As of October 2nd 2020, more than 1,360 applications have been approved via the Cambodian online business registration. The Cambodian government launched the online platform on June 15, 2020.
The online portal and digital service is available at registrationservices.gov.kh, we initially reported on the pending portal in early June 2020 before the launch, and the web portal was called the Cambodian National Information Technology Business Registration Platform and since has been called the Cambodia Online Business Registration System, and the Single Portal Online Business Registration System.
The Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Chairman of Techo Startup Centre (TSC) Kong Marry said, “Within almost a four-month period as of October 2, 2020, we received a total of 1,793 applications, 1,367 of which have been approved and 426 of which are under review. The average number of days it takes to register a company is eight.”
Marry added that most businesses applying operate in the wholesale of household goods, wholesale of specialised goods and in real estate.
- 71 per cent (1,277) of the approved companies are Cambodian (51% or higher of the total share owned by Cambodian(s).
- China (33.5 per cent), Singapore (25.6 per cent) and the United Kingdom (25.3 per cent) had the biggest portion of foreign investments.
In August, the government had reported that the number of Cambodian companies which registered on the government’s new Single Portal online business registration system was 287 by the end of July 2020.
Anthony Galliano, group chief executive officer of Cambodian Investment Management Group told the Khmer Times that some areas for improvement remain:
- The company name-check still takes up to three business days and each shareholder and director must sign the draft articles of association, which can significantly delay the processing if they are located outside the country and in different countries from each other.
- Business Licensing and QIP (qualified investment project) approvals still not available on the system.
At the launch, six Cambodian ministries were said to be linked with the Online Business Registration System:
- Ministry of Commerce
- General Department of Taxation
- Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training
- Ministry of Interior
- Council of Development of Cambodia
- Ministry of Economy and Finance
However, Marry said that to date, only the synchronisation of three ministries, Commerce, Tax, and Labour had been implemented.
Digitalisation of Cambodia
The Techo Startup Centre was launched in 2019 by the government to support young entrepreneurs and aid the Royal Cambodian Government’s plans to transform Cambodia into a digital economy.
The government signed the ASEAN Agreement on e-Commerce in 2019 and in 2020, a number of new digital platforms and projects have been launched or announced.
- Cambodia National Single Window Project (in accordance with the ASEAN National Single Window initiative)
- In June 2020, the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation also is said to be reportedly setting up another online portal, this one is aimed at small and medium enterprises (SMEs), called KhmerSME.
- Cambodian taxpayers can use the e-tax service to pay their monthly tax returns.
- In September, Cambodia launched a new Financial Management Information System (FMIS), which together with a tax data management system, intends to streamline governmental financial information.
Read more here on How to use the Cambodia Online Business Registration System.
