Thursday, 12 February 2009

Businesspeople Inside and Outside of the Country Gather Force to Promote the Real Estate Market in Cambodia - Wednesday, 11.2.2009

Posted on 12 February 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 599

“Phnom Penh: This week, real estate businesspeople from inside and outside of the country gathered to create a new association to promote and improve the declining real estate market in Cambodia. The Association of Cambodian Real Estate Developers aims to help restore the fast declining real estate market in Cambodian to grow up again.

“Real estates companies expressed their hope that the real estate market will become active again soon. Representatives of real estates companies had assembled to join forces and to make efforts to restore their situation, lively selling real estate in Cambodia again. Mr. Van So Ieng, who was selected to be the president of the Association of the Cambodian Real Estate Developers, said that this new association plays a role to help coordinate work with the government, in order to find ways to reactivate the land and the house markets in Cambodia.

“Mr. Van So Ieng added that the creation of this association is to establish another new force to encourage activities regarding real estate, to get moving ahead.

“It should be noted that the Association of the Cambodian Real Estate Developers was created, after the real estate market of Cambodia had collapsed, and while the government established a new policy, requiring real estate companies to deposit 2% of to the volume of each construction project as a security deposit.

“The director of the Bunna Realty Group, Mr. Sung Bunna, who was nominated secretary-general of the Association of the Cambodian Real Estate Developers, disagrees with the policy requiring to make a 2% security deposit per construction site. However, he agrees with the establishment of a mechanism to monitor all real estate companies, which is being drafted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

“It should be stressed that the policy to reserve a 2% security deposit for ongoing construction activities is to ensure confidence from companies contracting a construction company, so that the customers continue to commit their money to acquire flats.

“Mr. Sung Bunna requested the government to consider the disadvantages of this security depositing policy in a situation when Cambodia’s real estate market is going down like this.

“As for the director of the Udom Vathanak Company that buys and sells land, Mr. Men Ra, he presented the opinion that the 2% security deposit creates a disadvantage that can affect the newly growing real estate market in Cambodia.

“Ahead of the elections in 2008, activities on the real estate market in Cambodia started to slow down, and so far, the land and the house construction markets are still quiet, which is partly also the result of the international financial crisis.

“Mr. Men Ra said that the land market in Cambodia, with cooperating efforts by the government, will become activated again soon.

“Mr. Van So Ieng expressed his hope that the land market will grow again after the real estate companies in Cambodia assembled to form the new Association, especially if there is cooperation from the government.

“Also, Mr. Van So Ieng mentioned that solutions might also be found from the policy of providing loans to citizens to buy houses – this can help to reactivate the real estate market in Cambodia.

“It should be noted that the Cambodian government announced that government institutions are beginning to release loans in an effort to encourage the buying of land and of flats again.

“This announcement by the government was welcomed by different real estate companies in Cambodia.

“Mr. Men Ra called for supporting activities by the National Bank of Cambodia in order to restore the present weak situation of the land market.

“So far, real estate businesspeople still hope that sooner or later, there will be land selling activities again.”

Khmer Sthapana, Vol.2, #200, 11.2.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 11 February 2009

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