Cambodia wants to play in the big leagues

It is three times smaller than France and has only 17 million inhabitants. Starting from zero, a little over 20 years ago, after the leaden years of Pol Pot in the 1970s, then two unstable decades, Cambodia has modernized at the speed of light.

Evidenced by the future airport of Phnom Penh, one hour from the capital. Still under construction, the new facility will accommodate 50 million visitors per year.

Designed by the team of the star architect, Norman Foster, the future airport will open in 2025 and will be nothing less than the ninth airport in the world in terms of its area: 2,500 hectares compared to 600 for the current one, right in the center -city. The image of Cambodia is at stake, explains the French Laurène Belcour, coordinator on the project:

“It is above all to give a place to Cambodia which, in Southeast Asia is often forgotten, but in the end, which has a lot to offer. It was the idea of ​​​​putting a bigger international airport, of putting it on the map a bit more important, and also to swing between Thailand and Singapore, which takes around Cambodia and Vietnam, and therefore allowing a gateway for anything possible to bring in through an airport.”

Very advanced new technologies

Cambodia’s main asset is a very young population, one in two inhabitants is under the age of 22, and a growing middle class. Many sectors such as construction, textiles or services are on the rise.

New technologies are also very advanced here, testifies Martin Brisson, executive director of the France Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has around 160 members:

“Today, on a daily basis, I pay with my mobile phone by scanning a QR code. Most of the time, I go out without my wallet. Even credit cards have become ‘has been’. There are a lot of ‘companies that have been created in Cambodia, and which have taken advantage of the low cost of labor, to develop IT solutions and to operate and use them in Cambodia.

Pragmatic Cambodians

The country may have a long common history with France, but it is from neighboring China that the majority of foreign investment now comes. The Middle Kingdom has even become Cambodia’s leading creditor, but Beijing should not be demonized, assures Arnaud Darc, who has lived in Cambodia since 1994. The Frenchman now owns eight French restaurants and a hotel. in Phnom Penh:

“Chinese entrepreneurs and businessmen are people like you and me, who come, who see opportunities and who invest, because there is a demand, which the French could meet, as well as other investors. Cambodians are pragmatic. They need to develop, they won’t say no, because they come from China, and they’re right. It’s the same in France, in Paris, everywhere.”

To recruit new foreign investors, Cambodia has in turn set up the golden visa system, which allows anyone who invests at least $100,000 in the country to obtain unlimited visas for 10 years and eventually a Cambodian passport.

Go further

The France Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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