The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 15:04
By Sebastian Strangio
CIVIL society representatives have called on the government to allow for more input on Cambodia’s national planning process, repeating earlier criticisms that NGOs were not given enough of an opportunity to help shape the draft National Strategic Development Plan Update for 2009-13 (NSDP).
Chith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum in Cambodia, said the three-week period slated for civil society comment on the NSDP draft, which closed on January 14, was too short to be meaningful.
“Sufficient information should be given before consultations take place,” he said during a workshop in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. “In order to ensure the participation is successful, sufficient time should be given.”
The NSDP for 2009-13 – a key planning document that creates a framework for the country’s development – carries forward a similar plan for 2006-10, though it has been adjusted to account for the effects of the global financial crisis, said Theng Pagnathun, deputy director general at the Ministry of Planning.
He said the government’s consultation process over the new draft began last May with the issuing of a circular and the organisation of workshops for its distribution. “There has been the involvement of NGOs, CSOs [civil society organisations] and donors,” he said. “This is the consultation we’ve been having – it’s not perfect.”
The NSDP draft is due to be signed by the King in May or June, at which point it will be disseminated widely, he added.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Nobel Laureate: Human Resource is the Major Problem Facing Cambodia
By Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
19 January 2010
David Jonathan Gross
As other developing countries in the world, the major problem facing Cambodia is the serious lack of human resources for the country’s development, according to Professor David Jonathan Gross, a Nobel Laureate for Physics.
Prof. Gross said through his lecture and dialogue with some participants and people he met, he observes that there are quite a lot of brilliant young people in Cambodia, which will be important for Cambodia’s future development, but the most important thing is whether they are given opportunity to develop their skills.
“It’s a major problem - human resources,” Gross said in a phone interview with VOA Khmer during his visit to Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. “I’ve met a lot of very hopeful people. You know that’s the most important thing. People are very optimistic about the future. Cambodia has a lot of great resources. I have a lot of faith in young people, very brilliant young minds that could do great things just given the opportunity. I have tried to tell them that they should dream big. I have talked to people about giving young people opportunity.”
Prof. Gross is a Nobel Laureate for Physics in 2004. He has discovered and explored the force that binds particles inside an atomic nucleus. This phenomenon led to a whole new physical theory and enabled scientists to complete the standard model of particle physics, which describes the fundamental particles in nature, and how they interact with one another.
Gross said there are two kinds of human resources. While the majority of people are just working forces, others have special talents and great minds, who make great contributions to the country’s development. This kind of people should be given special opportunity.
"And then, very gifted people, whose minds you really don’t want to waste and who will contribute very important contributions to the society,’’ Prof. Gross said. ‘’And it’s important to make sure you don’t lose those really special people, and you give them opportunities. You will have to enable them to go abroad. It’s also important to identify very brilliant people and give them special opportunities because those people can make important contributions.”
Chek Chan Oeun, a physics lecturer at Royal University of Phnom Penh, who participated in the Professor Gross’s lecture, said the lecture paves the way for participants, especially for students to a broader scientific research and open their minds to how science can help social development.
“Through this lecture, we have acquired some knowledge related to universe, dark energy, dark materials, and the evolution of the universe,” Chek Chan Oeun said. “In addition, it encourages students to find out what has been discovered by scientists, what is still unknown, and what they are doing to help the world.”
“In the future I want to be like him and discover new things to meet the needs of the world,” said Sun Limhour, a 4th year student in physics department of Royal University of Phnom Penh. “I have loved electronics since I was young. It is a true science.”
The visit by Prof. David Jonathan Gross intends to strengthen the relationship among nations in Southeast Asia and ASEAN with the rest of the world, according to the organizer.
“It’s our aim really to build these bridges not only with Nobel laureates from the United States or Europe and the societies here in Southeast Asia, but between the societies in ASEAN to reach more cooperation on the level of education because education as we think is basic for peace and that’s why we are doing this program at the universities and at schools here in Cambodia and also in other countries in the region,” said Morawetz, director of International Peace Foundation.
