Doing Business indicator on Getting Credit.

View global rankings on the business environment. See the underlying scores, the trend indicator, and a radar chart with regional and income group comparisons.

View Comparison Chart

#	Indicator	Source	Rank			Scale	Score						Trend over past year¹
#	Indicator	Source	2008	2007	2006	Scale	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	Trend over past year¹
1	Business Environment Index	EIU - Global Outlook Report				1-10
2	Control of Corruption Indicator	World Bank Group	184 (201)	186 (201)	177 (200)	-2.5-2.5	-1.1	-1.2	-1.1	-1.0	-0.9	-1.0
3	Country Credit Rating	Institutional Investor	140 (174)	140 (174)	136 (173)	0-100	20.7	22.1	21.4	20.1	20.4	17.1
4	Index of Economic Freedom	The Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal	100 (157)	98 (157)	97 (157)	0-100	56.2	56.1	56.9	60.2	61.1	63.7
5	Political Risk Rating (ICRG)	PRS Group				0-100
6	Doing Business Ranking	World Bank Group	135 (181)	150 (181)		1-181²
7	Quality of National Business Environment Ranking	World Economic Forum - Global Competitiveness Report		114 (127)	104 (111)	1-127²

View Comparison Chart

Notes:

Please Note: As each of these rankings is collected and published on a different schedule, we associate the data with the year it was published. For Doing Business, the data is also associated for the year it was published (not the year of the report). For example, the data for 2007 was published in 2007 (yet from the Doing Business 2008 report).

¹An up/down rating requires a change within the last 2 years with available data of at least 1%
²These two sources only provide rankings, not an underlying score. We do not report trends for these two, as trends on rankings cannot be compared with the trends on scores.

View more detailed data from Doing Business and the Enterprise Surveys, two flagship data products of the World Bank Group focusing on private sector development. View key economic and private sector development indicators.

Doing Business

Source: Doing Business Website

Ease of...	2008 rank	2007 rank	Change in rank
Doing Business	135	150	15
Starting a Business	169	163	-6
Dealing with Construction Permits	147	144	-3
Employing Workers	134	133	-1
Registering Property	108	102	-6
Getting Credit	68	180	112
Protecting Investors	70	66	-4
Paying Taxes	24	22	-2
Trading Across Borders	122	144	22
Enforcing Contracts	136	135	-1
Closing a Business	181	181	0

Three Well Performing Indicators	Percentile Rank¹	Indicator Value²	Compare with Income Group Average	Compare with Region Average
Paying Taxes: Labor tax and contributions (%)	99.4	0.0	15.0	12.6
Protecting Investors: Director Liability Index	99.4	9.0	3.5	5.4
Getting Credit: Legal Rights Index	97.2	9.0	4.3	5.8

Three Potential Indicators for Reform	Percentile Rank¹	Indicator Value²	Compare with Income Group Average	Compare with Region Average
Trading Across Borders: Documents for export (number)	5.5	11.0	8.1	6.7
Enforcing Contracts: Cost (% of claim)	4.4	102.7	53.4	48.3
Dealing with Licenses: Duration (days)	1.7	709.0	291.7	177.2

¹A percentile rank of 1 reflects a country ranked for that variable in the bottom 1 % of countries. Conversely, a percentile rank of 100 reflects a country ranked for that variable in the top 1% of countries.
²The value shown in this column is the specific value for the indicator. For example, if there is a value of 9.8 for Starting a Business: Duration (Days), that means that for the particular country it takes 9.8 days to Start a Business.

See Full Indicator List

Enterprise Surveys

Source: Enterprise Surveys Website

Top 10 Constraints to Firm Investment in Cambodia

Senior Management Time Spent in Dealing with Requirements of Government Regulation (%)

% of Firms Expected to Pay Informal Payment (to get things done)

% of Firms Using Banks to Finance Investments

% of Firms With ISO certification ownership (%)

Time spent in meetings with tax officials (days)

Average Time to Clear Direct Exports Through Customs (days)

Note: These graphs compare the relevant country to the best and worst countries within the region and the world.

Time Series Data

Source: WDI, ILO, S&P

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Macro Indicators
GDP growth (annual %)	6.5	8.5	10.0	13.5	10.8	10.3
Inflation, consumer prices (annual %)	3.2	1.2	3.9	5.7	4.7	5.9
Total Returns Index (IFCGTRUS)
Financial & Private Sector Development Indicators
FDI Net Inflows , (% of GDP)	3.4	1.8	2.5	6.1	6.7
Gross Fixed Capital Formation, private sector (% of GDP)	11.6	12.1	12.4	13.8	13.9
Tax revenue (% of GDP)	8.2	7.6	8.2	7.9	8.2
Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)	55.5	56.6	63.9	64.2	68.8
Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)	64.0	66.7	71.2	72.9	75.8
Private Credit to GDP	6.3	7.0	8.1	8.0
Private Credit to Total Domestic Credit	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.2
Total Financial System Deposits to GDP	11.8	13.2	14.5	13.8
Bank nonperfoming loans to total (%)
Lending Spread	13.4	16.1	15.6	15.1
Private Sector Employment as a % of Total Employment
Business Entry Rate (new registrations as % of total)

