friday, november 27, 2020 Intelligent . In-depth . Independent Issue NUMBER 3550 / 4000 RIEL S Korea sex Kingdom on course to abuse ring leader gets Call to assess end AIDS spread early 40 years jail Mom Kunthear and qualitative signs to reach year. Deaths from AIDS had 2010 to 780 last year. THE mastermind of a notori- impact of laos’ the goals of ending the spread decreased from 2,300 in 2010 In a letter issued in conjunc- ous online sex abuse ring was O COMBAT and con- of AIDS in 2025 – five years be- to 1,300 last year. tion with World AIDS Day, jailed for 40 years in South Sanakham tain the spread of fore the UN’s 2030 target to put The report said that cur- Hun Sen said: “These achieve- Korea on November 26. AIDS, WORLD AIDS a definitive end to the disease rently, HIV-positive people ments show a positive, effec- Cho Ju-bin, a 25-year-old power project Day which falls on as a public health threat. numbered 73,000. Of the fig- tive and qualitative sign of our college graduate, ran a group DecemberT 1 will be marked A report from the Na- ure, 84 per cent are receiving achievements in containing that blackmailed women and national – page 2 with the theme Global Solidar- tional AIDS Authority (NAA) regular anti-viral treatment the spread of AIDS. girls, including minors, into ity and Shared Responsibility. showed that the rate of AIDS which is 96 per cent effective. “We must not forget. We filming and sending sexual Prime Minister Hun Sen noted among adults aged 15-49 had The number of people who must not be complacent content. This was then posted that Cambodia’s achievements decreased from 0.8 per cent newly became infected with in pay-to-view chatrooms on are showing positive, effective in 2010 to 0.5 per cent last AIDS decreased from 1,900 in Continued – page 2 messaging app Telegram. Cho was in charge of the group from last May to Feb- ruary this year, blackmail- ing 74 people, 16 of whom were underage. “The accused has widely distributed sexually abusive content that he created by Gov’t credit luring and threatening many victims,” the Seoul Central guarantee District Court was quoted by Yonhap news agency as say- unit set for ing, adding that he had caused “irreparable harm”. first-half 2021 Considering the seriousness business – page 6 of the crimes, the large number of victims and the extent of the damage Cho’s group has inflicted, he would “have to be isolated from society for a long time,” the court added. The 40-year verdict was short of the lifetime impris- onment sought by prosecu- tors. Both they and Cho have one week to appeal. Five people who helped Cho run the criminal ring received jail terms ranging Turkish court from seven to 15 years. The case has reignited a set to try 475 national conversation over the seriousness with which people over digital sex crimes are taken in South Korea. 2016 ‘coup’ The illegal sharing of sex- WORLD – Page 11 Love in the air ual content is a widespread problem in the hyper-con- A couple watch as smoke spews from Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta on Thursday, after the Indonesia Geological agency raised the status of alert for nected country, and in the Merapi to the second highest ahead of a possible eruption. AFP past critics have accused the authorities of being too lenient on such crimes. Last year the government began running a 24-hour Mass ‘plotting’ trial to resume in Jan watchdog team to catch ille- gally shared material. Kim Sarom and Niem Chheng Kuch Kimlong said only 34 had they involved so many people. defendants to hire a lawyer. In one high-profile case, shown up in the first hearing. Another defence lawyer, Lor He said all defendants should K-pop star Jung Joon-young THE Phnom Penh Municipal The trial will resume in Janu- Chunthy, requested the court to be able to find a lawyer within was convicted of filming Court on November 26 com- ary and March. enable prior consultation two weeks, but if they could and distributing sex videos Congo model menced a mass trial against UN human rights experts, between lawyers and the defend- not find one, the Bar Associa- without the consent of his 139 activists and supporters of meanwhile, have expressed ants to explain legal procedures. tion of the Kingdom of Cam- female partners. He is serv- defies beauty the former Cambodia Nation- concerns about what they called He also requested meetings bodia (BAKC) had appointed ing a five-year jail term. al Rescue Party (CNRP), who an “imminent mass trial”. between the judges and lawyers six lawyers to help them. South Korean women have standards at were charged with ‘plotting’ Sam Sokong, the defence to ensure a smooth trial. “Although they are lawyers taken to the streets previously and ‘incitement’, but post- lawyer for many of the defend- Judge Ross Piseth said the appointed by BAKC, they are over so-called spycams – cam- ‘harmony iv’ poned the hearing after split- ants, welcomed the court’s hearing will resume on January lawyers by profession and they eras hidden in public places ting the cases in two. decision, saying he needed 14 and March 4. The postpone- such as schools and toilets to lifestyle – page 14 Municipal court spokesman more time to study the cases as ment, he said, was to allow all the Continued – page 3 secretly record women. AFP

Kingdom’s unicorn firms akin Don’t miss our Special Report to mythical creature’s being Inside page 8-9 2 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com National Gov’t still wary of AIDS Laos urged to reassess dam as public health threat Niem Chheng ever,” said MRC Secretariat CEO An Pich Hatda. He add- Continued from page 1 government plans to spend HE Lao government ed that construction activities $19.65 million, of which $11 and the Sanakham hy- and impacts that are usually about our successes because million is to buy medicine for dropower project devel- only local could have trans- since the spread of [HIV] in the people living with AIDS. oper have been urged boundary effects. 1980s until now, the world is Bun Rany, the head of the toT widen the impact assessment He said MRC member coun- yet to have a vaccine or medi- Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), of the project and propose ad- tries had recently agreed to ex- cine to cure it definitively.” and the National Champion of ditional measures to mitigate plore a regional funding mecha- The prime minister said the Asia Pacific Leadership Fo- potential adverse impacts from nism to support livelihoods and Cambodia has 12,000 HIV- rum on HIV/AIDS and Develop- the 684-megawatt dam. ecosystem restoration projects positive people who have yet ment in Cambodia, also call for In a regional forum opened in the Lower Mekong Basin. to return to have their blood attention to three priority tasks. to the public and organised by Bounkham Vorachit, vice- re-tested to ascertain if they The first, she said, is to the Mekong River Commis- minister of the Lao Ministry continue to have the virus contain new infections, es- sion (MRC) with stakehold- of Natural Resources and En- in their bodies. Some other pecially among young peo- ers on November 24 in Pakse, vironment, said in her open- people living with AIDS had ple and halt its transmission Siem Reap, Bangkok, and Ha- ing remarks to the forum that abandoned treatment. from mother to babies. noi, as well as online, some Laos welcomed stakeholders’ The government still regards “The second is to provide so-

