Malaysian Cafe Firm to Open Up in Cambodia A Cambodian company has signed a deal with the Malaysian chain Secret

Recipe Cakes and Cafe to open outlets in Cambodia under a franchise, the company's director said yesterday. In a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 19, Luu Meng and Ung Lyheng, both directors of Faba Global Group Ltd, signed a memorandum of understanding with Secret Recipe to bring the chain to Cambodia, said Mr. Meng, the owner of a string of restaurants in Phnom Penh. 'We are starting with 2 or 3 outlets, and hoping to have between 6 and 10 across Cambodia in coming years," said Mr. Meng. He said the company was planning to open two outlets in Phnom Penh in April-one on Monivong Boulevard and one in the Sovanna Shopping Center in the south of Phnom Penh. "Me and my partner are going to work hard to make this expansion work," Mr. Meng said. 'There's a good energy for us to start because the parent company now has over 290 outlets". (Source: The Cambodia Daily) Chinese firms eye $500m rice investment Chinese food company Hainan Agpro Inc has announced its intentions to spend US$500 million in Cambodia's agriculture sector, according to a National Assembly official. Agpro managing director Jimmy Zheng and a delegation from the company met with National Assembly president Heng Samrin on Thursday to discuss the venture, Kaom Kosal, cabinet director for the National Assembly, said. "He is eager to invest in rice farming, rice milling and warehousing in our country," Kaom Kosal said. "They want to process high-quality milled rice to export as many as 1.5 million tons per year." Agpro plans to conduct feasibility studies in a number of provinces, including Koh Kong and Preak Vihear, according to Kaom Kosal. The $500 million investment, spread out over 10 years, is expected to comprise 60,000 hectares, he said. (Source: The Phnom Penh Post) Stocks post first yearly loss since '08 on debt, tightening Asian stocks posted their first annual decline in 3 years as sovereign-debt concerns in Europe and the US further cut into an earnings outlook eroded by China's efforts to fight inflation and Japan's record quake. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2% last week, taking its annual drop to 23.8%, as energy, financial and raw material companies declined. Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility at the center of the worst nuclear accident in 25 years, retreated 18%, extending its 2011 slide to 91% amid speculation the company may be nationalized. China Mengniu Dairy Co, the country's biggest producer of milk,

fell 31% after a cancer causing toxin was found in a batch of its products. Stocks fell last week as the publication of lending statistics by the European Central Bank underscored the magnitude of the region's debt crisis and as China's manufacturing contracted for a second month. (Source: The Phnom Penh Post) A Slight Decline in Tourist at Preah Vihear Preah Vihear provinces Tourism Department reported that the number of visitors for 2011 fell to about 125,000 from more than 130,000 the previous year due to the violent border clashes between Cambodia and Thailand. The foreign visitors to Preah Vihear temple increased more that 30 per cent, reaching about 6,250, said Kong Vibol. However, this increase was not tourism-related, as the visitors consisted primarily of foreign archaeological and military experts who inspected the temple after the heavy fighting. There has been an increase in tourism infrastructure development in the province, since the fighting has endedf. He noted that the access road to the temple is now under construction, and that restaurants and guesthouses were also being developed near the landmark. (Source: The Phnom Penh Post)