Born in Washington, D.C., Professor David Jonathan Gross, received his undergraduate degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1962 and then continued his education at University of California, Berkley, from where he received his Ph.D. in physics in 1966. He then served as a junior fellow at Harvard University. Professor Gross is now a director and holder of the Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics of the University of California in Santa Barbara and a member of the Advisory Board of the Intentional Peace Foundation.
As part of the “Bridges” program by the International Peace Foundation, the next Nobel Laureate who will pay a visit to Cambodia on January 20 is Professor Eric Stark Maskin, a 2007 Nobel Laureate for Economics.
Original report from Washington
19 January 2010
David Jonathan GrossAs other developing countries in the world, the major problem facing Cambodia is the serious lack of human resources for the country’s development, according to Professor David Jonathan Gross, a Nobel Laureate for Physics.
Prof. Gross said through his lecture and dialogue with some participants and people he met, he observes that there are quite a lot of brilliant young people in Cambodia, which will be important for Cambodia’s future development, but the most important thing is whether they are given opportunity to develop their skills.
“It’s a major problem - human resources,” Gross said in a phone interview with VOA Khmer during his visit to Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. “I’ve met a lot of very hopeful people. You know that’s the most important thing. People are very optimistic about the future. Cambodia has a lot of great resources. I have a lot of faith in young people, very brilliant young minds that could do great things just given the opportunity. I have tried to tell them that they should dream big. I have talked to people about giving young people opportunity.”
Prof. Gross is a Nobel Laureate for Physics in 2004. He has discovered and explored the force that binds particles inside an atomic nucleus. This phenomenon led to a whole new physical theory and enabled scientists to complete the standard model of particle physics, which describes the fundamental particles in nature, and how they interact with one another.
Gross said there are two kinds of human resources. While the majority of people are just working forces, others have special talents and great minds, who make great contributions to the country’s development. This kind of people should be given special opportunity.
"And then, very gifted people, whose minds you really don’t want to waste and who will contribute very important contributions to the society,’’ Prof. Gross said. ‘’And it’s important to make sure you don’t lose those really special people, and you give them opportunities. You will have to enable them to go abroad. It’s also important to identify very brilliant people and give them special opportunities because those people can make important contributions.”
Chek Chan Oeun, a physics lecturer at Royal University of Phnom Penh, who participated in the Professor Gross’s lecture, said the lecture paves the way for participants, especially for students to a broader scientific research and open their minds to how science can help social development.
“Through this lecture, we have acquired some knowledge related to universe, dark energy, dark materials, and the evolution of the universe,” Chek Chan Oeun said. “In addition, it encourages students to find out what has been discovered by scientists, what is still unknown, and what they are doing to help the world.”
“In the future I want to be like him and discover new things to meet the needs of the world,” said Sun Limhour, a 4th year student in physics department of Royal University of Phnom Penh. “I have loved electronics since I was young. It is a true science.”
The visit by Prof. David Jonathan Gross intends to strengthen the relationship among nations in Southeast Asia and ASEAN with the rest of the world, according to the organizer.
“It’s our aim really to build these bridges not only with Nobel laureates from the United States or Europe and the societies here in Southeast Asia, but between the societies in ASEAN to reach more cooperation on the level of education because education as we think is basic for peace and that’s why we are doing this program at the universities and at schools here in Cambodia and also in other countries in the region,” said Morawetz, director of International Peace Foundation.
Born in Washington, D.C., Professor David Jonathan Gross, received his undergraduate degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1962 and then continued his education at University of California, Berkley, from where he received his Ph.D. in physics in 1966. He then served as a junior fellow at Harvard University. Professor Gross is now a director and holder of the Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics of the University of California in Santa Barbara and a member of the Advisory Board of the Intentional Peace Foundation.
