Expert: Skills, Standards Key to Sustaining Cambodia’s Enterprise Boom

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Nov. 27, 2025) — Cambodia must build a more skilled workforce and strengthen regulatory standards to sustain its rapid rise in factories and enterprises, economic expert Ky Sereyvath of the Royal Academy of Cambodia said Thursday.

His remarks follow new government figures showing more than 40,000 enterprises registered in the first 10 months of 2025, alongside 1,810 garment and manufacturing factories employing over 2 million workers. The surge has been fueled largely by Chinese investment and Cambodia’s favorable tariff access to the U.S. market, which has made the country an attractive production hub.

Sereyvath said Cambodia’s most urgent priorities are improving the professionalism and technical skills of its labor force and ensuring regulatory standards are properly designed and enforced. These steps, he noted, are critical to helping investors operate smoothly and remain compliant with Cambodian law.

Despite the enterprise boom, he warned the broader economy is showing signs of strain. The International Monetary Fund projects Cambodia’s growth to slow to 4.8 percent in 2025 and 4.0 percent in 2026, down from 6.0 percent in 2024. Weakness in the retail sector and rising household caution — with families choosing to save rather than spend — are expected to further dampen momentum.

Earlier IMF assessments noted strong performance in the first half of 2025, supported by garment exports, agriculture and recovering tourism. But trade disruptions, border tensions and slow credit growth have exposed vulnerabilities, contributing to a noticeable slowdown in recent months.