200 attendees expressed their The Sanakham hydropower project is estimated to cost $2 billion. MRC comments and suggestions. the fight against AIDS as a cial and psychological support concerns about the project. “We will spare no effort to high priority because the virus services to HIV-positive people An MRC press release said the MRC said in May. MRC member countries to re- ensure that serious issues are posed a threat to public health, and those suspected of having they recommended that prior Forum participants said the lease water from hydropower addressed before we proceed a danger to people’s lives and AIDS, while the third is to con- consultation should be made Lao government and project storage on the tributaries in to implement the project,” had gravely impacted socio- tinue to strengthen and expand to make it more meaningful developer Datang (Lao) San- the coming years. she said. economic development. AIDS education, by disseminat- and to ensure that potential akham Hydropower Co Ltd This would allow more The project is part of the Hun Sen said the government ing, promoting, and eliminat- negative project impacts are should broaden its assessment sediment to flow, support Lao government’s plan to ex- had been continuing to coop- ing all forms of denigration and addressed. on different environmental downstream fish migration, port around 20GW of electric- erate closely and effectively discrimination against HIV- The Sanakham dam is esti- and social dimensions. and maintain the ecological ity to its neighbours by 2030, with all partners including positive people,” she said. mated to cost $2.073 billion, A more comprehensive balance in the Mekong main- which centres chiefly on hy- donor countries, international She underscored that $27.7 million of which will be overview of the possible im- stream, the MRC said. dropower development. organisations, WHO, UNAIDS, even though Cambodia had allocated for environmental pacts from other dams and Forum participants also sug- During the 2020-2030 pe- Global Fund and NGOs. achieved a series of successes, and social mitigation mea- development project should gested that the MRC consider riod, the Thai government These organisations had the situation is still fragile. sures and monitoring pro- also be shared. ways to ensure the availability of expects to import about 9GW actively joined to contain the “We can forget AIDS, but AIDS grammes. It is the sixth proj- “They also maintained that more complete and up-to-date of electricity from Laos, Cam- spread of the AIDS virus in doesn’t forget us. If we forget ect to be submitted to MRC in the mitigation measures cur- documents and data from fu- bodia about 6GW, Vietnam Cambodia. it a little, there will be a break a prior consultation process. rently proposed by the develop- ture projects well before the pri- about 5GW, Myanmar about From 2021 to 2023, the out of AIDS transmission.” The dam is proposed to sit er were insufficient, suggesting or consultation process begins. 300MW and Malaysia about between Xayaburi and Vien- that additional measures, in- They said this would allow 300MW, Vientiane Times re- tiane provinces in Laos, about cluding compensation mecha- for a more meaningful review ported, citing the Lao Minis- 155km north of the capital nisms to cope with changes to of the submitted documents. try of Energy and Mines. Vientiane, and about 2km up- livelihoods, be provided using Information-sharing mecha- The MRC is an inter-govern- stream of the Thai-Lao border up-to-date data and recent nisms, they said, should be mental organisation estab- in the Thai northeastern prov- studies,” the MRC said. improved and stakeholders’ lished in 1995 that “works di- ince of Loei, said the MRC. The drought last year and comments should be consid- rectly with the governments of Scheduled to go online in this year had extended the ered as part of the prior con- Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and 2028, the dam will stand 58m dry season and affected Cam- sultation process and beyond. Vietnam to jointly manage the high and 350m long, and com- bodia’s Tonle Sap reverse flow “Strong mitigation mea- shared water resources and prise 12 turbines, each which and fisheries production. The sures for the Sanakham proj- the sustainable development produce 57MW of electricity, forum participants called on ect are more important than of the Mekong River”. The government says the fight against AIDS is still a priority. HENG CHIVOAN Japan donates $3 million to fight marine plastic waste Nov Sivutha all forms of plastic waste. according to a press release and minimise plastic waste of the largest environmental waste in target areas. It will also The grant will fund an anti- after a signing ceremony be- pollution on land and in the crises in the world. He said promote recycling and plastic THE Japanese government waste project to be imple- tween Japanese ambassador oceans through the promo- the Japanese government had alternatives. Target areas include will provide a $3 million grant mented by the Ministry of to Cambodia Masahiro Mika- tion and application of the launched a new initiative to ad- Phnom Penh and the provinces to help Cambodia fight ma- Environment, the National mi and UNDP Resident Rep- 4Rs principle of refuse, re- vance effective action against of Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, rine plastic pollution and pro- Council for Sustainable De- resentative in Cambodia Nick duce, reuse and recycle. marine plastic pollution at the Kep, Kampot and Koh Kong. mote a responsible cycle of velopment and UN Develop- Beresford on November 25. Mikami said marine plas- G20 Osaka Summit in 2019. “We believe that this aid can using, reusing and recycling ment Programme (UNDP), The project aims to prevent tic pollution had become one He continued that the vol- contribute to the environment ume of global plastic waste in Cambodia and help prevent had reached 8.3 billion metric marine plastic pollution further tonnes. Each year, 13 million in the future,” Mikami said. tonnes of plastic reaches the The UNDP’s Beresford said oceans, equivalent to a full rub- combating plastic pollution bish truck every minute. Around was a daunting task but this 90 per cent of the plastic waste project would bring about that ends up in the oceans changes that could lead to a comes from just 10 major rivers, green, circular economy. one of which is the Mekong. Environment minister Say Mikami said the biggest prob- Sam Al said reducing plas- lem is that plastic can take hun- tic waste effectively required dreds of years to biodegrade. a joint effort. He said this In marine areas, millions project would showcase best of mammals, fish and birds practices for reducing plastic are killed by ingesting plas- waste and could help other tic or becoming entangled in ASEAN countries in the fight plastic materials, according against marine pollution. to reports. More than 90 per “Cambodia will continue to cent of all birds and fish are strive to keep the environment reported to have plastic par- along coastal areas beautiful. ticles in their stomach. In this The installation of water treat- way, toxic chemicals accu- ment systems for drinking is mulate and pass through the to reduce plastic waste and food chain to humans. the installation of solar bulbs He continued that more than is to save electricity in schools 100 countries, including Cam- and public places for the pub- bodia, are introducing new lic interest of Preah Sihanouk measures for plastic waste. province,” he said. Since 2018, the Cambodian Sam Al added that the edu- government has promoted the cation and awareness raising 4Rs framework to reduce the were still the most important Kingdom’s plastic problem. points, especially changing Mikami said the new project the attitudes that young peo- will develop regulations, raise ple and children have about awareness and reduce plastic plastic waste. THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 3 National​ Cambodian Sar Kheng urges more regional workers still Korea bound cooperation to battle narcotics Voun Dara Soth Koemsoeun THE Republic of Korea will continue to accept Cambodian workers, Kore- INISTER of Interior an ambassador Park Heung-kyeong Sar Kheng has pro- said on November 26 in a meeting posed that countries with Minister of Labour and Voca- in the region continue tional Training Ith Sam Heng. mutualM cooperation and support in There are nearly 50,000 Cambodi- combating drugs and crime. an currently working in various fields Sar Kheng, who is also deputy in Korea, the most of any country, ac- prime minister, made the sugges- cording to the ambassador. tion at the 14th ASEAN Ministerial “The reason why Korea allows Meeting on Transnational Crime Cambodian workers is because em- and Related Meetings via video ployers are satisfied with them. They conference on November 26. are honest with their work and strict- He said Cambodia has made a num- ly follow instructions,” Park said. ber of significant improvements in Sam Heng said Cambodia should be recognising the dangers of narcotics. a priority country because the Covid- The country, he added, has 19 situation in Cambodia is under launched anti-drug campaigns at control and there are many flights be- the national and sub-national lev- tween the countries. els since 2017, seizing tonnes of il- Cambodia has sent 68,294 workers legal drugs and sending hundreds to Korea since 2007 to work in the in- of perpetrators to court. dustrial, agricultural and construction “I ask countries in the region – states sectors under four-year contracts. in the Mekong sub-region in particular The two countries are also in the pro- – to continue their mutual support in cess of negotiating a free trade agree- the fight against illegal drugs,” he said. ment that is expected to boost trade and Sar Kheng said criminals are us- investment, according to Sam Heng. ing technology to commit cross- “Korea is helping Cambodia prepare border crimes in the region and the drafting of an occupational safety around the globe. and health law in Cambodia,” he said He said Cambodia has made a as an example of cooperation. number of significant achieve- Sam Heng continued that Korea Minister of Interior Sar Kheng said criminals are using technology to commit cross-border crimes. Sar kheng facebook page ments, including a Law on combat- planned to establish a training in- ing financial crimes, a law on the Transparency International Cambo- ganisation found regional and interna- as a place to smuggle drugs from the stitution on occupational safety and proliferation of weapons of mass de- dia executive director Pech Pisey said tional cooperation remained limited. Golden Triangle region for distribu- health in Cambodia. struction and a law on anti-money on November 26 he wants Cambodia “It was recommended we create tion to China, Taiwan, Australia and According to the minister, coop- laundering and terrorist financing. and other countries to take a tougher new laws in line with international other target destinations. eration between Cambodia and the He said they will help provide stance against money laundering and principles so [Cambodia] has an op- “Transnational crime cases de- Republic of Korea led to more than Cambodia with a strong, interna- drug and human trafficking. portunity to join with other coun- creased in 2020. Although we see $1.5 billion in trade in 2019. At pres- tionally recognised legal founda- To this end, he said countries need tries in the region,” he said. success, we have to remain vigi- ent, Korean investment in Cambo- tion for strengthening its financial to work together to communicate Mok Chito, deputy National Police lant. We have always requested dia has totalled more than $5 billion, and banking systems and contrib- and exchange information. chief in charge of drugs, said some cooperation with neighbouring making Korea the second-largest in- uting to economic growth. Pisey said an assessment by his or- drug traffickers had used Cambodia countries,” he said. vestor in Cambodia. Authorities have ‘legal basis’ to press charges, official says Continued from page 1 did not give me documents idate and discredit opponents describing my wrongdoing. of the government. adhere to the ethics of legal This is totally against proce- She said that civic and dem- professionalism. They value dure. But I will play along in ocratic space in Cambodia had their reputations, so they per- this political event. I will open continued to shrink and there form their duties correctly,” the curtain to make sure it is was little evidence of political Judge Piseth said. seen clearly,” she added. rapprochement and reconcili- The cases are linked to the Thach Setha, president of ation. Since June 2019, over remarks of former CNRP lead- the Khmer Kampuchea Krom 150 people associated with the er Sam Rainsy, who on Novem- Association and also a defend- CNRP have been arrested on ber 9 claimed he would return ant, said outside the court that various charges, she said. to arrest Prime Minister Hun he did not know why he was Ministry of Justice spokes- Sen. The government accused charged. A wrong name and person Chin Malin rejected the Rainsy of a “failed coup” wrong date of birth were writ- claims, saying Smith had Health minister Mam Bun Heng recently delivered two million masks and other supplies to Myanmar. SPM although he never came back ten on a summons that was repeatedly raised the issue and to the Kingdom. posted on a wall at the former made unwarranted remarks Theary Seng, a Cambodian- CNRP headquarters, he said. about the actions of the Cam- American lawyer and one of “But for the sake of the nation, bodian authorities. Malin said Gov’t to provide Covid-19 the defendants, said outside I still come even though my the authorities had strong fac- the court after the hearing that name was wrong. The court tual and legal basis to charge she did not need a lawyer and never summoned me for ques- the accused, including testi- equipment to East Timor preferred to defend the case by tioning. The court should not mony and extensive evidence. herself. be so careless,” Setha said. He said it was normal for a Mom Kunthear problems but are thinking of Cambodia provides donations Seng, who was formerly the Rhona Smith, the Special case to have so many defend- helping others?’ Yes, you can to friendly countries, there director of local rights NGOs, said Rapporteur on Human Rights ants when a crime was carried Cambodia will donate more say whatever you want. But as a is no domestic shortage be- she should have received details in Cambodia, issued a state- out by a network of people, like than one million masks and contributor in the international cause Hun Sen had ordered of the charges brought against ment on November 25 express- the mafia. In such cases, he pieces of medical equipment community, I have an obli- the health ministry to purchase her, along with a summons to ing concerns about an “immi- said, all those involved must to East Timor to help the gation to contribute to other more masks and equipment to appear in court. She said she did nent mass trial” of individuals be held accountable and all country fight Covid-19, similar states and to provide as much refill the government stockpile. not know the foundation of the associated with the Supreme the accused should take part to the Kingdom’s earlier dona- assistance as possible,” he said. Cambodia’s donation to charges against her. Court-dissolved CNRP. in the court proceedings. tions to Laos and Myanmar. Minister of Health Mam Myanmar included two mil- “I don’t have a document “The mass trials of CNRP “They should attend the Prime Minister Hun Sen Bun Heng recently delivered lion regular masks, 20,000 N95 detailing the investigation car- activists appear to be politically hearing to defend themselves said on November 25: “Cam- more than two million masks masks, 20,000 safety goggles, ried out by the investigating motivated, lacking clear legal according to legal procedure, bodia not only provides med- and other medical equipment 20,000 sets of safety clothing judge. So, I should not have grounds and constitute a seri- rather than escaping and gath- ical assistance to our friends to Myanmar. and 10 thermometers. come to the court. I come ous violation of the due process ering to hold protests and in Laos and Myanmar, but I “Masks and medical materi- The Kingdom on November 16 although this is just a political rights, firmly established by accuse the authorities without am also ready to prepare a als are so important for people also donated two million masks stage. The charge has no fac- international human rights basis,” Malin said. donation for East Timor. to prevent from transmission of Cambodian-made fabrics tual or legal basis,” she said. law,” said Smith, adding that the “Running away is not the “Some people scoff at me and of Covid-19,” Bun Heng said. and other medical equipment “I don’t know what I have judicial proceedings appeared way to clear themselves of the say: ‘You can’t solve your own He added that although worth $2,224,000 to Laos. done wrong because the court to be part of a strategy to intim- charges.” 4 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com National PM: Covid-19 cash to Inspectors check fuel depots needy will continue Voun Dara Mom Kunthear HE General Depart- ment of Consumer THE Ministry of Social Af- Protection, Competi- fairs, Veterans and Youth Re- tion and Fraud Pre- habilitation handed out cash ventionT under the Ministry of to more than 670,000 poor Commerce has checked 154 and vulnerable families from fuel distribution depots since October 25 to November 24. January this year, finding that The period covers the first 101 depots did not follow law phase of the third round of and sending 14 cases to court. assistance for families im- The inspections were con- pacted by Covid-19. ducted in 12 provinces across Meeting with a government the Kingdom this year, ac- attorney group on November cording to a report received 25 at the Peace Palace, Hun Sen by The Post on November 25. said: “We have a burden to help PoorID cards are being handed The report found that of poor people. There is an in- out to more than 700,000 families in the country. supplied the 154 distribution depots crease up to over 670,000 fami- inspected this year, 51 were lies, consisting of three million cial Affairs, Veterans and Youth in compliance with the law, people. We have released nearly Rehabilitation and seen by The while 101 were not. Seven de- $200 million in total to assist Post said poor and vulnerable pots were fined for violations, poor and vulnerable people.” people who were victimised by one depot reached an agree- Hun Sen said it was lucky the Covid-19 were divided accord- ment through negotiation government had over $3 billion ing to different targets – down- and 14 cases went to court. surplus, $150 million of which town in Phnom Penh, the city In 2019, officials inspected went to the construction of 38 suburbs and the countryside. 238 depots, finding that 121 roads in Siem Reap province. A total of $30 million was spent Officials inspect a fuel depot in Kandal province on November 18. Since January, officials have inspeced 154 were legally compliant while fuel distribution depots in 12 provinces across the Kingdom. ccf “Cambodia is not a rich on 674,146 families classified 117 were not. The inspectors country, but we have a way as Levels 1 and 2. also sent 14 cases to court “We have distributed the in January or February 2021, five fuel distribution depots of managing, controlling and Social Welfare Department last year. documents to 12 provinces al- following the advice of the were found to be balanced paying for state affairs. director Chhour Sopanha the The general department’s ready. Our next action plan is National Committee for Con- in quality and quantity, three “We will continue to make second phase of the third round director-general, Phan Oun, to deliver notifications about sumer Protection,” he said. depots did not comply with these payments for November will go until December 24, 2020. told The Post on November 26 the laws in all 24 provinces Officials with the Kandal the quantity requirements, and December. If the Covid The programme will consist of that commerce minister Pan and Phnom Penh,” he said. provincial consumer protec- and one depot did not meet spread is not over in Decem- 703,592 families and $31.93 Sorasak had asked his depart- According to Oun, in Decem- tion department on Novem- the mandated level of quality. ber, we will keep going. We million will be paid out. ment to increase awareness ber his department will begin ber 18 worked with local au- “Since this case was discov- have prepared enough money “No one has disguised them- about the laws on consumer to impose fines on stations thorities to check 35 petrol ered for the first time, officials for 10 months. We were spend- selves as poor. People have protection, quality control, and depots that do not com- stations, including 25 along asked the station and the depot ing $20 million a month. Now, cards. Those who reach bet- and the safety of products and ply with the laws on consumer National Road 21, four in owners to make a contract to we are spending over $30 mil- ter living standards have their services. Oun said his inspec- protection and competition. Sa’ang district’s Roka Khpos correct the non-compliance. If lion a month to provide to cards removed from them,” tors will hand out legal noti- “We can use the prakas of and Prek Koy communes, and a second mistake is discovered, poor people,” Hun Sen said. Hun Sen said, adding that no fications to owners of petrol the Inter-Ministerial Com- six in Kien Svay district. the officials will build a case to A report released on Novem- one had yet been caught forg- depots across the country. mittee to implement the laws The Kandal officials said send to court,” he said. ber 25 from the Ministry of So- ing documents. THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 5 National​ CCF and eMoney partner on six-month school campaign Orm Bunthoeurn on the eMoney app, eMoney “This partnership will make users across Cambodia will be it easier for Cambodians to THE Cambodian Children’s able to donate to the CCF. donate to CCF through the Fund (CCF) and local financial Donations may also be made eMoney App and eMoney technology company eMoney in person at all eMoney stores agent booths, which have announced a six-month fund- throughout the country, more than 8,000 locations to raising partnership on Novem- according to a press release. be a part of Cambodia’s future ber 26 to help support educa- Neeson said the partner- development,” he said. tional programmes at the CCF. ship would provide education According to Doan Cuong, the The campaign will be con- for more than 2,000 of Cam- CCF has broken cycles of poverty ducted through eMoney’s finan- bodia’s most underprivileged and abuse by building the capac- cial technology platform and children. ity of the most disadvantaged and the funds will be used to sup- Pham Doan Cuong, eMon- vulnerable communities. port science, technology, engi- ey’s CEO, said his company Pham Doan Cuong said neering and math (STEM) at the aims to influence the fields of through the support of part- CCF school in Phnom Penh’s financial and information nerships like this, CCF would Stung Meanchey commune. technology as well as telecom- be better able to deliver qual- Scott Neeson, the founder munications, seeking unlim- ity education and community and executive director of CCF, ited access for everyone and support programmes in Stung said the school in Stung everywhere. Meanchey. Meanchey was for the educa- Demarcation posts planted at the Banteay Longvek Prehistoric Station in Kampong Chhnang. culture ministry tion of poorest children in the commune. Through this part- nership with eMoney, he hopes to raise additional funds to support children’s education. More border posts to “The partnership with eMoney will allow enhanced education for our students. This association also allows guard prehistoric sites our CCF supporters an effi- cient way to follow our work Khouth Sophak Chakrya ing the guards of the national designate protected areas of and donate to our programme cultural heritage site. national cultural heritage. too,” Neeson said. HE Ministry of Cul- The lower part of the Rahu “We set poles to define the area According to Neeson, the ture and Fine Arts is is decorated with a layer of of the national cultural heritage, CCF has transformed the lives producing addition- an upside-down lotus flower, but only in the area of prehistor- of the most impoverished, al border demarca- which represents the roots of ic sites and archaeological sites, marginalised and neglected tionT posts for the national the strong Khmer civilisation. where people illegally encroach children in Cambodia through cultural heritage protected Vuthy said in addition to on the land, because we are high quality education, leader- area at the Banteay Longvek the sculptures, the pillars also afraid of losing and damaging ship training and direct sup- Prehistoric Station in Kam- have the design of letters of those historical sites,” he said. port programmes. Cambodian Children’s Fund founder Scott Neeson (left) and eMoney pong Chhnang province’s the “Ministry of Culture and Longvek commune chief Through a donation portal CEO Pham Doan Cuong during the launch on Thursday. heng chivoan Kampong Tralach district. Fine Arts” and “National Cul- Toch Y told The Post that two The director of the minis- tural Heritage Protected Area”. weeks ago, a group of officials try’s Department of Archae- “At this time, we have pro- from the ministry went to a ology and Prehistory Voeun duced more than 140 border meeting to raise awareness Vuthy told The Post on No- posts to protect the national about the issue. vember 25 that the demarca- cultural heritage. They will “In the spirit of the meeting, tion posts that would be made be transported to the Banteay people’s houses in three villag- is square-shaped, 1.60m high Longvek historical heritage es, including Nha Taing, Srah and had a lotus design. site which will be ready for Chak and Wat village, which The top layer of the lotus excavation shortly,” he said. are located in the Banteay represents the growth of cul- According to historical doc- Longvek historical heritage ture, civilisation and the rich- uments, the Banteay Longvek area, are allowed to continue ness of Khmer society. National Cultural Heritage existing, but the land may be At the bottom of the lotus Site was built in 1527 by King confiscated or further devel- and lotus flower layer itself Chan Reachea. At present, the opment disallowed,” he said. is a logo of the ministry to location of this archaeologi- However, most people have stress that the site is a pro- cal site has been settled. asked for an appropriate solu- tected area under its jurisdic- According to Vuthy, since tion in case of land confiscation tion. Below the logo is a head 2007, the ministry has pro- as they would be hard-pressed sculpture (Rahu) represent- duced thousands of poles to to earn a living without it. Vietnam returns eight women tricked into illegal China work Khouth Sophak Chakrya Chi Minh City on November into going to China. She said the 25 and they were scheduled to victims believed in promises of EIGHT Cambodian women arrive around 5am on Novem- fake marriage certificates and tricked into working illegally ber 27. The Cambodian Con- work with high salaries. in China are on their way back sulate General will then escort “According to a report, 60 to Cambodia from Vietnam them to the Bavet-Moc Bai Cambodian women on aver- after the intervention of the border gate with Cambodia. age are tricked into going to Cambodian embassy and Viet- The embassy did not clarify China each year. The Cambo- namese authorities. their specific destination or dian consulate general in According to the embassy, how they were duped into China works to get them back the women from Kandal, Kam- leaving Cambodia. to Cambodia,” she said. pong Cham, Banteay Ministry of Foreign Affairs She said her team is working Meanchey and Phnom Penh and International Coopera- in collaboration with officers were being transported to tion spokesman Kuy Kuong from the Secretariat of Anti- China via Vietnam. Four of the told The Post officers from the Human Trafficking Commis- women are juveniles. Department of Social Affairs sion in Svay Rieng Province, The embassy stated in a letter in Svay Rieng will be waiting The Ministry of Social Affairs, obtained by The Post on Novem- at the border. Veterans and Youth Rehabilita- ber 26 that the women were Ministry of Interior secretary of tion, Health Ministry and Bavet- rescued on November 6 and 10 state and permanent vice-chair Moc Bai border officials. near the Bavet-Moc Bai border of the National Committee for “When they arrive, they will gate, 370 km from Hanoi. Counter Trafficking of Cambodia quarantine for 14 days. After Cao Bang provincial author- (NCCT) Chou Bun Eng told The quarantine, our team will be able ities sent them by train to Ho Post the victims were deceived to question them,” she said. 6 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com Business

