Experts: EBA withdrawal, COVID-19 opportunities for long-term investment

• 27 February 2020
• Local News
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Local real estate experts suggest that the EBA withdrawal and COVID-19 epidemic are not significant problems for Cambodia, but rather good opportunities for property investors with long-term vision.

According to Ms. Grace Rachy Fong, CEO of Century 21 Cambodia, Cambodia has been doing very well in putting this under control, as seen by only one case reported so far.

“Amid this low number of cases, Cambodia is still one of the safe places to invest in. Hearing from my agency in China, some of the investors who currently have businesses in the three highly infected provinces of China, are keen to relocate their businesses or factories to Cambodia. This is a great opportunity,” said Ms. Fong.

As for EBA, Ms. Fong explained that Cambodia can still be strong without EBA as long as Cambodia enhances the education system, just like Singapore.

“Singapore has no EBA privilege, but Singapore is still rich, mainly because of its human resources. Thus, Cambodia should learn from them. We have been so far doing so. The Ministry of Education has been training more and more human resources, and in particular, the entrepreneurship programs have recently been included in our formal education curriculum,” said Ms. Fong.

“This kind of situation is a double-edged sword. We must not only look at only the problem, but she also must know how to see for opportunities,” she added.

Likewise, the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA) President Mr. Chrek Soknim also echoed her statement that this circumstance is a great potential opportunity.

“COVID-19 is a disease of fear, but I think it will be only a short-term challenge. Therefore, the opportunity goes for those who dare to invest now. Investors with long-term vision can seize these opportunities because, in such situations, they have high negotiation power while buying and selling property,” said Mr. Chrek.

“The property price in such circumstance seems to be stable. Thus, investors can easily acquire those properties for future profits. Thus, long-term investment is great potential,” he added.

However, he also warned those who prefer to invest short-term to be more cautious about the location to invest in.

As of 27 February, there a total of 82, 043 cases of infections and 2,801 deaths worldwide from the COVID-19 epidemic. However, the official figure indicates that Cambodia has only one case of infection.

Regarding the EBA withdrawal situation in Cambodia, the European Commission announced their decision on 12 February to partially withdraw the kingdom’s access to the ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) preferential trade initiative. The changes will take place on 12 August, unless EU governments or the European Parliament block them. (Read more)

If that happens, Cambodia will lose about 20% of the preferential rights of the EBA scheme, which is equal to approximately US$1.1 billion of Cambodia’s exports to the EU.

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