Incentives of new investment law

• Sommana Yan
• 20 January 2023
• Local News
• 3301 Views

New investment law has been publicly promulgated since October 2021, which is universal to increase revenue collection by embracing long-term business and attracting new investment. (Read more)

Particularly, this new law has provided many favourable conditions on tax and customs for qualified investment projects (IQP). (Read more)

Besides, it also has many special guarantees for investors and their projects registered at the Council Development of Cambodia or Municipal-Provincial Investment Sub-Committee.

The guarantees include:

• Non-discrimination in certain cases of loss of investment: Investors will be treated without discrimination in relation to restitution, compensation or other economic remedies in the event that their investment suffers losses due to major forces provided that there are laws and policies of the Royal Government of Cambodia on any reasonable restitution or compensation.
• Non-discrimination on the basis of foreign nationality: Foreign investors shall not be subject to any discrimination on the basis of foreign nationality, except for land ownership as stipulated in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia and any other regulations in force.
• No nationalization: The State shall not​​​​ undertake any nationalization actions which may affect the assets of the Investors in Cambodia.
• No expropriation: The State shall not undertake any expropriation, which may affect the approved projects. But for the purpose of public interest, the expropriation shall meet the conditions such as non-discrimination, fair and justified compensation, and compliance with the law and procedures in force for expropriation.
• No price control: The State shall not fix the price of products or services created or rendered by investment projects.
• Free purchase and repatriation of foreign currencies: Investors are entitled to freely purchase foreign currencies and to repatriate those foreign currencies to settle financial obligations associated with their investment through authorized intermediary banks.
• Intellectual property protection: Investors’ intellectual property is protected in accordance with the laws and regulations related to the intellectual property of Cambodia.
• Right to use land: Investors have the right to use land through economic land concessions or perpetual leases and leases for a fixed duration in accordance with the laws and regulations in force. For land ownership, only Cambodian nationals can own land for the investment project.

In addition to guarantees, the investor has the following rights:

• The right to hire foreign employees to manage or operate an Investment Project within a quota not exceeding the number stipulated by the laws and regulations in force in the event that it is not possible to find qualified Cambodian employees to manage or operate the investment project. The permission to hire foreign employees is based on current circumstances and is not permanent.
• The right to obtain a temporary long-term stay permit for oneself spouse and children who are minors during the period when the investment project is operating.
• The right to request temporary long-term stay permits for foreign employees and their spouses and children who are minors during the valid period of the employment contract.
• The right to obtain a work permit and employment book for oneself and foreign employees.

The CDC or Municipal-Provincial Investment Sub-Committees shall issue a letter to certify the investment status of the persons involved in the Investment Project at the request of the investor to be used for applying for a temporary long-term stay permit, work permit employment book and other necessary purposes in accordance with the procedures in force.

Recently, the State also allowed Korean companies to own 100% of the shares without requiring local shares, which is a new favourable condition for Korean investors in Cambodia. (Read more)

• Laws and Regulation