USD / KHR USD / CAD USD / CNY USD / JPY USD / MYR USD / SGD USD / THB AUD / USD EUR / USD GBP / USD 4,061 1.3047 6.5657 103.77 4.0905 1.3414 30.29 0.7334 1.1876 1.3376

Hopes high for Gov’t credit guarantee unit set for 2021 strong consumer Thou Vireak protection law THE Credit Guarantee Corporation Thou Vireak of Cambodia (CGCC) is on track to be launched in the first half of next SENIOR government officials and year, Banking Association of Cam- development partners are optimistic bodia (ABC) president In Channy that the Law on Consumer Protection told The Post on November 26. will promote integrity in competition The CGCC was established by Sub- and trade and cut down on unfair Decree No 140 ANKr BK on Septem- business practices in Cambodia once ber 1, coming under the Ministry it is fully implemented. of Economy and Finance and with The statement was made at the $200 million in registered capital “National Workshop on Dissemina- from the government. tion and Planning of the Implemen- The sub-decree said the corpora- tation of the Law on Consumer Pro- tion will provide loans “in a profes- tection in Cambodia” held on sional manner” to tackle challenges November 26 in Phnom Penh. in the lending market and promote Comprising 11 chapters and 51 financial inclusion. articles, the law was passed on It read: “The CGCC will be tasked November 2, last year, but is pending with providing credit services, evalu- a sub-decree that fills in the gaps to ating and managing risks, cooperating ensure effective implementation. with banks and financial institutions Ministry of Commerce secretary of and development partners that also state Mao Thora said businesses have provide credit services, et cetera.” to show ethical responsibility and The corporation sets out to in- acknowledge the importance of crease access to financing for Covid- effective consumer protection, which 19-strained businesses in priority The CGCC would be under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and is set to be launched with $200 million in registered capital from he said would provide them with the government. Heng Chivoan sectors and adapt to the Kingdom’s added consumer confidence and post-Covid-19 start-up landscape. they need,” Channy said. amount that SMEs can borrow will Through the corporation, the gov- support. It officially registered with the Min- During a promotional programme be capped at $500,000. “Our game- ernment will share risk with banking He said the law would ensure con- istry of Commerce on November 13. for CGCC held at the finance ministry plan is to help SMEs run their busi- institutions, MFIs, as well as busi- sumers’ rights to safe, high-quality Channy said the CGCC will guaran- on November 23, senior government nesses smoothly during this health ness owners in credit operations in goods and set a crucial legal standard tee a source of capital for small- and officials called on SMEs that have crisis,” Seilava said. order to breed credit and economic that will contribute to social harmo- medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with been unable to access loans during In a press release, the ministry said activity that would not manifest ny and sustainable economic devel- limited collateral and provide them Covid-19 to apply at the corporation. the CGCC will break through barriers to otherwise, the ministry said. opment. with collateral protection insurance. Speaking during the programme, effective financing processes and pro- The CGCC will shield businesses It will also strengthen Cambodia’s He said the corporation would ministry undersecretary of state vide new opportunities for banks and from Covid-19 fallout and promote ties with ASEAN member states and serve as a much-needed crutch for Ros Seilava said the CGCC will help MFIs to expand their customer base. the long-term development of other countries, he said. the private sector, and would par- SMEs rehabilitate their businesses “The CGCC will provide a sub- SMEs, it said. “Once fully implemented, the law ticularly be able to respond to strug- during Covid-19, and would focus stantial boon for the Cambodian According to Seilava, to rehabili- will facilitate pro-competitive prac- gling SMEs’ credit needs. chiefly on the agricultural, indus- economy – it will promote finan- tate the economy after the Covid- tices and protect consumers who are “We have seen in the past that most trial and service sectors. cial inclusion, support new growth 19 crisis, the government is seeking vulnerable to scams,” Thora said. of the SMEs that applied for loans at “I would like to appeal to all SMEs that sources and diversify the economy more funding from international Frank Jattke, the team leader for their banks and microfinance insti- have been facing difficulties in obtain- in line with industrial development financial partners, claiming that the GIZ-ASEAN projects in Cambodia, tutions [MFIs] did not have sufficient ing financing from commercial banks policies, as well as offer an environ- World Bank plans to provide about noted that the “Consumer Protection collateral, which made it impossible to re-apply for loans there,” he said. ment conducive to the creation of $100 million in loan to government in ASEAN” (PROTECT) regional for them to fully obtain the loans that He claimed that in 2021-2023, the new loan products,” it said. for additional capital. project aims to reinforce consumer protection system in selected ASEAN countries with support at national and regional levels. This, he said, includes providing technical assistance to enhance VN looks to Industry regional cooperation, institutional and legal framework development and dispute resolution mecha- 4.0 to drive economy nisms. “Fostering a pro-consumer culture VIETNAM is constantly looking for of General Economic Issues and Inte- through the engagement of public new driving forces for growth and has gration Studies released a report aimed and private stakeholders is part of leveraged opportunities from digital at assessing policy priorities, imple- our approach,” Jattke said. and e-commerce for economic mentation and the realities of digital He said input gathered at the work- growth, according to Central Institute economic development in Vietnam. shop would provide vital insight on for Economic Management (CIEM) At the same time, the report identified how best to spruce up national director Nguyen Thi Hong Minh. conditions and requirements for insti- mechanisms as instruments of con- The CIEM held a seminar titled tutional reform for the inclusive devel- sumer protection enforcement. “Vietnam’s digital economic develop- opment of the digital economy and “Ultimately, these are also expected ment post-Covid-19: Some require- proposed a roadmap for digital eco- to be used for the initial mapping of ments and roadmaps for institutional nomic development in the country. The CIEM held a seminar titled Vietnam’s digital economic development post-Covid-19: issues and identifying relevant stake- reform” in Hanoi on November 25. Minh proposed solutions for the Some requirements and roadmaps for institutional reform in Hanoi on November 25. holders for future consumer protec- The world was witnessing rapid development of the digital economy, mpi.gov.vn/VIET NAM NEWS tion activities,” he said. changes from the fourth industrial including ensuring a safe network tions from open data. gressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Thora said the effective implemen- revolution with breakthroughs in security environment, completing In addition, the technology applied Partnership (CPTPP) and EU-Vietnam tation of consumer protection laws many fields, including the digital wave competition policies, amending tax in smart city development needed to Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), there hinges on spreading awareness of of the manufacturing sector, said laws to regulate digital-based activities, conform to international standards must be changes in these regulations consumer rights. Minh. enhancing the effectiveness of intel- and be compatible with other coun- to create favourable conditions for He suggested that sectoral con- Recognising its importance, many lectual property protection, and regu- tries to be able to transfer data between both users as well as labourers. sumer organisations be set up to countries had concretised their dig- lating regulations related to the labour economies in the context of global A representative of the CIEM’s safeguard the rights and interests of ital economic development priorities, market and social security in the dig- integration, added Tuan. Department General Economic Issues its members and advocate for them. she added. ital context and infrastructure. During the transition to a digital and Integration Studies said: “In addi- These, he said, are explicitly men- The Covid-19 pandemic had made National Institute of Information economy, labour relations would be tion to the normal regimes, participat- tioned in the Law on Consumer Pro- the Vietnamese government and the and Communications Strategy depu- repositioned as partnerships, employ- ing in the labour market will ensure tection and are indispensable. business community more interested ty director Tran Minh Tuan said there er-employee relations. workers’ technology skills improved, “Once the law is officially imple- in the digital economy, noted the should be open data policies, allowing With Vietnam’s participation in contributing to the success of building mented, consumers can sue through director. public access to encourage analysis, new-generation free trade agreements a digital economy in Vietnam.” VIET NAM their associations to protect their At the event, the CIEM’s Department creation and development of applica- such as the Comprehensive and Pro- NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK interests,” he said. THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 7 Business Seeds sown for S Treng agriculture Iata exec says maybe Hin Pisei more M&As in aviation TUNG Treng provincial The aviation industry could see Hanjin Group – alongside authorities will work more consolidation between Bando Engineering & Con- with integrated food- airlines from the same country struction, and Cho Hyun-ah, distribution company in the wake of Korean Air and who is the current chairman’s HunS Ty Co Ltd to exploit the Asiana Airlines acquisition sister. province’s potential for crop deal, International Air Trans- If the fund’s injunction cultivation and potentially set port Association (Iata) regional request is accepted, the high- up a processing plant for ex- vice-president for the Asia- profile acquisition deal port down the line, provincial Pacific Conrad Clifford said on between Korean Air and Asiana administration spokesman November 25. Airlines could break apart, Men Kung told The Post on He told an online media leaving Asiana Airlines under November 26. briefing: “We’ve had a number the control of its current credi- A memorandum of under- of airlines who’ve tried to set tors including the state-owned standing (MoU) was struck to up regional operations but Korea Development Bank. this effect on November 23, they’ve tended to be chal- The group led by KCGI has which he said would provide lenged by the ownership and opposed Korean Air’s move to a strong market for a portion control rules that apply in dif- acquire Asiana Airlines since of the province’s agricultural ferent countries with respect the acquisition plans product offerings. to air operator certificates. emerged. “When a company makes Stung Treng Provincial Administration and Hun Ty Co Ltd signed the MoU on Monday. CHHOUR SUN VIA FACEBOOK “I would think that cross- In a statement on November an earnest commitment to border consolidation is prob- 25, Hanjin Group accused the buy agricultural products, ubiquitous Keo Romiet va- Minister of Agriculture, starch reached more than 1.7 ably going to be unlikely. But equity fund of putting its prof- it gives us high hopes that riety of mango, he said the Forestry and Fisheries Veng tonnes, cashew nuts (202,207 consolidation within coun- it before 100,000 people’s jobs production figures and the ample supply of high-quality Sakhon lauded the MoU, not- tonnes), fresh yellow ba- tries, I would think that’s cer- and warned that KCGI’s quality of our wares will be agricultural products found ing that Hun Ty has extensive nanas (213,486 tonnes), fresh tainly a possibility.” injunction could lead to the uplifted to a whole new level, in the province could con- operations in the Kingdom mangoes and its dehydrated His comments came on the collapse of South Korea’s avia- ratcheting up locals’ incomes vince it to set up a processing related to processing, pack- products (56,590 tonnes), same day as the Seoul Central tion industry. to boot,” Kung said. plant there. aging and export, and boasts pepper (3,959 tonnes), palm District Court heard an injunc- Later in the day, KCGI He voiced his confidence Speaking at the MoU sign- large warehouses and cold- oil (41,970 tonnes), tobacco tion case brought by private accused Hanjin Group of using that Stung Treng’s farmers ing ceremony, provincial gov- storage units. (5,376 tonnes) and soybeans equity fund KCGI, which leads jobs as leverage to push stand to profit wholesomely ernor Mom Saroeun said the “This MoU will cause Cam- (3,876 tonnes). a three-way alliance that owns through the acquisition deal. from the MoU, pointing out agreement is in line with the bodian agricultural product The Kingdom shipped a 46.71 per cent stake in Hanjin THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NET- that Hun Ty is a large Chinese government’s policy in the exports to foreign markets 193,660 tonnes of corn, veg- KAL – the holding company of WORK firm that has many techni- framework of provincial de- to shoot up sharply in due etables (84 tonnes), sweet cians based abroad and ac- velopment and the province’s course,” he said. potatoes (2,865 tonnes), cess to numerous overseas five-year local development But he warned that with the fresh and dried chilli pep- markets. programme. added exports, the Kingdom pers (52,621 tonnes), pome- He said a working group Hun Ty director Antony will face many challenges, los (15,150 tonnes) and other comprised of company rep- Wang said the deal reflects including high electricity and products (55,420 tonnes). resentatives and relevant close public-private coopera- transport costs, as well as a Cambodia’s agricultural provincial authorities would tion on agriculture and job weak logistics infrastructure. products are exported to Thai- review, assess and prepare creation for local farmers that As of September 11, Cam- land, Vietnam, China, Japan, a five-year joint plan that is sure to accelerate the King- bodian agricultural product South Korea, Singapore, the focuses on training farmers dom’s economic growth. exports this year weighed in Philippines, Malaysia, Indo- on cultivation methods, pro- He hinted that the company at 3,039,030 tonnes, or just nesia, India, Sri Lanka, Austra- viding them with seed vari- was looking to set up agri- shy of the 3,065,555 tonnes lia, Pakistan, Russia, France, eties and purchasing their cultural processing plants in logged in the first nine Belgium, Italy, the Czech Re- products. the province. “The company months of last year, ministry public, Croatia, Switzerland, While the company’s initial would invest in quality, safe figures show. the Netherlands, Germany, investment plan may only and hygienic agricultural pro- Milled-rice exports were the US, Britain, Belarus, New cover the acquisition of ca- cessing to export to markets 463,805 tonnes, fresh cassava, Zealand, Sweden and Hun- Korean Air is set to take over Asiana in a deal backed by Seoul. YONHAP shew nuts, cassava and the around the world,” Wang said. dried cassava chips and tapioca gary, the ministry said. NEWS AGENCY Hyatt hotel in capital set Russia oil giant unveils Arctic project for January 2021 launch Russian oil giant Rosneft on Novem- ance with our timetable,” Sechin Arctic deposits. ber 25 announced the start of opera- said, adding that the design work for The Vostok project, the cornerstone Thou Vireak be applied in the domestic market. tions for its giant Vostok oil project in a 770km oil pipeline and a port had of Russia’s Arctic ambitions, brings “I am confident this hotel will the Arctic, part of the country’s stra- been completed. together several Rosneft activities in THE $180 million The Hyatt Regency quickly become the go-to gathering tegic energy plan which has been The strategic plan for Russia’s min- the Russian Far North, near the Phnom Penh hotel is set to launch in place for guests from all over the criticised by environmentalists. eral resources stretches to 2035 and northern sea route that the company January, marking the brand’s first world to experience the beautiful “It is with great pleasure that I is banking on growing global demand, intends to exploit to deliver to Europe venture into the Kingdom’s capital. culture of Cambodia,” he said. inform you of the start of the practical though it does predict that natural and Asia. Local conglomerate Chip Mong This five-star hotel has 247 rooms, implementation of the project,” Ros- gas will partially replace oil and In February, Sechin promised Putin Group signed a management agree- including 43 suites, and is located on neft CEO Igor Sechin told President coal. that the scheme would create a “new ment with Chicago, US-based Hyatt Street 178 in Daun Penh district’s Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Mos- It says: “Mineral resources will oil and gas province” on Siberia’s Tay- Hotels Corp in September 2016 for Chey Chumneah commune, a poten- cow. remain a competitive advantage of myr peninsula, the northernmost the hotel, which broke ground in tial area for tourism, hospitality and He thanked Putin, with whom he Russia’s economy, and will determine part of the Asian continent. March 2017. commerce. has close relations, for the adoption the place and role of the country in The complete project will represent Chip Mong Group co-founder and Cambodia Association of Travel of a law facilitating Russian invest- the world.” a total investment of 10 trillion rubles chairman Leang Khun on November Agents president Chhay Sivlin voiced ments in the Arctic. Environmentalists urged the Rus- ($132 billion), including two airports 26 said his company’s vision and her optimism that the hotel would “The prospecting and exploration sian government last year to stop and 15 “industry towns”. business strategy are geared towards help reel in tourists to the Kingdom work are now underway, in accord- granting licences to exploit several The project has also been forecast expansion and remain incessant and in the post-Covid-19 era. to create 130,000 jobs and allow unwavering. She said: “We can now boast anoth- access to estimated reserves of He was speaking at a Krong Peali er tourism product that is sure to around five billion tonnes of oil. Buddhist blessing ceremony for the drive Cambodia’s tourism industry. The construction alone will require hotel, which he noted was held to With such destinations in our reper- 400,000 workers, Sechin said. bring harmony and prosperity for the toire, tourists from around the world Last week, Rosneft announced the venture, for when it opens its doors. will flock to our country in droves. sale of 10 per cent of the project to “As the owners of the hotel, we have Ministry of Tourism spokesman Singapore’s Trafigura group, without high commitment, have solved all Top Sopheak told The Post in June mentioning a price. The Russian challenges, and mobilised the resourc- that his ministry has licensed a total group had previously said that there es to invest in constructing this build- of 2,044 hotel businesses in Cam- was interest in the project from ing and bringing a global-branded bodia, 343 of which operate in India. hotel to Cambodia,” he said. Phnom Penh. Sechin said the Arctic endeavour He said his company invested in the Capital investment in the Kingdom’s would eventually produce 100 mil- hotel to contribute to the develop- construction sector in the first nine lion tonnes of oil per year. ment of national economy, generate months of this year fell 9.6 per cent to Between now and 2024 he said that tourism and business activities, create $5.868 billion from $6.494 billion in 30 million tonnes would be sent from jobs, develop local human resources, the year-ago period, the Ministry of the Arctic along the so-called North- bring new technology and the best Land Management, Urban Planning The complete project will represent a total investment of 10 trillion rubles ($132 billion), ern Sea route connecting the Atlantic practices in the hospitality sector to and Construction reported. including two airports and 15 ‘industry towns’. AFP Ocean to the Pacific. AFP 8 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com S pecial​​ ReportReport Unicorn firms in Cambodia akin to mythical creature’s being As overall fund size expand so does the pressure on venture capitals and private equities to secure quality investments, essentially making unicorns an unlikely sighting for now

