InfoAnda - Land grabs mar Cambodia's boom, rattle investors |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Quake hits Mexico, no major damage reported | | 3 April 2012
Chaos in Ukraine parliament as Russia deal ratified | 27 April 2010
`Grave fears' for those missing in boat disaster | 3 November 2009

S.Korea logs huge trade surplus in 2010 | 1 January 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Land grabs mar Cambodia's boom, rattle investors |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Green Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia Afghan Journal Africa Journal India Insight Global News Journal Pakistan: Now or Never? World Video Politics Politics Home Front Row Washington Politics Video Technology Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland Felix Salmon Breakingviews George Chen Bernd Debusmann Gregg Easterbrook James Pethokoukis James Saft John Wasik Christopher Whalen Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers The Great Debate Unstructured Finance Newsmaker MuniLand Money Money Home Analyst Research Global Investing MuniLand Reuters Money Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Left Field Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Exclusive: Condoleezza Rice fires back at Cheney memoir 31 Aug 2011 UPDATE 1-Katia almost a hurricane; storm fears in Gulf 31 Aug 2011 Obama to address Congress on September 8 | 31 Aug 2011 Labor leaders must pay for parade if GOP banned, mayor says 30 Aug 2011 Sony sets date for mobile 3D headset Japan launch 31 Aug 2011 Discussed 173 Labor leaders must pay for parade if GOP banned, mayor says 121 White House to nominate Krueger as top economist 107 Astronomers discover planet made of diamond Watched Need a new liver? Get one printed Wed, Aug 31 2011 Buenos Aires Fashion week sizzles Mon, Aug 22 2011 Experimental plane reaches 13,000 mph Fri, Aug 26 2011 "Land grabs" mar Cambodia's boom, rattle investors Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Special Report: How Indonesia hurt its climate change project Tue, Aug 16 2011 Analysis & Opinion Yuan internationalization takes off in Hong Kong Banks face myriad difficulties in trying to return corrupt Gaddafi money Related Topics World » 1 of 7. People ride their moped past a demolished house at the Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh August 31, 2011. Thousands of families living near the lake are facing eviction to make way for a Chinese development project. Credit: Reuters/Samrang Pring By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH | Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:20pm EDT PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Kong Song's farmland was his family's livelihood for three decades until the bulldozers moved in and tore down his home in rural Cambodia to make way for a multimillion dollar foreign-led business. His family was one of 253 forcibly evicted five years ago in southern Koh Kong province to accommodate a $90.6 million sugar project by a firm lured by duty-free exports to the European Union that were designed to help the world's poorest countries. This is the flip side of a foreign investment boom in which the rich and powerful cash in at the expense of what rights groups estimate is about 30,000 Cambodians forcibly evicted from their homes a year. The evictions and so-called "land grabs" have angered donors, putting at stake hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid as well as a trade scheme that gives Cambodian produce tariff-free access to the European Union. Kong Song is fighting back. He and his neighbors have filed a lawsuit against the Koh Kong Sugar Industry Ltd, a joint venture with Thailand's Khon Kaen Sugar and Taiwan's Vewong Corporation. But, as with most legal challenges against Cambodia's business elite, it has gone nowhere. "We're demanding that Cambodia's development is development for all, not the kind that makes its people shed tears," Kong Song said during a visit to the capital Phnom Penh. Neither Koh Kong Sugar nor Khon Kaen Sugar responded to interview requests when contacted by Reuters. Kong Song's story is common in Cambodia. He survived the 1975-1979 "Year Zero" revolution by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime and rebuilt his life, cultivating a small plot of land in the countryside. But land ownership was abolished under the brutal regime and most legal documents were destroyed, leaving Kong Song and millions of Cambodians without title deeds. That leaves him and others in a legal grey-zone, particularly during a wave of development led by politically connected businesses and foreign firms, mostly from China, that line up to buy up disputed land to start agriculture, mining or real estate projects. International donors and lenders such as the World Bank have criticized the government and threatened to halt loans until a solution is found. The government's response has been to cancel its annual meeting with donors, citing global economic uncertainty and Western countries "mired in crisis." ALARMING TREND The trend has raised questions about whether Cambodia should be entitled to an initiative by the European Union, which allows 48 of the world's poorest nations to export any produce other than weapons to EU states, without paying tariffs. Foreign firms have capitalised on the deal, known as the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, and many more are showing interest in Cambodia, including sugar, rice and rubber exporters from neighboring Thailand. The subsequent foreign investment has created thousands of jobs, especially in garment manufacturing, which employs 300,000 of Cambodia's 13.4 million people and is the third-largest revenue source for its fledgling $11 billion economy. It has also elevated Europe as a crucial export destination. The EU was Cambodia's second-largest export market last year after the United States, generating some 930 million euros ($1.3 billion) up 29 percent from 2009. The most-recent EU data shows the revenue generated in the first five months of this year is already double that of the whole of 2010. Rice exports are expected to swell further after doubling to 40,000 tonnes in 2010 from the previous year. The EU's Charge d'Affaires in