Cambodia's projected inflation rate was lowered on Tuesday from 5.5 per cent to 3.6 per cent as a result of improvements in a number of sectors, including fishery reform and land titling, the government said.
Economic Minister Keat Chhon said the inflation rate improved during the first half of the year, causing the government to revise their average inflation rate to 3.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the exchange rate for the riel is stable at around 4,050 riel to one US dollar.
“The improvement in inflation results from an increase of national reserves in the first half to over US$3 billion, which can guarantee the import of goods and services for about five months,” he said, and added that improvements in the Kingdom’s fisheries policy and land titling also contributed to the decline of inflation.
Khin Song, depty director general of the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) agreed that based on the monthly data of the consumer price index, the slowdown in inflation was caused by lower inflation rates in countries that Cambodia has strong economic ties with.
“It is right that due to the monthly basis rate and the data at the end of the first half, inflation is very low, around 5 per cent,” he said.
According to Khin Song, the inflation rate from now on until the end of the year will be close to Keat Chhon’s projection.
According to Hiroshi Suzuki, CEO and chief economist at the Business Research Institute for Cambodia, all economists welcome this kind of stable inflation rate.
“It is the fundamental good condition and prerequisite for the good growth,” he said.
Suzuki added that due to the economic situation in the US and Europe and the slowdown in China: “I have had a little concern on the growth rate in Cambodia in the second half. Fortunately, I have not been able to feel any drastic slowdown in Cambodia so far./.”
May Kunmakara
The Phnom Penh Post