Latest news with #MinistryofEconomyandFinance
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
Cambodia's Preah Sihanouk investment incentive programme continues to grow
Many building projects in Sihanoukville have remained abandoned since the Covid-19 outbreak. - Photo: The Phnom Penh Post/ANN PHNOM PENH: An additional 10 investment projects with a total capital of US$154 million will receive special incentives from the Royal Government under the 'Special Investment Promotion Programme in Preah Sihanouk Province'. This brings the total number of projects benefiting from the programme to 297. The latest projects were approved during the 16th meeting of the programme's working group, held at the Ministry of Economy and Finance headquarters on Thursday (May 29). The meeting was chaired by ministry secretary of state Hean Sahib, head of the group. During the meeting, he briefed attendees on the current state of global trade policy and the protection of domestic industries, which have led to a rise in trade barriers and are impacting the Kingdom's exports, as well as industrial development and investment. He explained that despite these challenges, the government remains committed to improving the business environment to attract and boost investment in Preah Sihanouk through a strategy of 'retaining existing investors and attracting new ones', as well as resolving issues through the One Window Service Office system. 'This situation has created momentum for Cambodia to continue economic diversification and attract investment from other countries by doubling efforts to improve the business environment and draw in investors,' he said. Projects approved to join the programme will receive a number of incentives, privileges and procedural facilitation within the framework of the programme, which will continue to be implemented until the end of 2025. According to the meeting, four of the ten newly approved projects are related to stalled building construction, while four are entirely new. One is for the expansion of a previous operation, while one is an existing project. With a total investment of $154 million, the ten projects have the potential to create around 1,200 jobs. The projects include factories, commercial buildings, general education institutions, floating ports, hotels and residential buildings. According to the working group, since the programme began in 2024, 297 investment projects have been approved. They have a total estimated capital of $7.029 billion and will create approximately 53,000 jobs. In June, the working group plans to inspect around 30 proposed projects. The group is continuing to encourage businesspeople and investors to apply for special benefits, such as tax incentives, administrative facilitation and procedural easing related to investment. Im Senghour, head of Century 21 Zillion Holding's Sihanoukville branch, told The Post on May 29 that after a sharp downturn during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the construction, real estate, tourism and overall economy of Preah Sihanouk began to show signs of recovery in 2024. He added that government policies aimed at revitalising the economy in the province are starting to yield positive results, particularly by reviving previously stalled activities. 'The 'Special Investment Promotion Programme in Preah Sihanouk Province' is gradually bringing progress, although its impact is not yet strong, as all of this still depends on the global economic situation,' he acknowledged. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung pushes to split Finance Ministry's budget powers
Proposal seeks to divide policy planning, budgeting to enhance parliamentary oversight Presidential front-runner Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea has proposed a large-scale restructuring of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, advocating for the separation of the ministry's budget authority from its policy planning function in a bid to decentralize power and strengthen legislative oversight. Speaking during a live YouTube broadcast on Wednesday, Lee argued that 'splitting the Finance Ministry's budget functions is necessary to break its monopoly over financial policy and budget formulation.' He also highlighted the muddled situations in oversight, including that, 'domestic financial policies are managed by the Financial Services Commission, while overseas policies are handled by the ministry.' The Ministry of Economy and Finance is one of the country's most powerful agencies, with its minister serving as deputy prime minister. It manages the government's fiscal affairs, including budgeting, taxation and financial policy, and plays a central role in drafting and reviewing the national budget and shaping overall economic direction. Lee's proposal aligns with a broader party platform aimed at improving government efficiency. It envisions a comprehensive restructuring in which the Finance Ministry would focus solely on economic policy and planning, while budgetary oversight would be reinforced through enhanced parliamentary involvement. The presidential hopeful has long championed this stance, criticizing the ministry's 'monarch-like' control over state finances — a refrain he has repeated since his previous presidential campaign. The Democratic Party is reportedly reviewing options to divide the Finance Ministry into two entities, resembling the structure in place before 2008. Under the proposed plan, the Planning and Budget Office would be moved under either the Prime Minister's Office or the President's Office, while the remaining ministry would retain fiscal management duties. Historically, Korea's budget and fiscal planning functions have undergone several structural changes. They were originally housed in separate agencies following the establishment of the Korea Institute of Economic Planning in 1961. The functions