The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance raised $1.4B in Q1 2020 revenue, which represents an increase of 24% from Q1 2019.
Q1 2020 Revenue
The Phnom Penh Post reported that the results from Q1 2020 were largely before the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would be felt.
Ministry spokesman Meas Sok Sensan said “The impact of Covid-19 was not too severe in the first quarter. However, the pandemic began to hit hard in the early second quarter, which is why our revenue collection was so high. But, we will surely see a decline in the second quarter.”
The breakdown of the revenue collection is:
- General Department of Taxation: $445 million
- General Department of Customs and Excise: $729 million
- General Department of State Property and Non-Tax Revenue: $176 million
- General Department of Financial Industry: $30.5 million
- Fiscal revenue: $5 million
Sok Sensan also told the PP Post that “two of Cambodia’s three main drivers of economic growth (industry and services) have been severely ravaged by the outbreak, while the agricultural sector has seen a little improvement.”
Cambodian government tackles COVID-19
The Royal Cambodian Government has tried to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 through a number of measures.
In March 2020, a fiscal stimulus plan of $800 million to $2 billion was announced. The ministry also waived 50-100% taxes on the textile industry for six months to ease the financial burden.
In addition, three-month minimum tax exemption for the aviation sector and an exemption on all types of monthly taxes for tourism operators have been implemented.
The new Small and Medium Enterprise Bank of Cambodia (SME Bank) has $150 million in capital to provide SME financing.
The Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB), which is state-owned also launched a $50 million fund to increase access to credit for SMEs in the agricultural sector in 2020.
