Snapshot: international financial investment regulation and plan in Cambodia

Law and policy

Insurance policies and techniques

What, in standard terms, are your government’s insurance policies and techniques relating to oversight and overview of overseas expenditure?

Cambodia’s Legislation on Investment assures that international investments are typically handled in the identical way as domestic investments. The a single notable exception to this rule is that overseas-owned providers (corporations included in Cambodia with international shareholders possessing a lot more than 49 for each cent of the shares) are not authorized to individual land in Cambodia. For that purpose, there are no particular oversight or evaluate mechanisms for international investments in Cambodia, and overseas buyers do not require any specific approvals to invest in Cambodia.

In addition, the Law on Financial commitment will allow specified overseas investments to utilize for experienced investment decision project (QIP) position. A QIP is entitled to obtain a selection of investment incentives, such as profit tax exemptions for up to nine decades and import duty exemptions, from the Cambodian govt.

Although the Regulation on Investment establishes some conditions and prerequisites for a international expense to receive a QIP, these standards and needs also implement to domestic buyers. Additional, we want to highlight that there is no obligation on a international investor to find QIP position for its expense, and a international investor can make investments in Cambodia less than industrial legislation of general software that implement to equally overseas and domestic buyers.

In Cambodia, there are no forex controls and, in observe, Cambodia has a dollarised economic climate, in which most of the currency in circulation is the US dollar. The US dollar is normally made use of in industrial transactions.

From a legal standpoint, the Law on Financial commitment guarantees all buyers in Cambodia the appropriate to freely acquire and remit overseas overseas currencies to discharge their economic obligations relevant to their investments. Cambodia’s Law on Foreign Trade governs all foreign exchange functions relating to payments for business transactions, transfers or funds inflows. The Regulation on International Exchange guarantees that there are no constraints on international trade operations, while transactions need to be designed by way of a lender that has been authorised by the National Bank of Cambodia.

Most important legal guidelines

What are the most important guidelines that immediately or indirectly regulate acquisitions and investments by foreign nationals and buyers on the foundation of the nationwide curiosity?

Scope of application

Define the scope of software of these regulations, which includes what types of investments or transactions are caught. Are minority pursuits caught? Are there distinct sectors more than which the authorities have a electrical power to oversee and stop foreign financial investment or sectors that are the subject of special scrutiny?

The Law on Expense establishes ailments and treatments for granting QIP standing to foreign investments, and lays out the investments incentives that a QIP is entitled to. Sub-decree No. 111 on the Implementation of Law on Expense additional clarifies these matters.

The Law on Professional Enterprises and the Regulation on Professional Principles and Sign-up are the primary corporation guidelines in Cambodia and broadly address a range of difficulties, such as available entities below Cambodian law, shareholder rights, the powers of directors and issues relevant to corporate compliance and mergers.

As for minority shareholder interests, the Regulation on Professional Enterprises sets out a number of decisions that demand approval by a special resolution of the shareholders, which implies that at least two-thirds of the shares should vote in favour or the make a difference. Aside from particular resolutions, Cambodian regulation does not offer you other protections to minority shareholders. In practice, on the other hand, any revisions to a company’s articles of incorporation (the company’s constitutional doc) needs the signature of all shareholders in advance of it can be processed by the Ministry of Commerce. Matters requiring revisions to a company’s articles or blog posts of incorporation involve share transfers and changes in the company’s money composition, so minority shareholders, in follow, have further protections.

Mergers and acquisitions in a variety of regulated sectors (eg, coverage, banking and telecommunications) are subject to approvals by appropriate federal government businesses, these types of as the Ministry of Financial system and Finance. Nevertheless, the specifications to get approval utilize equally to both of those domestic and foreign companies, and there is no specific set of conditions only relevant to overseas investors.

Definitions

How is a foreign investor or foreign expenditure described in the applicable law?

A foreign investor or international investment decision is not explicitly defined less than Cambodian legislation. Having said that, the Law on Expense and the Law on Professional Enterprises define a Cambodian entity or an entity possessing Cambodian nationality as an entity that has a place of company in and is registered in Cambodia, and has 51 for each cent or extra of its shares held by a lawful or all-natural particular person with Cambodian nationality. In that perception, an entity that does not meet up with these qualities would be considered a foreign-owned entity. Nevertheless, there is no big difference in phrases of procedure between a international-owned entity and a Cambodian entity, apart from with regards to land possession.

Specific policies for SOEs and SWFs

Are there distinctive procedures for investments designed by international condition-owned enterprises (SOEs) and sovereign prosperity funds (SWFs)? How is an SOE or SWF outlined?

Cambodian legislation does not address investments by international point out-owned enterprises and sovereign prosperity resources. As a result, they would be addressed in the very same method as normal buyers.

Suitable authorities

Which officers or bodies are the knowledgeable authorities to evaluate mergers or acquisitions on countrywide fascination grounds?

Cambodian law has not established any merger or acquisition evaluation mechanisms to evaluate investments by foreign investors on nationwide fascination grounds consequently, there are no officials or bodies accountable for such a assessment. Having said that, mergers or acquisitions in a variety of regulated sectors (eg, insurance plan, banking and telecommunications) are topic to approvals by relevant government organizations (eg, the Ministry of Economic climate and Finance). Yet, the specifications to attain acceptance implement equally to equally domestic and overseas organizations.

Apart from the higher than ministry-distinct approvals, the Ministry of Commerce critiques all mergers or acquisitions of all organization as component of the share transfer procedure. If a merger or acquisition outcomes in a lessen of Cambodian ownership of an entity to less than 51 per cent, that entity will no extended be deemed a firm of Cambodian nationality, and therefore the company will no lengthier have the skill to personal land in Cambodia.

Notwithstanding the above-outlined legal guidelines and guidelines, how much discretion do the authorities have to approve or reject transactions on nationwide desire grounds?

Not applicable.

Legislation mentioned date

Accurate on

Give the date on which the data higher than is exact.

18 November 2020.