were unified under President Kim Young-sam (1993–1998), split again under Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, and then reintegrated during President Lee Myung-bak's administration in 2008 — where they remain combined to this day. Momentum for change has been growing since early April, with key legislative proposals highlighting bipartisan frustration over what many view as excessive concentration of authority within the Finance Ministry. Democratic lawmakers Rep. Huh Seong-moo and Rep. Oh Ki-hyeon recently introduced legislation aimed at dividing the ministry, echoing wider concern over its dominance in budget allocation and policy control. The ministry has frequently clashed with progressive administrations, resisting policies such as COVID-19 relief payouts and asserting control over fiscal decisions. In 2020, then-Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki publicly opposed universal relief grants, prompting Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun to question whether 'this is the Finance Ministry's country.' Lee, who was Gyeonggi Province governor at the time, also criticized the ministry: 'This country does not belong to the Finance Ministry. It belongs to the people.' In a recent report on Korea's 2025 fiscal plan, the National Assembly Budget Office highlighted persistent limitations in the current budget allocation system. It called for reforms to strengthen legislative oversight and improve fiscal transparency. While the government has implemented a top-down 'total expenditure allocation system' — setting overall spending limits before allocating funds by sector and project — the Finance Ministry continues to review detailed budget requests from individual departments, which limits those agencies' financial autonomy. The report also noted that the ministry does not report departmental expenditure limits to the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, thereby constraining lawmakers' ability to oversee the total fiscal framework.
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
World's 75 Poorest Countries Owe China $22 Billion This Year: Think Tank
The world's 75 poorest countries are set to make debt repayments of $22 billion to China this year, according to a 'Debt service flows to China from developing countries will total $35 billion in 2025 and are set to remain elevated for the rest of this decade,' the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, which receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in the report. 'The bulk of this debt service, some $22 billion, is owed by 75 of the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries.' The report comes as Peruvian Economy Minister Raul Perez Reyes met with China's ambassador to Lima, Song Yang, to discuss a new regional rail corridor that would terminate in the new port of Peru's Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a The Peruvian government said Fei Dongbin, head of the China National Railway Administration, and several other Chinese Communist Party (CCP) representatives were also present at the meeting. The proposed railway would connect Brazil to Chancay, on Peru's Pacific coast, creating a trade route that would avoid Chinese ships having to travel through the Panama Canal, or around the southern tip of South America. Related Stories 5/25/2025 5/23/2025 China has given huge loans for infrastructure projects in many parts of the world, under Chinese leader Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The program has underwritten the building of huge ports such as The Lowy Institute said, 'Now, and for the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world.' The report said that Beijing has transitioned from capital provider to net financial drainer on developing country budgets as debt servicing costs on BRI projects from the 2010s now far outstrip new loan disbursements. In 54 of 120 developing countries from which there were available data, debt service payments to China exceeded the combined payments owed to the The Paris Club is owed a total of $616 billion by 102 countries. The report said China was prioritizing funding for neighbors such as Pakistan, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, and also countries that provided important raw materials, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Brazil, and Argentina. 'Beijing faces a dilemma: pushing too hard for repayment could damage bilateral ties and undermine its diplomatic goals. At the same time, China's lending arms, particularly its quasi-commercial institutions, face mounting pressure to recover outstanding debts,' the author of the report, research fellow Riley Duke, said. 'How China's shift to chief debt collector will impact its reputation as a development partner and its broader messaging around South-South cooperation remains to be seen.' He said highly indebted African states were often wary of rocking the boat and risking the loss of access to Chinese financing and trade. 'An increasingly transactional United States and distracted Europe have also likely fed a narrowed sense of their potential future economic pathways,' Duke added. The report pointed out that BRI loans often seemed to come with strings attached, especially when it came to adhering to the CCP's 'One China' policy. Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and the Solomon Islands all received big loans within 18 months of dropping diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. With China increasingly reining in BRI loans, Peru might find it harder to secure funding for the CFBC, which Lima described as a 'megaproject that would redefine South American regional integration.' Reyes said, 'We are willing to co-finance our part of the tranche.' The CFBC would link Lima with the city of Pucallpa in the Peruvian interior, and then across the border to Cruzeiro do Sul in Brazil, and via Vilhena, to the major metropolises of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