Sangeetha Amarthalingam in Cambodia. In Southeast Asia, there are only 13, all of them tech- If any start-up or founder related, and in the world, 501 with a comes and says they are cumulative valuation of $1.6 trillion building a unicorn, I would as of November 2020, according to say just get out,” Tapas Kuila, tech research CB Insights. And over general“ partner of logistics tycoon 85 per cent of them are located in Rithy Sear’s venture capital (VC) five countries. firm Ooctane, said. Data by management consultant He was talking about the idea of Bain & Company’s brief on Investing start-ups achieving over a billion-dol- in Southeast Asia: What’s behind the lar valuation in Cambodia, which he boom in 2018 showed that 10 uni- found to be somewhat preposterous. corns at the time had a total market “I am not kidding because uni- value of $34 billion. corns are not possible in Cambodia, Till today, two-thirds of the figure not today unless you have a very is shared among Indonesia and Sin- good business model and you know gapore. how to replicate it in the region. They host ride-hailing apps Go- “And by region, I mean it has to Jek by PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bang- at least be Myanmar or Vietnam, or sa, and Grab Holdings Inc, gaming there is no way you can become a hardware and software Razer Inc, unicorn,” he said. e-commerce platforms Ali Baba Tapas has been sieving the market Group’s Lazada, Sea Ltd, PT Toko- for over a year now looking for pro- pedia and PT Bukalapak.com, and spective start-ups with good busi- online travel app PT Traveloka In- ness models because, at the end of donesia. the day, the objective is “not only to Even the three new players, PT put money but to get back returns”. Visionet International’s payment He stressed that the present mo- system OVO, PT Jingdong Indone- ment is not right because Cambodia sia Pertama’s e-commerce platform is quite small. JD.ID and Singapore-based retail “Whatever you do and if you are tech company Trax Technology So- raising a company to become a uni- lutions Pte Ltd are from these two Much of the foreign direct investments are concentrated in the real estate sector. heng chivoan corn for the sake of making it into countries. a unicorn, yes I can do that but it is Vietnam, which bred online gamer valuation stands around $14 billion emerged without the other. green investments and transitioning not sustainable and it is completely VNG Corp, and Philippines’ Revolu- as Jack Ma’s Ali Baba Group Holding In July, Nikkei Asia using data by family businesses. unfair. tion Precrafted Properties Inc are the Ltd mulls a $3 billion investment. Singapore-based startup information Although, he cautioned that tim- “I can’t even convince myself that only two non-conformists on the list. Of course, much of the spike in platform DealStreetAsia.com, wrote ing was as important as picking the this is something of a unicorn. I don’t One apparent point for their suc- unicorn numbers is rooted in the that the value of fundraising deals in right companies to back, particu- think Cambodia can [create one]. If cess is the scalability of business backing of VCs and private equity the region had jumped 91 per cent to larly funds with a typical period of the focus is only Cambodia, then it models, ensuring that the “use case” (PE) firms in the region that have ris- $2.7 billion between April and June seven to 10 years maturity. is not possible,” Tapas said. fits any market, and by that, it should en substantially over the decade. The this year compared to last year. “With 20/20 hindsight, anyone can As Cambodia is not ready, the eco- be able to address the pain points in latter having seduced by start-ups The number of transactions grew make money anytime but the big system needs to be nurtured with its operating sectors. Ultimately, it built by astounding talents who are 59 per cent to 184 in the same pe- question now is, which is the right various accelerators and venture creates a need and solution, mak- visionaries. Together, funding growth riod from 116 a year ago, it said. strategy for the time?” he mused. builder programmes, he added. ing them necessary applications in and start-ups form a co-dependency, This made for interesting rev- Up until Covid-19, the investment Raising a company to be a unicorn daily living such as Grab which op- vaguely reflecting a chicken and egg elation, seeing that Covid-19 was climate had been robust and on par is undoubtedly a tall order, not only erates in eight countries. Its current scenario where one could not have wreaking havoc during the period, with the highest growing neigh- yet regional investors were driven by bours like Vietnam, Indonesia and an appetite to supply dry powder. the Philippines. Nikkei Asia said the e-commerce This was because long-term at- Southeast Asian private equity deal value in 2017 sector led the funding rounds in the tractiveness such as the growing and second quarter of 2020, raising $691 young middle class segment, export- grew 75% from the prior year to $15 billion million, followed by logistics at $360 driven manufacturing, and under- million, and financial technology utilised agriculture potentials stayed (fintech) at $496 million. intact. “Unsurprisingly, much of these ac- “Which is the right strategy?” tivities are concentrated on China- In Cambodia, the dream of uni- related foreign direct investments corns are as mythical as it comes. (FDIs) and in particular the real es- Nevertheless, VC and PE markets tate sector. have trundled along with the chang- “Given the relative size between ing investment landscape since the China and Cambodia, this growth early 2000s. While overall invest- trend can persist for quite some ment figures are anyone’s guess as time,” Bora said. the firms keep them under wraps, it Seemingly, it also reflects the core is understood that the fund size has asset classes of a majority of Me- steadily expanded in last 10 years, kong Strategic’s retail and institu- also partly due to the establishment tional investors which as Bora noted of various start-up funds by the gov- was “disproportionately” real estate. ernment and private sector. “It should continue to expand with “Those funds which invested in particular growth in the affordable the early 2000s should be happy and industrial segments.” with their returns, especially in fi- However, as an asset class, the de- nancial services, education and velopment of alternative structures properties,” said Kem Bora, partner like real estate investment trusts of investment firm Mekong Strate- (REITs) is necessary to bring in ad- gic Partners Co Ltd. ditional liquidity and encourage the As time goes by, investments are participation of smaller investors. expected to continue seeing a signifi- Separately though, he pointed out Notes: Includes deals with values of $10 million or more; excludes real estate and infrastructure cant upside in the digital sectors, debt that a general cautiousness in the Source: Asia Venture Capital Journal (Investing in Southeast Asia: What’s Behind the Boom - Bain & Company) underlying quality assets, sustainable banking industry was sensed despite THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 9 Special​​ Report

The other three are tech start-ups fea- turing travel agent camboticket.com, Since 2012, Southeast Asia has given rise to 10 unicorns with a logistics start-up Shoprunback and online supermarket Delishop.Asia. Some of its initial investments combined market value of $34 billion have tripled in valuation since 2017. Knowing what the challenges are in the market, he related that the firm was not a typical VC which in- vests small amounts in 30 projects while expecting only three or four to succeed. Instead, it sees itself as a long- term partner focusing on a more limited number of investments and yet making sure a large percentage of those projects succeed. “It makes sense to remain in- volved in these companies for the longer term after you have done all this work,” said Forsinetti. He finds Cambodia to be at the “very early stage” of investment where the number of institutional investors and large financial insti- tutions who view it as a potential country for investment as being “very limited”. “The government has initiated many critical structural and regu- latory reforms which are needed to change this but these things take time,” he said. Echoing Forsinetti, Ooctane’s Tapas said although things are slow- er in Cambodia, it is on the right track and that is a positive sign. “But somebody [once] remarked Notes: Valuations based on latest financing round or estimates; market cap for publicly listed firms as of Sept.16, 2018 that the VC ecosystem is as good as Sources: TechCrunch; CB Insights; Yahoo Finance; lit search; Bain analysis (Investing in Southeast Asia: What’s Behind the Boom - Bain & Company) Singapore. I am like, c’mon guys, I have been in Singapore [and] I know a healthy level of liquidity in the sys- in India, Singapore or the Silicon Val- you must handhold them … that ple of projects in order to develop exactly how it is. tem, possibly a result of banks’ drop ley. Indirectly, that means the options is the proper brokered approach, our monitoring and support tools, “Let’s not try to make such bom- in deposit rates and overall lending you have here are not that good in which is why we like their model and build a team of professionals,” bastic statements. We are way be- to their clients. terms of maturity, so it will take time. because it is catered towards these explained Forsinetti, who has been hind [but] we are getting there ... However, due to the government’s “It is growing, it is getting better emerging markets. investing in SMEs since 2007. and it will take time. I am not being effective response to Covid-19, he but I still feel it [maturity] is two to “We are not expecting them to The firm holds a fund manager pessimistic but am being reason- did not see a decline in system-wide three years [away], and now because change people’s behaviour over- licence, recently issued by the Se- able,” he said. valuation across the economy. of Covid-19, many of them [start- night as that is the most difficult curities Exchange Commission of Unfortunately, it is this slowness “The main exposures are directly ups] have died as well. So it is going thing to achieve. It cannot happen Cambodia where it manages a $7.5 which has created the perception by tied to the travel and hospitality sec- to take longer than expected,” Tapas unless you keep burning cash,” million fund as part of the collective foreign investors that Cambodia is tors with international travellers. told The Post. Tapas said. investment scheme. “decades behind” even though evi- On the contrary, increased domes- His firm Ooctane has a $55 mil- OBOR Capital raises funds pri- dence suggested otherwise, Mekong tic travels have given a boost to ac- lion fund, which has so far invested Early-stage market vately every year through investors Strategic’s Bora said. “Cambodia is tivities in provinces like Mondulkiri a six-figure sum in food delivery Difficulty in identifying well-run including high net worth individu- still battling [this],” he said. and Kampot,” he said. app Muuve Tech Co Ltd. And that and well-organised small medium als to invest in pre-identified proj- However, what is interesting, he Having said that, while there are has been the only investment it has enterprises (SMEs) is also an is- ects, with ongoing discussions with said, is the emergence of investment some opportunities to acquire dis- made since being set up in 2018 to sue for Phnom Penh-based VC firm keen-to-invest corporations. groups within Cambodian corpo- tressed assets at low prices, on the grow local tech start-ups. OBOR Capital Co Ltd. “These investors like Cambodia, but rates, conglomerates and family whole, the outcome has been less Its somewhat conservative invest- As if that was not enough, there is they don’t know how to invest in Cam- enterprises that can understand the than expected at the height of the ment strategy only cements its deci- a limited number of viable and scal- bodian SMEs in a secure, transparent market dynamics while providing crisis in April. sion not to raise the fund size for the able SMEs with a solid team that is and professional manner,” he said. direct values to their investees. Some companies in the digital moment. In fact, there are ideas to willing to welcome professional in- Up to now, the firm has five in- “I believe we should see healthy in- space, including fintech, delivery divest the sum to other avenues if vestors, said its founder and chair- vestment portfolios ranging be- vestment activities in this group. Most and e-commerce, benefit from the investment opportunities stay low. man Christophe Forsinetti. tween $200,000 and $1 million but is Cambodian SMEs are still hesitant on accelerated adoption brought by “I feel that if you look at Cambodi- However, the firm tries to over- bumping up the maximum invest- the value of bringing in professional Covid-19 and expect a relatively an companies, not considering the come it by building a relationship ment sum it can make. investors beyond financial reasons. high valuation still, Bora said. Singaporean or Indian companies, with entrepreneurs before it invests, Two of them – GAEA Waste Man- “But the attitude is slowly chang- I think $5 million is too much, let mindful that it takes time. agement Co and Khmer Water Sup- ing as they recognise the need to “$5 million is too much” alone $55 million. “In the first two to three years, we ply Holding Co Ltd – are in the infra- corporatise, innovate and expand,” Ordinarily, companies in Cambo- “This is why we are very agnostic purposely limit ourselves to a cou- structure space. he said. dia are traditional and secretive in in terms of the stage of the company their investment approach, which and at the same time, what sort of can be damning at times. maturity we have to seek in terms of Private equity exit value and other investment cycle indicators One of the private equity pioneers the business model. Leopard Capital, established in 2008, “Hence why we are okay to get in 2017 point to strong momentum in Southeast Asia quit the Cambodian market in 2016 other companies from outside ... after its initial $34 million fund expired so that the ticket size will be in mil- that year, citing a non-conducive in- lions, otherwise there is no way to vestment climate as one of its reasons. deploy it,” Tapas said. Its CEO Douglas Clayton report- Presently, it is reviewing applica- edly said that due to a lack of viable tions by a local mobility company, commercial opportunities, his firm which could add value to Ooctane’s was forced to operate on a risky ven- parent company Worldbridge Group ture capital model, which was tough where one of its core business is lo- business. gistics, as well as a Singaporean fin- Leopard Capital which had 14 tech firm. investments, also found it hard to The move away from its objective screen companies properly and of aiding local firms does not mean secure exit options, where inves- Ooctane is changing, he explained. tors stream out once liquidity is Rather, it is adapting itself to mar- achieved, including via initial pub- ket needs which is what the Singa- lic offerings or mergers and acquisi- porean firm’s “brokered model” was tions. about. To date, some limitations exist as In essence, the firm is solving a start-ups remain obscured by low problem that is traditional in a sense. levels of maturity, weak use case It is prepared to introduce the prod- and unit economics that is not prof- uct in a population where over 30 per itable, all of which put off investors. cent still owned brick phones. “We need to remember that the VC “So, if you start asking people to Notes: Active investors refers to private equity transactions valued at $10 million or more. Includes announced deals that are completed or pending with data subject to change. space here is not what you would find use their app, some will work but Sources: Preqin; Asia Venture Capital Journal (Investing in Southeast Asia: What’s Behind the Boom - Bain & Company) 10 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com

