Key Points
Meeting Context: Prime Minister Hun Manet met with top Australian business leaders during his visit to Melbourne for the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.
Aegros and Freshstart Logistics: Daniel Phillips, President of these companies, expressed interest in investing in Cambodia’s logistics, energy, and health sectors.- SunRice Group: CEO Paul Serra discussed expanding agricultural relations, particularly in the rice processing industry, and noted Cambodia’s potential in agriculture and competitive labor force.
Enserv Holding Australia: President Tanachat Pochana highlighted the company’s focus on clean energy and sorghum cultivation, which is suitable for Cambodia’s environment.
- Linfox Company: CEO Peter Fox met with the Prime Minister to discuss logistics operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Business Council of Australia: Bran Black, Executive Director, held discussions with the Prime Minister.
- Australian Support: Australia has been a significant development partner for Cambodia, providing nearly $2 billion in assistance over the past five decades, supporting infrastructure, agriculture, health, and education.
Several top Australian business leaders yesterday evinced interest in trade collaborations and investment opportunities in Cambodia as Prime Minister Hun Manet met them in separate meetings during his visit to the country.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Mr Hun Manet received Daniel Phillips, President of Aegros and Freshstart Logistics, during a courtesy call, according to a press release.
Aegros and Freshstart Logistics are subsidiaries of Fresh Start Australia with Aegros doing healthcare business focusing on the production of plasma drugs. Fresh Start Logistics specializes in logistics, providing innovative and vibrant solutions.
During the meeting, Phillips revealed the company’s intention to seek investment opportunities in Cambodia in many areas, including logistics, energy and health.
The Prime Minister also received Paul Serra, CEO of SunRice Group, during another courtesy call. The company is a leading food exporter with major markets in the US, the Pacific and the Middle East, as well as in Europe and Asia.
The company also has operations and markets around the world, especially in the supply of nutritional products to nearly 50 countries.
During the meeting, the CEO informed Mr Hun Manet that SunRice Group is the first Australian company to import rice from Cambodia to Australia and New Zealand.
He noted that Cambodia has great potential in the agricultural sector, with Cambodian rice having a world-renowned reputation. The country also has a highly competitive, young labour force, stable electricity prices, good transport infrastructure and cellular interface and a growing logistics sector.
Prime Minister Hun Manet meets Paul Serra, CEO of SunRice Group, in Australia on Monday. AKP
The SunRice Group, he said, is interested in further strengthening and expanding relations with Cambodia in the agricultural sector, focusing on the rice processing industry. For this, the company plans to invest in rice processing plants, especially in producing organic rice for export.
The Prime Minister, on his part, provided details about the Royal Government’s efforts to boost the agriculture sector by deploying experts in local communes throughout the country to support farmers technically and to increase productivity.
The Prime Minister also drew attention to the expansion of transport infrastructure and logistics systems in the country and the implementation of policies for the development of the power sector, emphasizing that the Royal Government has been giving priority to the use of clean and renewable energy.
Mr Hun Manet reminded that Cambodia has also taken steps to improve connectivity as well as provide cost-effective shipping. He urged Australian companies to visit Cambodia to seek more investment opportunities with the relevant ministries and institutions.
Another top business leader who met with the Prime Minister was Tanachat Pochana, President of Enserv Holding Australia. The company is a leader in clean energy, emissions reduction and climate change.
The company’s vision is to provide energy solutions through clean energy innovation and clean energy generation.
During the meeting, the President of the company informed the Prime Minister about the business activities of the company, especially its venture into sorghum cultivation. The company has the ability to process this high-protein crop that can also be used to produce biogas.
Sorghum is a non-GMO, gluten-free, ancient grain that is most commonly used as feed for livestock but is also a popular food grain for people residing in Asia and Africa. It does not need much water as rice, and can also contribute to the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
He added that Cambodia is suitable for cultivating this crop and expressed the company’s intention to seek investment opportunities in this regard in Cambodia.
In response, the Prime Minister said that the Royal Government has set a policy to develop the agricultural sector in Cambodia through the use of modern technology.
He also stated the Royal Government’s efforts in the electricity sector, especially in the use of modern and new technologies to generate power with a focus on clean energy.
The Prime Minister noted that the Royal Government has also decided to suspend the issuance of permits for the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the country.
Mr Hun Manet also received Peter Fox, CEO of Linfox Company, during another courtesy call and held discussions with him. Linfox was founded in 1956 with over six decades of experience in the transportation industry.
Linfox is a leading logistics company in the Asia-Pacific region and has operations in 12 countries with more than 24,000 employees in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, the Prime Minister also received Bran Black, Executive Director of the Business Council of Australia, for discussions, the press release said.
It may be noted that over the last five decades, Australia has been a strong development partner of Cambodia and provided almost $2 billion in development assistance to the country.
A lot of these investments supported Cambodia’s early reconstruction efforts in the 1990s, including infrastructure, demining, agriculture, health and education.
In August last year, Australia released a new international development policy that sets out over 30 commitments to deliver a more effective, responsive, transparent and accountable programme.
Among its key commitments, the policy identified ambitious targets and action on climate change, gender equality, supporting locally-led development, and a reinvigorated approach to the country’s strategic planning.
Australia is also Cambodia’s biggest supporter in the energy sector reforms such as efforts to raise the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix.