As part of the “Bridges” program by the International Peace Foundation, the next Nobel Laureate who will pay a visit to Cambodia on January 20 is Professor Eric Stark Maskin, a 2007 Nobel Laureate for Economics.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Lenders look to Cambodian market
Blogger note: Cambodia's size is 181,035 squate kilometers NOT 181,000 squate kilometers
Shinhan Khmer Bank, right, opened in October 2007, while Kookmin Bank Cambodia opened in May 2009. Both banks have been working hard to attract more Cambodian customers instead of members of the Korean expat community - the traditional clientele of Korean banks operating abroad. By Kim Joon-hyunJanuary 19, 2010
JoonAng Daily (South Korea)
Until about 10 years ago, few Korean companies imagined that Cambodia - an impoverished Southeast Asian country ravaged by decades of internal conflicts - would become one of the top destinations for local banks looking to step onto the global stage.
But the situation has radically changed since then, and a growing number of Korean financial companies are starting to view the country as a promised land with vast growth potential.
With competition becoming increasingly cutthroat and even self-predatory in Cambodia, Korean firms are finding that localization is the key to survival and success in a market that some optimistic experts hail as the next Vietnam.
Kookmin Bank, Korea’s largest lender by assets, is one of most aggressive foreign firms in Cambodia and has been beefing up its localization efforts since it took a foothold in the country last year. The bank set up a locally incorporated unit, called Kookmin Bank Cambodia, last year and has been working hard to increase the bank’s brand awareness among locals.
At 5 p.m. on a recent Friday, some 20 Cambodian employees gathered at the branch office in downtown Phnom Penh to attend a seminar led by Kim Eung-nam, vice chief of the Cambodian unit. Kim holds the weekly seminars to train local employees about basic and advance-level banking operations.
“This is not a mandatory event, but everyone attends it every week regardless,” Kim said. “They are so eager to learn.”
The weekly seminar has an important long-term goal: help local employees learn enough about the company and the industry so that they can become senior managers one day.
“We have emphasized repeatedly that the bank, though formed by Koreans, is a Cambodian company,” said Jang Ki-sung, the head of Kookmin Bank Cambodia.
Jang said he plans to let one of the Cambodian employees head the bank’s second branch in the country, which Kookmin plans to open next year. He also promised a fat bonus for everyone if the bank produces profits this year, hoping it will serve as an incentive to work harder.
In another effort to nurture leadership among local employees, Kookmin in 2007 hired a handful of locals in several countries it wanted to enter in the future - including Cambodia - before it set up operations in those nations. The company brought the employees to the bank’s headquarters in Seoul to participate in training programs that lasted over a year.
Fast-forward three years, and two of those initial hires are working at Kookmin Bank Cambodia’s private banking division as managers.
Among the 1,226 banking accounts that have been opened via the Cambodian unit through last November, 663 of them - or about 55 percent - belong to locals as opposed to Korean expats and businessmen operating in the country.
About 70 percent of the bank’s total loans also were made to Cambodians, a rarity for a foreign unit of a Korean bank that has long catered to expats.
“It is premature to judge whether or not we have been successful here since this bank was officially established in May of last year,” Jang said. “But at least we have a good start.”
Other Korean banks are tapping the market as well. Shinhan Bank, for instance, was one of the pioneers in Cambodia, setting up a unit in the country called Shinhan Khmer Bank in October 2007. Lee Jae-joon, the head of Shinhan Khmer, boasts that 80 percent of the unit’s loan borrowers are local Cambodians.
That’s not to say everything is rosy for these companies: The industry is still relatively new, corruption in the country is rampant and there’s a severe lack of relevant funding options. Also, most of deposits are of the short-term nature, posing a big challenge for banks when it comes to managing their deposit pool.
“Corporate balance sheets are considered very unreliable, meaning we can’t lend on a non-collateral basis,” said Lee of Shinhan Khmer.
Jang echoed that sentiment, saying such lingering uncertainties are the reason why global banking giants like HSBC and Citibank have yet established a presence in Cambodia.
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