On 5 October 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training ("MLVT") issued Statement N035/19 ("Statement") reversing a regulation issued in August 2019 ("Prakas N360/19") that prohibited self-employed foreigners from taking on specified jobs. Based on the Statement, due to the demand of the skilled labor force of foreigners in service sectors and to encourage investment in Cambodia, the MLVT has re-allowed foreigners to be self-employed in all types of business.
By way of background, Prakas N360/19 barred foreigners from taking on the following jobs:
- driver of all types of vehicles as a business (two-wheeled drive, three-wheeled drive, motorcycle rickshaw (tuk tuk), all-terrain vehicle, passenger carrying vehicle and goods loading vehicle);
- vendor selling goods in public area either on foot or using all types of vehicles;
- massage service provider in public area;
- barber, hairdresser or beautician;
- sewing service provider or shoes polishing service provider;
- tailor or dressmaker;
- tyre repairer or mechanic;
- producer of Khmer souvenirs;
- producer of Khmer musical instruments, monks' alms bowls or Buddha statues; and
- goldsmith or processor of precious stones.
On 20 September 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training ("MLVT") issued Prakas N389/19 on Minimum Wage Determination for Workers in Textile, Garment and Footwear Sector for 2020 ("Prakas N389/19"). It will come into effect on 1 January 2020.
Based on Prakas N389/19, the minimum wage of workers in the textile, garment and footwear industries will be US$190 per month. The minimum wage of the workers in the probationary period will be US$185 per month. They will receive the prescribed minimum wage when they successfully complete the probationary period and become regular workers.
Piece-rate workers shall be paid based on the actual piece of work produced, if their current wage is greater than the prescribed minimum wage. However, in the event that their current wage is lower than the prescribed minimum wage, the employers shall add the balance to make it equivalent to the prescribed minimum wage accordingly.
All other monetary benefits enjoyed by the workers remain the same.
Prakas N389/19 states that any stipulation agreed to by the employers and the affected workers that is contrary to it shall be null and void.
The Ministry of Commerce ("MOC") and the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) have issued Joint Prakas No. 257 MOC.CRD.PrK dated 12 September 2019 on the use of a company's name on letters, documents, signboards or public advertisements ("Joint Prakas"). According to the Joint Prakas, registered companies and businessmen must only use the company/business names that are registered in the Commercial Register of the MOC in the course of conducting their approved business activities. This includes the use of company names on any letters, documents, signboards and any electronic signs for display or public advertisements in the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
The use of company name must comply with these two requirements:
- the name in Khmer must be displayed above the company name that is written in another language, with a size that is two times larger than that name in another language; and
- any translation of name from one language to another is prohibited. For example, if the original name of a company is in English, the name in Khmer must be written based on the pronunciation of that name, but it cannot be translated from English to Khmer language.
On 3 September 2019, during the official visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to Phnom Penh, Malaysia entered into a Double Taxation Agreement ("DTA") with the host country. Under the DTA, double taxation will be avoided in that any tax paid in Cambodia by Malaysian companies in accordance with the DTA will be allowed as a credit against the tax payable in Malaysia on the same income, subject to the tax laws of Malaysia. Similarly, the tax paid in Malaysia for Cambodian companies will be allowed as a deduction from the tax payable on the same income in Cambodia.
Organisations in Cambodia employing or intending to employ foreign employees in 2020 will be required to apply for a foreign employee quota from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training ("MLVT"). MLVT has yet to issue its annual regulation providing for the work permit applications for foreign employees. Despite the absence of such a regulation, MLVT has announced that the application for such a work permit is officially opened to the public and companies can start applying for their 2020 quota from September 2019 onwards.
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has issued a Circulation dated 18 August 2019 addressing the online gambling activities in Cambodia with the following three key messages:
- Authorities at all levels are ordered to intensify investigations into illegal online gambling operations both inside and outside of Cambodia.
- All existing duly licensed online gambling operators are allowed to operate until the expiration of their licenses. The Government will stop renewing the licenses thereafter.
- The Government will stop granting approvals-in-principle and licenses to operate online gambling businesses from the day of the issuance of a directive to this effect.
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has announced, through Sub-decree No. 112 SD.P dated 2 August 2019, that public holidays for civil servants and employees in 2020 will be reduced from 28 days to 22 days. The reduction in the number of Cambodian public holidays is expected to enhance work efficiency, increase productivity and guarantee economic competition with the regional neighbours.
Starting from 2020, the Khmer New Year public holidays will be increased from three days to four days, while the public holidays allocated for the religious festival of Meak Bochea, the National Memorial Day, the International Children Day, the Paris Peace Accord Day and the International Human Rights Day will be removed. The public holidays for the King's birthday will be shortened from three days to one day in May. Therefore, in total, six days of public holidays will be removed.