S. Korea to bolster cooperation with World Bank in helping developing nations
Seoul: South Korea will work to strengthen cooperation with the World Bank as part of efforts to help developing nations advance their agriculture and food technologies, Seoul's finance ministry said on Tuesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance held an annual meeting with officials from the World Bank in the southeastern port city of Busan to evaluate their collaboration projects under the Korea-World Bank Group Partnership Facility (KWPF) and discuss bilateral cooperation in future development assistance programs, according to ministry officials. The KWPF is the biggest trust fund created by South Korea within the World Bank to provide assistance to developing countries in various sectors, from digital, health, agriculture and energy to job creation and innovation, reports Yonhap news agency. Since its establishment in 2013, the KWPF has provided a combined $46.8 billion in support to 99 nations. At this year's meeting, the finance ministry and the World Bank assessed their joint projects aimed at transferring South Korea's technologies in digital and eco-friendly agriculture sectors to Tanzania, Kenya and five other countries, and discussed ways to expand their partnership. Meanwhile, Acting President Lee Ju-ho said on Tuesday the government will provide unsparing support to the aerospace industry. "The government will provide unsparing support to the bids investing in the future of the Republic of Korea's aerospace sector, with the Korea AeroSpace Administration at its centre," he said. "We will actively foster industries into aerospace clusters and lead new global standards in aerospace by developing core leading technologies, such as reusable launch vehicles and ultra high-definition satellites," he added. Aerospace Day was established on May 27 last year to mark the launch of KASA. Since last year, the education ministry has been supporting graduate-level aerospace students under a special programme. "Fostering aerospace talents is a key task that will determine our nation's technological sovereignty and future competitiveness," Lee said.
Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Foreign inflows into Korean bonds hit record pace as safe-haven appeal grows
Rate cut bets, fiscal strength, WGBI inclusion drive surge in foreign demand for sovereign debt Foreign investors are increasingly expanding their investment in South Korean sovereign bonds, underscoring their reputation as a safe-haven asset. Expectations of an imminent policy rate cut cycle have further contributed to the surge in offshore demand. While foreign investors remain cautious about the local stock market amid heightened risks from the US tariff policies, they are actively turning to Korean government-issued fixed-income securities, which are widely regarded as low-risk assets thanks to the country's solid fiscal standing. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, offshore investors net purchased Korean government bonds worth 16.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion) in April, following net purchases of 13 trillion won in March. In contrast, they offloaded a net 14 trillion won worth of Korean stocks in April. 'Foreign investors' net buying of Korean government bonds has surged in recent months, as arbitrage opportunities have grown more attractive amid trade tensions and currency uncertainties,' an official from the association said. Among government bonds, Korea Treasury Bonds — used to finance public expenditures — have seen particularly strong demand. According to a report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the outstanding balance of KTBs held by foreign investors reached 255.2 trillion won in April, a 9.6 trillion won increase from the previous month. Total foreign inflows into government bonds this year have reached 15.7 trillion won. Foreign ownership of the KTB market stood at 23 percent in April, up 0.8 percentage point from the start of the year. Offshore demand for KTBs has been on an upward trajectory for years, rising from around 2 percent in 2006 to 15.4 percent in 2010 and reaching 20.5 percent in 2022. Amid this buying rush, the average yield on KTBs has declined, falling to 2.56 percent in April from 3.17 percent in 2022 — effectively lowering the interest Korea pays to secure capital. Investor sentiment has also been buoyed by expectations of an upcoming policy rate cut. During periods of monetary easing, demand for existing bonds tends to rise, as their fixed coupon rates become more attractive compared to newly issued bonds with lower yields. The Bank of Korea, which has held its policy rate at 2.75 percent since February, is expected to begin cutting rates later this year in an effort to stimulate the country's export-driven economy, which is under pressure from the US' trade measures. The Korean government has long prioritized attracting foreign investment in sovereign debt. In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Korea lifted the cap on foreign investment in listed bonds. Since then, it has introduced additional measures to bolster demand, including omnibus accounts and tax exemptions for foreign investors. Another key driver of recent demand is Korea's upcoming inclusion in the World Government Bond Index, a global benchmark for sovereign debt managed by London-based FTSE Russell. Korean sovereign bonds will be added to the index in phases from April 2026 to November 2026. 'Making sovereign bonds more appealing to foreign capital is an important agenda for the Korean government,' a Finance Ministry official said. 'Increased demand for government bonds helps lower their coupon rates, effectively reducing the government's borrowing costs.'