www.phnompenhpost.com/post-focus Healthcare PHOTOs su pp lied PHOTOs

The Thai hospital offers private tertiary care in the Cambodian capital. Royal Phnom Penh Hospital leads way in private healthcare provision

he Covid-19 pandemic has brought to even greater light the im- portance of the private Thealthcare delivery system, one that plays a vital role in filling the gap in healthcare service provision. During these challenging times, with the Kingdom stepping up efforts to con- tain the Covid-19 out- break, the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital is playing its part by contributing to the much needed medical support. The modern Thai hospital, which started its operations in The hospital’s helipad ensures the easy and rapid transfer of patients. Highly trained staff are ready to handle any emergency. October 2014, has mo- bilised its resources “The Royal Phnom Penh It is the first and only Joint Cambodia has an international 2020, there are approximately to combat the ongo- hospital is strong and capable Commission International standard hospital to take care 1,000 public healthcare facili- ing pandemic. enough to deal with future accredited hospital in the King- of them year-round, and help ties and 8,000 private medi- “During the and unknown endemics and dom, Boonjongcharoen said. them to repatriate home safely cal care providers across the early [days] of the pandemics,” Dr Narintara With its ultra-modern should they fall ill. Kingdom. Covid-19 pan- Boonjongcharoen, hospi- facilities and specialist doc- “The hospital, through The Royal Phnom Penh demic, the Royal tal director of The Royal tors, the hospital is rolling out our BDMS network, has Hospital provides medical Phnom Penh Bangkok Hospital Group high-quality medical care for been recognised by health consultations by in-house Thai Hospital was at in Cambodia, told Cambodians and the expatriate insurance companies and and international specialists, the forefront with The Post. community. emergency centres around the and organises supporting tele- the Cambodia Royal Phnom Penh “One of our main contribu- world in helping assist patients conferences with sub-specialists government and Hospital is a member of tions to Cambodia’s healthcare clinically and financially,” from Bangkok Hospital and the international Bangkok Dusit Medical is having raised standards of Boonjongcharoen said. BDMS network. experts from Min- Services (BDMS), which is a care to internationally accepted Treatments carried out at the This ensures the high quality istry of Health, the public company in Thailand. levels by getting accredited by hospital include, among others, of medical standards of prac- Centres of Disease Control, Located on Russian Confed- [US-based global certification mother and child care; strokes; tice is maintained to deliver the the World Health Organi- eration Boulevard, the 100-bed organisation] Joint Commission brain trauma; sepsis; trauma highest levels of patient safety. zation and Institut Pasteur hospital is also equipped with a International in 2017. and orthopaedic surgery; and The hospital’s staff are well du Cambodge in dealing heliport service. “International travellers, acute myocardial infarctions trained in advanced medical head on with Covid-19 It employs around 20 per tourists, diplomats and volun- and heart disease. training to deal with emer- patient diagnosis and cent international staff, while teers feel safer when they have According to Cambodia’s gency and life-threatening treatment. 80 per cent are local personnel. learned that the Kingdom of Health Strategic Plan 2016- situations. THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 11 World Turkish court set to try 475 over 2016 ‘coup’ Turkish court was Prosecutors accuse them of set to hand down choreographing the coup bid verdicts on Novem- from the base, where Turk- ber 26 to nearly 500 ish officials believe they gave suspectsA in one of the main orders for jets to bomb state trials stemming from the buildings. bloody 2016 coup attempt The parliament was hit against President Recep Tayy- three times by F-16 fighter ip Erdogan. jets, as was the road near the Fethullah Gulen, a US- presidential palace and the based Muslim preacher who headquarters of the special was once an Erdogan ally, is forces and the Ankara police. accused of ordering the failed Erdogan was on vacation in putsch. His movement has southern Turkey at the time. been proscribed as a terrorist The bombs killed 68 people group by Ankara, although he in the capital and injured strongly denies all charges. more than 200. Nine civilians In total, 251 people died and also died during an attempt over 2,000 were injured in what to stop the plotters at the en- has turned into the defining trance to the base. moment of Erdogan’s rule and Gulen, Adil Oksuz, a theol- Turkey’s contemporary politics. ogy lecturer whom officials November 26’s trial revolves claim was a key coordinator around events at the Akinci of what was happening on air force base near Ankara. the ground, and four others The then-chief of staff gen- are being tried in absentia. eral Hulusi Akar – now the Oksuz was detained shortly defence minister – and other after the coup bid but was then top commanders were held released and is on the run. hostage at the base for one Another 365 are in pre-trial night before their rescue on detention, the Anadolu state the morning of July 16. news agency said. The trial of 475 disgruntled air force pilots and other sus- 2,500 life sentences pects linked to the base began Businessman Kemal Bat- in August 2017 in the coun- maz is accused of assisting try’s largest courtroom, which Oksuz and is among four sus- sits inside a prison complex pects facing 79 aggravated life Pro-Erdogan supporter holds a portrait of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen during a rally against the military coup on Taksim square in Istanbul on July 25, 2016. AFP in Sincan, Ankara province. sentences over their alleged They are charged with management of the coup bid. The plot failed and was of thousands arrested in na- These arrests continue, al- suspects are on trial in a case crimes including murder, An aggravated life sentence stamped out quickly, but its tionwide raids. though they are less compre- focused on the presidential attempting to violate the has tougher terms of deten- legacy haunts Turkey to this More than 100,000 public sec- hensive than in the first years guard’s activities. constitutional order and at- tion and replaced the death day. tor employees, including teach- after the coup bid. The trial is taking place in tempting to assassinate Erdo- penalty after it was abolished A fierce government crack- ers and judges, were sacked or Despite the large number of the specially-built courtroom gan. Guilty verdicts will result in 2004 as part of Turkey’s down that followed has muz- suspended because of their suspects, it is not the biggest for coup-related cases, with in life in jail. drive to join the EU. zled the media and seen tens suspected links to Gulen. coup-related trial. Some 521 space for 1,800 people. AFP US citizens ‘won’t stand’ for election Mexican demonstrators march in capital, decry results not being honoured: Biden violence against women US President-elect Joe Demonstrators marched Around 3,800 women are Biden on November 25 said through the Mexican capital killed each year in Mexico, citizens of the country “won’t on November 25 and scuffled while six in 10 women have stand” for the results of the with police during an angry suffered some form of ag- November 3 election not be- protest at widespread vio- gression in the past decade, ing honoured. lence against women in the Secretary of Governance Olga “Our democracy was test- Latin American nation. Sanchez said. ed this year,” Biden said in a Around 10 women are killed “We have a historical debt Thanksgiving Day address in every day in Mexico and ac- to women, especially to vic- his hometown of Wilming- tivists accuse the government tims of violence, and we can- ton, Delaware. “And what we of not doing enough to tackle not allow impunity,” she said. learned is this – the people of the problem. “Machismo kills, destroys this nation are up to the task. Holding banners, flags and the lives of women and limits “In America, we have full placards, thousands of pro- our country’s development,” and fair and free elections, and testers demanded justice for Sanchez added, speaking at then we honour the results,” he the many victims of femicides President Andres Manuel said. “The people of this nation on the International Day for Lopez Obrador’s daily press and the laws of the land won’t the Elimination of Violence conference. stand for anything else.” against Women. Lopez Obrador for his part Biden did not mention “Although the state doesn’t said “conditions of poverty Donald Trump by name but do its job, we support each and economic inequality have he was clearly referring to the other as women,” said 22- led to these phenomena of ag- president’s refusal to accept year-old student Ana Karen gression and violence against the results of the election. Resendiz. women”. Biden said the Covid-19 US President-elect Joe Biden introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments “We look for a way to move Only half of all femicides in pandemic has exacerbated at the Queen Theatre on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. AFP forward and to stay well and Mexico lead to convictions political divisions in the US we’re at a war with a virus – we will take steps that will in science. alive.” and in some regions impuni- and called for unity. not with each other. change the course of the dis- “I know we can and we will Protesters marched to the ty is as high as 98 per cent, ac- “It has divided us. Angered “I believe that this grim sea- ease” and he urged the people beat this virus . . . America is city’s main square where cording to the report present- us. And set us against one an- son of division, demonisation to follow health guidelines. not going to lose this war. some faced off with riot po- ed at the news conference. other,” he said. “I know the is going to give way to a year He said: “None of these “You will get your lives back. lice trying to stop them defac- Protests against gender vio- country has grown weary of of light and unity,” he said. steps we’re asking people to Life is going to return to nor- ing the walls of the presiden- lence have multiplied in the the fight. Biden pledged that “starting take are political statements mal. That will happen. This tial palace and the cathedral past year in the capital and oth- “But we need to remember on Day One of my presidency, . . . Every one of them is based will not last forever.” AFP with paint. er parts of the country. AFP 12 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com ASEAN Hanoi wants to trim down greenhouse gas outflow 15% by 2030 Hanoi will strive to reduce 700MW by installing rooftop greenhouse gas emissions by solar power in low-rise apart- 15 per cent by 2030, accord- ment buildings and high-rise ing to local authorities. buildings of the city. The Hanoi People’s Com- To implement the targets, mittee recently issued a plan the Hanoi People’s Commit- for the reduction, with the tee has deployed different city aiming to achieve savings measures including develop- of eight-to-10 per cent of total ing primary energy sources. energy consumption in 2020- It quickly and sustainably 2030 and about 14 per cent in developed the electricity in- 2031-2045. dustry to meet the require- The capital city will pro- ments of city industrialisa- mote the use of equipment tion and modernisation and and machinery with high effi- restructured energy-consum- ciency, energy-saving, energy ing sectors and regions in audit and enhanced solutions parallel with implementing to reduce power consump- policies on clean, economical tion and emissions in indus- and efficient use of energy. trial zones, factories and ur- The capital city has also de- ban areas. veloped sustainable energy General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. VIETNAM NEWS AGENCY/VIET NAM NEWS It encourages the reduc- infrastructure connecting the tion of greenhouse gas emis- region and improved internal sions from energy activities resources of the manufactur- compared to the normal de- ing and service industries for velopment scenario at 15 per VN leader pushes for work on the energy sector. cent in 2030 to 20 per cent in Hanoi will continue to re- 2045. new mechanisms and policies In the plan, the proportion and develop a synchronous, of renewable energy sources interconnected, modern and major nat’l corruption cases in the total primary energy efficient energy market. supply will reach about two It will also implement envi- eneral Secretary trillion dong ($980 million), Biofuels JSC, mismanagement Binh Duong Production and per cent by 2030 and then five ronmental protection policies of the Communist accounting for 26.7 per cent of state assets at Yen Khanh Import-Export Company per cent by 2045. for the energy sector associ- Party of Vietnam of the value of the assets Production, Trading Service (PROTRADE) was added to The city strives that by 2045, ated with the goal of reducing Nguyen Phu Trong needed to be recovered. Co Ltd – related to the Vietnam the supervision list, the com- the total capacity of solar greenhouse gas emissions. VIET onG November 25 in Hanoi This year alone, justice agen- People’s Navy, and banking mittee announced. power is estimated at about NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK chaired the standing commit- cies have either frozen assets regulations offences at DongA For the upcoming national tee of the Steering Committee or blocked transactions with Joint Stock Commercial Bank. conference on anti-corrup- on Anti-Corruption to review a total value of approximately Trong stressed that progress tion efforts, Trong said it’s im- its work since the beginning 3.851 trillion dong, $16.858 on cases on the supervision portant to point out the mer- of this year. million, 17.2 million shares, 51 list of the committee should its and weaknesses witnessed Trong said that despite the pieces of real estate, five cars be ensured. so far in the reports, and learn Covid-19 pandemic, historic and other property; while cor- “Every case is challenging, experience for the future. floods and storms in the cen- rupt assets worth 14 trillion so if it requires working day “Achievements in the fight tral region, and organisa- dong have been recovered, 61 and night then so it will be. against corruption in recent tions of local Party congresses per cent of the total amount to We already have experience times have generated con- ahead of the National Party be recovered. with steps such as asset and fidence and uplifted morale Congress next year, the prog- The committee urged for ex- property evaluation, crime as- among Party members and ress on cases under special su- pediting the initial trials into sessment and corrupt asset re- the country’s people, making pervision and instructing are five high-profile corruption covery,” he said, urging for bet- positive contributions to so- still positive and in line with cases – including alleged vio- ter coordination between the cio-economic development the schedule, especially those lations of bidding regulations courts, public security units, and boosting national securi- drawing high public attention taking place at the Hanoi Cen- procuracy and inspectors. ty, defence and foreign affairs and involving high-ranking tre for Disease Control regard- At the meeting, the com- relations,” he emphasised. members of the Party. ing the purchase of Covid-19 mittee agreed to end special Trong said the committee Corrupt asset recovery has diagnostic machines, land supervision on 16 cases as will expand its supervision to shown positive progress, ac- management violations at they have been dealt with via cases in more diverse fields cording to a report heard at state-run beverage company legal processes. – including foreign-invested A recent plan issued by the Hanoi People’s Committee encourages the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy activities in the the meeting, and since 2013, Sabeco, violations of public in- The case involving viola- projects, culture, education Vietnamese capital compared to the normal development scenario at civil law enforcement agen- vestment projects and abuse of tions on the use of state assets and health. VIET NAM NEWS/Asia 15 per cent in 2030 to 20 per cent in 2045. VIETNAM NEWS AGENCY cies have recovered 22.659 power at PetroVietnam Central leading to losses and waste at News Network Indonesia fisheries minister busted Two critically injured Indonesia’s fisheries min- told AFP, without elaborating. in Thai rally shooting ister was arrested on Novem- Edhy is the highest-ranking of- ber 25 in a sweeping bust over ficial to be arrested in a corrup- Two persons were reportedly ing their rallies, reported on allegations of graft linked to tion case during President Joko critically injured after being their Twitter account that one exporting baby lobsters, the “Jokowi” Widodo’s second term. shot during a commotion at of their guards was critically anti-corruption agency said. Corruption remains wide- a political rally site in front of injured from a gunshot wound Edhy Prabowo was nabbed spread in the Southeast Asian Siam Commercial Bank head- in his stomach and was rushed early on November 25 along nation, and its parliament is quarters at SCB Park Plaza on to Rama IX Hospital, while the with his lawmaker wife, Iis seen as one of the most graft- Ratchadapisek Road in Bang- other injured person, who was Rosita Dewi, at Jakarta’s in- riddled institutions. kok’s Chatuchak district at suspected to be the shooter, ternational airport as they re- In June, Indonesia’s former around 10pm on November 25. was also critically injured and turned from a trip to the US. sports minister was jailed for The protest by the Ratsadon sent to St Louis Hospital. The couple were among 17 seven years after being found group started at around 3pm “The person who threw the people arrested on allegations guilty of taking some $800,000 and lasted into the night, bomb was wearing a motor- that they took bribes for issu- in bribes. before protest leaders an- cycle helmet,” the association ing permits to export the crus- Jokowi pledged to tackle nounced an end to the rally said. “He had fled the scene taceans, investigators said. corruption as he kicked off a for the day at 9:17pm. and is still at large.” This year, Edhy gave a green second term last year. At 10:10pm, while the pro- Royal Thai Police forensic light to restarting baby lobster On November 25, he said: testers were dispersing, there officers are investigating the exports, a practice banned “I believe the KPK will work was reportedly an explosive incident to identify the per- under his predecessor due to transparently, openly and pro- sound followed by 4-5 gun- petrators. The officers have sustainability concerns. fessionally [on Edhy’s case]. shots originating from Mc- already found bullet casings, “The arrest is related to a baby “The government always Donald’s the Avenue Ratchay- a revolver hidden under a Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo voiced his confidence that lobster export [permit],” Cor- supports any prevention and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) would work on Minister othin branch. The Association motorcycle seat and pieces of ruption Eradication Commis- corruption eradication ef- of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo’s case transparently, of People’s Guards, which keep an exploded device. THE NATION sion (KPK) head Nurul Ghufron forts,” he added. AFP openly and professionally. MALAYSIA DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION/AFP watch over the protesters dur- (THAILAND)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 13 Opinion Recognising water’s value will www.phnompenhpost.com

