Phnom Penh, Dec 16 (IANS) The Cambodian government officially launched a digital platform for the informal economy on Monday.
Speaking at the launch event in Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the portal marked an important milestone in implementing the National Strategy for Informal Economy Development 2023-2028.
He emphasised the platform’s significance in providing recognition and support for the informal economy.
The move demonstrated the government’s commitment to supporting the informal economy, aiming to create opportunities and enhance living standards and overall well-being, Manet said, Xinhua news agency reported.
The platform will also facilitate the government’s targeted interventions, especially during crisis, and open doors for informal economy actors to access benefits such as skills development, social protection and formal financial services, he added.
Hem Vanndy, the industry minister, said the platform will provide a solution to the longstanding issue of lack of data about the informal economy.
The platform offered a range of options that are free of charge and entirely voluntary, primarily for micro-enterprises, employees of micro-enterprises, seasonal workers, and self-employed individuals working in the informal economy, he added.
According to a survey, Cambodia has about 7.9 million people in the labour force, with 1.7 million employed in the formal sector and a staggering 6.2 million individuals in the informal sector who often lack access to essential services, leaving them vulnerable to shocks.
Last week, a Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC)’s report stated that the country has approved 389 fixed-asset investment projects worth 6.44 billion US dollars during the first 11 months of 2024, creating about 305,000 jobs.
The new projects were mainly focused on garment, travel goods, and footwear sectors, hotel development, hydroelectric power stations, freshwater port, solar power plants, agriculture, amusement park, car tyre plants, special economic zones, infrastructure, and telecommunication, among others, Xinhua reported.
In November alone, the kingdom recorded a total of 43 investment projects worth some 940 million dollars, which was estimated to generate approximately 39,000 jobs, the CDC said.
Hun Manet said that the kingdom’s peace and stability, its strategic location within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and its business-friendly policies had offered a perfect place for investments.
“Our network of trade agreements provides large market access,” he said at an economic and technology summit in Phnom Penh on November 26.
He said through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Cambodia offered investors entry to a market of 2.3 billion people.
“Our bilateral free trade agreements with China and South Korea coupled with our latest Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates open doors to some of the world’s most vibrant economies,” he said.
“We are not just offering investors a place for investment. We are offering them a ticket to this region’s future,” he added.
–IANS
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