EuroCham Cambodia and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce (AHK) in Vietnam have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the partnership between the two business networks and boost German investment presence in Cambodia.
The MoU signing took place on September 29, 2023, the second day of the ASEAN-Cambodia Business Summit, at the Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh, between Tassilo Brinzer, Chairman of EuroCham Cambodia, and Marko Walde, Chief Representative of AHK in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.
According to a statement released by AHK Vietnam, this MoU seeks to foster cooperation between AHK and EuroCham in assisting sustainable development, upskilling the Cambodian workforce, and providing business development services to companies in the Kingdom. Both organisations will work closely together on joint initiatives, sharing best practices and knowledge to attract more investment and trade opportunities between Germany and Cambodia, and proactively supporting German companies doing business in the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) subregion.
Attracting German Investors
Walde told B2B Cambodia that AHK Vietnam acts as a business promoter and aims to bring German companies to Cambodia. AHK will also offer support services for Cambodian companies wishing to penetrate the German market. “We don't have our own office or structure here in the country, so we are really delighted that we found EuroCham Cambodia as a suitable partner, especially because they have a lot of expert members from Europe who have lived in Cambodia for a very long time," said Walde. He added that he believes this partnership is the best way to seek social cooperation, allow AHK to provide services and roll out its activities in Cambodia, and further promote Cambodia as a viable market for German investors.
“There are German companies already present in the region, and they can look for additional investment locations to diversify their business, and I see really good potential in Cambodia,” added Walde.
In regard to which industries might attract the most investors, Walde first prefaced that German companies looking to invest in Cambodia might see a lack of skilled labour and the lack of an effective vocational training system as a challenge. However, he still views Cambodia as a suitable investment market for the textile, food processing, and electronic industries. Since May 2023, AHK Vietnam has expanded its operations to Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. The German business network formed a Regional Management Team which has been conducting in-person meetings with EuroCham Cambodia, various authorities and individual companies in Phnom Penh to learn more about Cambodia’s economic status quo in order to establish more strategic partnerships.
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