Cambodia, Rafael Dochao Moreno, said tax incentives had made the country an attractive destination for investment and said the EU was "seriously concerned" about land disputes and evictions. "Thousands of families have been expelled from their land. We want the government to take the necessary steps to avoid this kind of eviction especially when they are done by force and with violence," he said. Cambodia's government needed to conduct proper consultations before granting future economic land concessions, he said, adding that certain projects could have privileges withdrawn if found to have been involved in unlawful evictions. "There are indeed provisions ... outlining the procedure of temporary withdrawal of certain products originating in a country benefiting from the EBA," he said. Such penalties could undermine Cambodia's efforts to position itself as one of Asia's most-promising frontier markets and instead highlight its struggle to tame corruption. Alexandra Herbel, head of the French-Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said Western companies looking to do business in Cambodia were keen to "invest correctly" and most would avoid projects associated with disputed land or evictions. Cambodian Commerce Secretary of State Mao Thura said steps should be taken to ensure EBA privileges were not withdrawn, but he declined to provide specifics. "The people who benefit from the EBA are a few million," Mao Thura said during a recent forum on the EBA. "We're not just talking only about the garment sector, millions of our people are farmers." (Editing by Martin Petty and Jason Szep) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Mobile Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Contact Us Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Newsletters About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 1 September 2011
Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam vows continued resistance |
India anti-graft activist Hazare recovers from fast |
Wilson Betemit's run-scoring double ignites first-place Tigers over Royals
Gaddafi foreign minister arrested: witness |
Car bomb kills three, wounds 20 in Iraq |
Europe's largest retailer Carrefour reports huge net loss
Vazquez Mota strengthens as Mexican 2012 candidate |
Obama to address Congress on Sept 7, outlines priorities today
Alyssa Milano gives birth to baby boy
Former boxer Oscar de la Hoya opens up after release from rehab
Florida bill takes aim at outdated adultery ban
Rob Kardashian vows to lose weight and beat his famous sister on "DWTS"
U.S. consumer confidence drops
iPhones,Androids dominate U.S. cellphone market
Summertime brings increase in kidney stones
Lawsuit says Microsoft tracks customers without consent |
Apple criticized for China supply chain pollution |
Groupon targets zero spending on new subscribers |
Google promotes daily deal coupon on main Web page |
IBM buys British security analytics firm i2 |
Salesforce.com's Benioff inspired by Arab Spring |
Financial Times pulls its apps from Apple store |
Openwave alleges Apple, RIM infringed patents |
Rapper T.I. out of prison, gets reality TV show |
Mel Gibson settles for $750,000 with Grigorieva |
Robert Downey, Jr. and wife expecting first child |
Revamped Real Housewives to go ahead after suicide |
Hollywood films take on serious edge for fall |
Gallery finds art by Nazi-branded degenerate Dix |
Sinead O'Connor reveals sexual frustration on Web |
Gaddafi sons broadcast confusion as battle looms |
Syrian forces raid Hama, official resigns in protest |
Analysis: Japan's DPJ picks up reviled habits of party it ousted |
Ailing Venus withdraws from U.S. Open; Zvonareva, Murray, Del Potro win
Jose Valverde makes it 40 straight saves in Tiger victory over Royals
Mel Gibson Settles Money, Custody Battle with Ex-Girlfriend
T.I. released from prison
Texas Nursing Homes Brace for Higher Costs, Sicker Patients
North Korea ghost town reflects deeper woes as it woos Chinese |
Daryl Hannah Arrested Outside White House
Bonn requires street prostitutes to buy tax ticket before getting customers
ChiSox deep sixed: Twins score 6 in first, add one late to post win
Panama officials quit after foreign minister fired |
Philippines, China seek South China Sea code of conduct |
Land grabs mar Cambodia's boom, rattle investors |
Chavez says speed up takeover of Irish company's land |
Sony tablets face tough sell on price, hardware |
Court battle looms between U.S. and AT&T, T-Mobile |
U.S. moves to block AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile |
IBM to buy Algorithmics for $387 million |
Australia's Telstra moves closer to sealing broadband |
Mel Gibson settles for $750,000 with Grigorieva |
Libya's Muammar Gaddafi vows to fight on: TV |
Iraq toll still high a year after U.S. combat halt |
Analysis: Libya's new leaders divided, untested |
Study finds genetic link to extreme thinness
French Socialists uneasy as Strauss-Kahn to return |
Susan Boyle performs new song on 'America's Got Talent'
Cher tweets in support of Chaz Bono on "Dancing with the Stars"
Japan PM picks fiscal hawk Okada as finance minister: report |
$8 million road aids expansion of British airport
UK starts downsizing Gurkha troops
Sugary drinks add 300 calories or more to Americans' diet each day
Oil firms weigh sabotage and boobytrap risks in Libya |
Germany's rail set to run on 100 percent renewable energy
Global oil prices drop over U.S. jobless claims concerns
Kenyan ex-ministers at ICC over poll violence |
U.S. welcomes key Maoist move in Nepal
"Glee" star Jane Lynch says she's focusing on "being funny" as host at this year's Emmy Awards
Insurgents are gone but Mogadishu still struggles |
Court battle looms between U.S. and AT&T, T-Mobile |
Google bought Motorola to guard Android: Sony Ericsson |
WikiLeaks denies charges it put lives in danger |
Computers to pinpoint wild weather forecasts |
TomTom unveils iPad navigation app |
Mosaid sees rescue in its Nokia-Microsoft deal |
Madonna thanks exes for encouraging movie career |
Polanski film cheered for wit, Winslet's vomit |
Mehta: Arab Spring may be upbeat for Israel Philharmonic |
Harry Potter picked top summer movie: poll |
Hollywood films take on serious edge for fall |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01