EDITORIAL PERSONNEL Publisher & Chief Executive Offi cer help us use it wisely Ly Tayseng Senior Editor Joshua purushotman Managing Editor Post Khmer Sam Rith Deputy Chief of Staff phak Seangly Business Editor May Kunmakara Deputy Business Editor Sangeetha amarthalingam Deputy Head of Lifestyle Desk pan Simala Senior Reporters Meas Sokchea, Niem Chheng Reporters Khouth Sophak Chakrya, Kim Sarom, Long Kimmarita, Hin pisei, Mom Kunthear, Hong Raksmey, pann Rethea, Voun Dara, Roth Sochieata, Orm Bunthoeurn, Soth Koemsoeun, Thou Vireak, Nov Sivutha Photographers Heng Chivoan, Hong Menea, Hean Rangsey Web Editor Leang phannara Digital Teams Sous Chanthy, pang Vichea, Suy Sovandy SIEM REAP BUREAU Offi ce Manager Sophearith Blondeel PRODUCTION & PRINTING Head of Desktop Publishing Nhim Sokphyrak Desktop Publishing Suon Savatdy, Chum Sokunthy, Danh Borath Tep Thoeun Thyda, Tim Borith, Than Veasna

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Residents of Addition Hills in Manila queue to recieve water distributed on water tank trucks. Today, one in every six people on the planet live in areas facing severe water constraints. afp

annually. But much of it is in the Ama- a solid grasp of existing conditions assure efficient use of water. Post Media Co, Ltd. Opinion zon Basin, little used by people. Large and needs – including access to safe Currently only three per cent of cro- The Elements Condominium Level 7, food-producing countries such as Chi- drinking water, water for industrial pland in that region is equipped for Hun Sen Boulevard, Phum Prek Talong, Maximo Torero Sangkat Chak Angre Krom,12353, Phnom na and the US are significantly reliant, development and the water require- irrigation, but that is destined to grow Penh, Cambodia ATER is the driving both domestically and through trade, ments of ecosystems on a territorial and smart expansion can be fostered Tel: 023 888 161, 023 888 162 force of all nature.” on rapidly depleting aquifers – the scale, which are inadequately sup- through targeted programmes that Cellcard: 078 555 166, 078 555 133 So said Leonardo absence of evident water stress today is plied by almost half of the irrigation offer rural smallholders greater access Smart: 086 822 999, 086 277 999 da Vinci, and the not evidence it will be absent tomorrow. systems in use today. to energy and credit. To be sure, that SIEM REAP legendary‘W genius was hardly the only Meanwhile, Africa’s Sahel region Water accounting and auditing, must be accompanied by equitable, No 629, Street 6 Dangkum Commune person to notice its importance. and Central Asia are the world’s 51 which are rarely done, should there- inclusive and effective governance Tel: 063 966 290, Fax: 063 966 590 We use water for lots of reasons, Low-Income Food Deficit Countries fore be the starting point of any effec- systems in order to avoid problems of COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT from bathing and drinking to indus- include swathes of Central Asia and tive strategy for addressing water excess groundwater extraction that Chief Operating Offi cer trial needs, but above all to produce Africa’s Sahel region, both of which shortages and scarcity. are plaguing some other part of the James Ong Soon Teck food. Agriculture accounts for 70 per face high water stress. The State of Food and Agriculture world. Advertising Department cent of all global withdrawals. Failure What is to be done? 2020 (Sofa), a new flagship report from Lao Tzu, the sage of classical Tao- Chap Narith, 017 996 241 to use it wisely will lead to a sorry fate. Doing more with less is the short the UN Food and Agriculture Organi- ism, noted that water “greatly bene- Hun Channet, 017 578 768 Today, one in every six people on answer. sation, takes an in-depth look at the fits all things, without conflict”. He prach Monnyreak, 015 239 293 the planet live in areas facing severe That means recognising water’s val- question, mapping the flashpoints, observed how it is fluid, soft and Keo puthy, 012 966 605 water constraints. The vast majority ue. It has a price, and leveraging that surveying the world’s varied water- yielding, which as FAO’s Sofa report phon Sok Chea, 012 717 404 of these are in Asia, even if Northern price signal can demonstrably spur management systems, and pointing to notes does make it inherently rather Jessa piastro, 092 445 983 Africa, where one in five people con- farmers to improve their water produc- pathways for improvement. difficult to manage. Paradoxically, he CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION front very high water shortages and tivity. There are a range of methods: added, it will also wear away rock, Acting Distribution Manager scarcity, represents the most urgent improved irrigation, better selection of Read it! overcoming whatever is hard. Thenh Rithy, 087 888 854 situation. Globally, the per capita crops, innovative storage and conser- There is no time to weep, nor a need We can and must learn and apply Circulation Supervisor availability of freshwater resources vation methods, and a variety of to do so. There are some upside sce- that skill ourselves to assure it can Nou Chanthy, 096 999 2828 has declined by more than 20 per nature-based solutions, often integrat- narios. For example, Sub-Saharan Afri- continue to work its magic for the Yim Veasna, 015 814 499 cent in the past two decades. ing aquaculture. All of them require ca – where food insecurity and popula- nearly 10 billion people who will live ADMINISTRATION Countries with ample water availabil- robust and inclusive governance so tion growth are greatest – has quite on our planet in 2050. Admin & HR Manager ity have a free lunch. Take Brazil, where that the basic needs of all, especially ample horizons to expand irrigation, pich Socheat Assistants to Admin & HR Manager for each resident there are almost rural smallholders, can be met. which can substantially boost agricul- The writer is chief economist at the UN Food and Nhel Soaphea 42,000m3 of renewable freshwater Any sustainable approach requires tural productivity and at the same time Agriculture Organisation Financial Director Heang Tangmeng Chief Accountant Sren Vicheka Treasurers Sok Sophorn, Yon Sovannara, Cheam Sopheak, Huy Hamsovannary IT Manager Seng Nak, Vong Oun