Title	Author/Contact	Source	Date
Cambodia Doing Business profile		Doing Business database	09/08
The tourism law in Cambodia : balancing regulation and facilitation of the sector		Business issues bulletin Cambodia ; No. 15	05/08
Cambodia - Country Assistance Strategy Progress Report			04/08
Cambodia - Handbook on export procedures : practical guide for small and medium enterprises			04/08
Commercial disputes and the new National Arbitration Center	Haythorne, Eric, Meng Tech Nguon, Thora Mao, Siah Yong Tan, Tayseng Ly, Visoth Prom	Business Issues Bulletin Cambodia. -- No 14 (August 2007)	08/07
Informalizing the formal : labor relations in Cambodia	Adler, Daniel	Justice for the poor ; Volume 1, issue no. 3	08/07
Cambodia - Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Progress Report and Joint IDA-IMF Staff Advisory Note			06/07
Informal charges hinder business growth in Cambodia		Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 13 (March 2007)	03/07
Provincial business environment scorecard (PBES)		Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 12 (January 2007)	01/07
Doing business 2008 Cambodia : a project benchmarking the regulatory cost of doing business in 178 economies			01/07
The provincial business environment scorecard in Cambodia : a measure of economic governance and regulatory policy			10/06
Cambodia - Country Assistance Strategy			04/05
Alternative Dispute Resolution: what it is, and why it is relevant to Cambodia	Horn, Michael, Thora Mao	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 9	01/05
Doing business in 2005: comparing the Cambodian business environment with the world	Siphana, Sok, Lan Sinara	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 7	01/05
Making microfinance work for the poor: key principles	In, Channy, Bun Mony	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 8	01/05
Company registration in Cambodia: why do firms stay informal?	Bun, Youdy, Thora Mao	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 2	01/04
Constraints to the competitiveness of Cambodia's private sector	Phou, Puy, Sokun Keo, Frankie Yee, Sokan Chhim, Ken Loo, Heang Heng	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 3	01/04
The case for sustainable business practices	Mao, Thora, Chantha Prak	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 4	01/04
The garment sector in Cambodia : post-MFA outlook	Ross, Adrian, Ken Loo	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 5	01/04
A review of constraints to SME financing	So, Phonnary, Thora Mao	Business issues bulletin Cambodia. -- No. 1 (November 2003)	11/03
Financing SMEs in Cambodia : why do banks find it so difficult	Harner, Stephen M.	Private sector discussions ; no. 14	04/03

Project		Total Project Amount (US $ millions)	Contact
World Bank
Name:	Cambodia Trade Development Support Program (TF093573)	0.00	Guimbert,Stephane
ID:	P109648
Open/Close:	1/7/2009
Status:	Active
Name:	Cambodia Trade Facilitation and Competitiveness	10.00	Guimbert,Stephane
ID:	P089196
Open/Close:	6/2/2005
Status:	Active
IFC
Name:	ATF-Cambodia Mobile phone banking	0.35	Sereivathana Pak
ID:	569387
Open/Close:	3/2/2009
Status:	Active
Name:	ATF-Cambodia Credit Bureau Project	0.77	Sereivathana Pak
ID:	564187
Open/Close:	2/1/2009
Status:	Active
Name:	ATF-Cambodia Microfinance Institution	0.75	Hourn Thy
ID:	559385
Open/Close:	7/1/2008
Status:	Active
Name:	BEE-Cambodia Provincial Business Environment Scorecard	0.38	Soneath Hor
ID:	541523
Open/Close:	1/1/2008
Status:	Active
Name:	Cambodia SEZ Legal and Institutional Framework	0.16	Soneath Hor
ID:	556686
Open/Close:	8/1/2007
Status:	Active
Name:	ATF-Cambodia Bank Advisory Project	1.27	Hourn Thy
ID:	554006
Open/Close:	5/1/2007
Status:	Active
Name:	Cambodia CIB Strategy Implementation & Capacity Building	0.40	Geoffrey Noel Walton
ID:	544084
Open/Close:	3/1/2006
Status:	Active
Name:	ATF-Cambodia CMA Advocacy	0.30	Sereivathana Pak
ID:	531522
Open/Close:	7/1/2005
Status:	Active
Name:	BEE- Cambodia Private Sector Forum Secretariat	1.91	Si-Ambhaivan Sisombat
ID:	523052
Open/Close:	6/1/2004
Status:	Active
Name:	BEE-CB Alternative Dispute Resolution	0.19	Soneath Hor
ID:	547386
Open/Close:	10/1/2006 - 6/30/2008
Status:	Closed
Name:	Cambodia Tourism: A Value and Supply Chain Study	0.26	Xiaolun Sun
ID:	539783
Open/Close:	12/1/2005 - 12/30/2007
Status:	Closed
Name:	BEE-CB Advocacy Support to Business Associations & PSF Working Group	0.15	Soneath Hor
ID:	539503
Open/Close:	8/1/2005 - 12/31/2007
Status:	Closed
Name:	Cambodia Duty Suspension Scheme	0.15	Russell A. Muir
ID:	538777
Open/Close:	2/15/2005 - 12/12/2007
Status:	Closed
Name:	FMD-Cambodia Bank Training Program	0.64	Sereivathana Pak
ID:	543425
Open/Close:	- 12/31/2007
Status:	Closed

Notes:

Doing Business

Enterprise Surveys

Time Series Data

Banking and Credit Laws (Getting Credit, Protecting Investors)

Bankruptcy and Collateral Laws (Closing a Business, Getting Credit - Legal Rights)

Civil Procedure Codes (Enforcing Contracts, Closing a Business, Protecting Investors)

Commercial and Company Laws (Starting a Business, Protecting Investors, Closing a Business)

Constitutions (Starting a Business, Employing Workers, Registering Property, Enforcing Contracts)

Labor Laws (Employing Workers)

Land and Building Laws (Dealing with Licenses, Registering Property)

Securities Laws (Protecting Investors)

Tax Laws (Paying Taxes)

Trade Laws (Trading Across Borders)