Cambodia has ranked 171st of 183 economies by the World Bank in terms of ease of setting up a new business. Cambodia is one of the most challenging places to set up a business because of the relative high costs of incorporation and long processing time. You must know every specific law and regulation to avoid penalties and any possible consequences. While you may know information and news relevant to running a company in Cambodia, you are probably not going to know the current local practices. On top of this, setting up companies and bank accounts’ require original “Wet signatures” on all application. The processes are very time consuming, especially if the signatories are not in Cambodia at the time. That’s why many businesses entering Cambodia choose to use PEO services to speed up the market entry process and to reduce costs including those associated with the HR and administration requirements of any company. If you choose to set up an entity, then the need to hire at least one person to handle HR and administration tasks only add to the overall cost impact of the start up. In addition, your HR needs time to adapt to your company environment and he or she needs to become familiar with internal rules and regulations.
Cambodia has so much promise. Cambodia has a GDP of USD 29.8 Billion in 2021 with strong growth projections for 2022, and was ranked 21st out of 39 countries in the Asia – Pacific Region in terms of their economy. Cambodia is also ranked 129th in the world and 6th in southeast Asia for tourism. Tourism has quadrupled in the last 5 years compared to the first 5 years of the last decade. And Cambodia is also the 2nd fastest growing country in Asia and 10th in the world.
Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s economic center, and it is also known as the ‘Pearl of Asia’. The most popular industries in Cambodia are agriculture and service centers, tourism and garment manufacturing for export and they mainly produce rice, rubber, maize and cassava.
In Cambodia, the USD is widely used and generally accepted in nearly all commercial and business establishments including the government. The minimum wage in Cambodia is USD 194 per month.
Foreigners can set up both private limited company and representative offices and it can be 100% percent owned by a Foreigner. Also, foreigners can legally own properties such as condominiums, apartments or offices as long as it is not located on the ground floor of the building since it is not allowed to own land outright under the foreign ownership property law. Living cost in Cambodia for expats is cheap when compared to other countries in Asia. And most Asia passport holders can visit visa free.
Are you thinking of starting a business or expanding your business into Cambodia but want to move quickly with minimal upfront costs? You can use a Professional Employer Organization Services (PEO) or contract base services like CP&O to give a test run by hiring only few people who are the necessary operations or sales employees to help validate your business expansion before moving to the next step of setting up an official entity. In this way, you can minimize costs and will speed up the process with the help of professionals and you can completely focus on your core operations business activities.
If you wish to read more Cambodia Country Information pertaining to labour laws, please visit our blog at www.cambodia-payroll-and-outsourcing.com/blog/ or if you are looking for professional employer organizations to test run your business or if you want to learn more Cambodia Country information from professionals like us? Please contact us by clicking “CONTACT US“.
