Cambodia urged to adopt innovative economic strategies

A report, published earlier this week by Germany’s Deutsche Bank, urges Cambodia to ditch its antiquated growth model and adopt more innovative economic strategies that better respond to rapid changes in the global economy. Densi Hew, director of the policy support unit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat and a contributor to the report, said it is important for each country in ASEAN to develop their economies according to specialized strengths. Cambodia and Laos, in particular, should seek to chart a different course in the region rather than following growth models of more developed economies such as Malaysia or Thailand, he said. Boon-Hiong Chan, head of market advocacy for Asia-Pacific at Deutsche Bank and lead author of the report, said that Cambodia needs to actively address its future levels of competitiveness. Part of that should be to focus on the country’s young demographics. He added that with relatively youthful demographics, the Kingdom may not be ideal for low wage and high staff count industries, but new industries, especially those that are technology and software driven. Miguel Chanco, lead ASEAN analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, agreed on the necessity for Cambodia to transition to higher-skilled jobs in order to move up the value chain, especially given the effects of increased automation and low-wage competition from much larger economies like Myanmar and Vietnam. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)