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s a young black successes – though she admits woman modelling changing attitudes is hard. in Hong Kong, Har- One of her most booked mony Anne-Marie models, she said, is an 18- IlungaA rarely saw anyone who year-old Burundian. looked like her in the maga- “Most are not local brands, zines. Now the 22-year-old but they are brands that are is trying to change that, one trying to promote interna- model at a time. tionally – that’s the thing,” While the Black Lives Mat- she said of the kind of clients ter movement fuels debate willing to look beyond white and change in the fashion or Asian models. worlds of the US and parts of Ilunga said she has found Europe, industry figures say male black models are more Asia’s beauty and body expec- sought after, seen as “cool, tations remain dominated much more stylish”. by an ideal that is pale, thin, But there is still resistance and unrepresentative of the to black women. region. She recalled a pitch meet- “I would walk into an agen- ing with a client featuring a cy and they told me that they model of mixed black and prefer white models to black Asian ethnicity. models,” Ilunga, who moved “She looks Asian, her fea- to Hong Kong as a child refu- tures, but she has curly hair gee from the Democratic Re- – and the client was like, ‘she public of Congo, told AFP. is too much for us’,” Ilunga “I remember just being said. shattered. I was 17, it just “When it comes to certain broke my heart.” black girls . . . I can’t categor- Again and again, she saw ise it, but I feel like it is still that models in the wealthy an issue of them being too global finance hub – home strong.” Harmony Anne-Marie Ilunga (right) walks along side another model presenting creations during the ‘Harmony IV’ fashion show in Hong Kong. AFP to roughly 600,000 people of non-Chinese descent – were One size fits all ing her to maintain the same expected to be “tall, light, and The lack of diversity in Asia’s youthful physique. skinny”. fashion world is not just lim- She developed anorexia The same was true of the ited to pale skin tones. and bulimia and used drugs, massive fashion market in While the US and Europe’s laxatives, supplements and mainland China. fashion industries are begin- diuretics, doing “anything I “I started lightening my skin, ning to welcome campaigns could do to be as thin as pos- using lightening products . . . featuring normal bodies – sible”. just so that I could fit into so- and even ban some size-zero While she acknowledges ciety’s norms,” Ilunga said. models on health grounds that modelling is tough all After rounds of rejections, – in much of Asia, skinny re- over the world, the demands in 2018 she opened her own mains the expectation. made of models in Asia “were small agency to champion Chinese consumers expect some of the strictest I have models of all skin tones and brands to conform to their experienced”. sizes. standards, with an empha- In her book Knockout, de- “Representation matters so sis on pale and slender body tailing her struggles and re- much,” she said, adding she types, said Laurence Lim Dally covery with the help of Muay believes fashion is an acces- of Cherry Blossoms Intercul- Thai boxing, she speaks of sible way to change minds tural Branding, which helps returning from modelling in – and prevent other young international brands market Europe in her twenties to be women from feeling they to Chinese consumers. told she must lose weight. have to change. “Being fat is seen as self- “What is socially and cultur- neglect and the opposite to ally determined to be a beau- ‘Too much’ Confucius’ emphasis on self- tiful woman in Asia is a more Ilunga’s agency now has 32 improvement,” she said. narrow ideal than what it is Ilunga (centre) gets ready in the backstage area before the ‘Harmony IV’ fashion show. AFP male and female models on That pressure was experi- in the West,” she said, adding its books from places such as enced acutely by 31-year-old she has had far more success towards diversity,” Kang said. “At least there is a conver- model, had on her daughters. Rwanda, Burundi, Pakistan, Eurasian model Mia Kang, since leaving Hong Kong. “We deserve representation sation,” she said, describing “If I had had someone I could India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and who grew up in Hong Kong “I think the Asian market within our own media too.” how one parent thanked her look up to when I was young the Philippines. and was scouted as a teenag- has barely even begun to ex- Ilunga maintains some op- for her work and the impact then I would maybe not have They have enjoyed some er – with her agencies expect- pand its horizons and work timism. seeing a working young black lightened my skin.” AFP Prehistoric mega-shark raised its young in nurseries

The largest sharks ever to have roamed 25 years to become an adult – “an extreme- some size. the oceans parked their young in shallow, ly delayed sexual maturity”, the authors “Our results reveal, for the first time, warm-water nurseries where food was said in the research paper. that nursery areas were commonly used abundant and predators scarce until they But once it was fully grown, the shark by over large temporal and spatial scales,” could assume their title as kings and could reach up to 18m, three times the size said the authors. queens of the sea. of the largest great white shark, made The research team discovered a nursery But as sea levels declined in a cooling famous by the 1975 hit-movie Jaws. zone off the eastern coast of Spain in Tar- world, the brutal mega-predator, Otodus As an apex predator up until its extinc- ragona province after visiting a museum megalodon, may have found fewer and tion around three million years ago, the and observing a collection of Otodus fewer safe-haven coastal zones where its adult megalodon had no rivals among megalodon teeth. young could safely reach adulthood, other ocean hunters and feasted on small- “Many of them were quite small for such researchers reported on November 25 in er sharks and even whales. a large animal,” the authors from the Brit- The Royal Society journal Biology Letters. But its young were vulnerable to attacks ish University of Bristol, Carlos Martinez- Indeed, the reliance on nurseries may by other predators, often other razor- Perez and Humberto Ferron, told AFP. have contributed to the end of their toothed sharks. The vast reduction of shallow water 20-million-year reign, according to the Nurseries on shallow continental nurseries due to sea-level losses – research. shelves with extensive smaller fish for caused by a cooler climate – may also Otodus megalodon – sometimes classi- food and few competing predators gave have contributed to the shark’s even- An artist’s impression of the prehistoric shark Otodus megalodon. AFP fied as a Carcharocles megalodon – took them the ideal space to reach their awe- tual extinction. AFP THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com 15 Lifestyle Thinking caps

Equilibrist Nicky Dubois feeds the animals while his circus has been stuck for nine months. AFP Travelling family-run circus halted by virus here are 50 animals to feed and no tickets to sell. The Zavatelli Cir- cus has been blocked inT Belgium for almost a year by the coronavirus epidemic. Now the family-run firm is appealing to local donors to “GROWN INWARD” help them feed the camels, horses and llamas they have ACROSS 66 Tennis ranking 28 Temporary superstar? grazing outside the southern 1 Columbus’ birthplace 67 The embryo of an invention 29 Pass judgment on Wallon town of Gembloux. 6 Workout in a lake 68 Discharges 31 Poet Angelou “Just to buy food for the 10 You might have one in your heart 69 Airborne fish-eaters 33 Be in competition animals we need €500 [$600] a 14 Good snorkeling site 70 “Answer, please” (Abbr.) 34 Sicilian spouter week, it’s a huge budget. We’ve 15 Apply to a whetstone 71 Gave the furnace new life 36 “CD” follower had problems before, but 16 Width times length DOWN 37 ___ gum (food thickener) never something like 17 Country’s basic regulations 1 Barbed spear 38 Grendel in “Beowulf,” e.g. this,” circus director Si- 20 Mexican gala 2 Holder of notions 39 Slave away mon Dubois said. 21 Ballroom dance 3 Hits allowed in a perfect game 40 “Don’t go!” In a normal year, 42 Old Italian money 22 Straight up and down 4 Ransom of automobiles the circus would have 46 Wars of Islam 25 Highlanders, e.g. 5 Sporting wings roamed the back roads 48 A place for change 26 McNally’s map partner 6 That boat of Belgium and north- 49 Unkind look 30 Camera feature 7 Ton’s soup partner ern France, but in 2020 it 50 Visitor from Venus 32 Pharmaceutical plant 8 Counting everything was stopped in its tracks 51 Hands over temporarily 35 Specialized languages 9 Small-minded by the partial lockdown 52 Female parents, for short 41 Go for it to the extreme 10 Tex-Mex condiment of mid-March ordered to 11 Take the podium 54 Kind of party 43 Flower part curb the Covid-19 pan- 12 Banister post 55 Shift neighbor 44 Coffee liqueur demic. Leyns Dubois, a 16-year-old juggler, poses in a car park in Belgium 13 Big breaths 57 Cool coffee while the circus is closed down due to Covid-19 restrictions. AFP 45 Not shut tight 18 Spoil the finish of 59 “Back to the Future” focus When the measures were 47 Swear by (with “on”) 19 Tripod support 60 Muddy up, as water lifted, the circus was prepared The colourfully paint- which normally takes place 10m 48 One of a biblical 150 23 Old Testament prophet 61 Pro’s adversary to observe social-distancing ed trucks are aligned in off the ground. “For that, the big 53 Seeing red 24 Benzene source 62 “Check this out!” rules by reducing the crowd tight rows on a car park top has to go up,” he said. Cur- 56 Let fly 26 From ___ to riches 64 “My Name is Asher ___” (Potok size in the big top from 600 and the 25 clowns, rope rently, it remains packed away. 58 Nab in a sting operation 27 De-bused, e.g. novel) to 200, and separating walkers, jugglers and It has been a depressing pe- 63 Some callbacks for carpenters 65 440 yards, on a track the spectators. animal handlers – riod for a close-knit team. But potential venues mainly members Nicky’s brother Kevin, the Thursday’s solution were nervous. And so of one extended tightrope walker, complained: the Gembloux stop- family – are ef- “Normally it’s lively. A circus over began to stretch fectively unem- is joyful, there’s good humour, out and, with lock- ployed. we have a laugh while we’re down rules brought Nicky Dubois, setting things up.” back in October to Simon’s cousin, And now Europe’s winter fight a second wave of has given up re- is coming, when the circus infections, the situation hearsing his would normally take a three- is bleak. acrobatic act, month break. “We had some money saved up, but we’re dipping into that now. We have to eat every day ourselves, and then Thursday’s solution there’s

t h e animals.” Kevin said. When the local media reported the circus’ plight, one neighbour delivered three big sacks of carrots. But the show itself can’t yet go on. AFP 16 THE PHNOM PENH POST november 27, 2020 www.phnompenhpost.com Sport Bayern, Man City book spot in C League last 16

obert Lewandows- front on the hour mark before ki set Bayern Munich German international Robin on the way to a 3-1 Gosens got the second goal. Champions League “A deserved defeat in a dif- winR over Salzburg on Novem- ficult game,” was how -Liver ber 25 as the holders joined pool manager Jurgen Klopp Manchester City in qualifying summed up the game. for the last 16 with two group Liverpool are top of Group games to spare, while Liver- D on nine points, two points pool went down to defeat and clear of Atalanta and Ajax, Marseille are now the owners who were 3-1 winners at of an unwanted record. home to Midtjylland. On a night when clubs Second-half goals by Ryan marked news of the death of Gravenberch, Noussair Maz- Diego Maradona by holding raoui and David Neres boosted a minute’s silence in memory Ajax’s hopes, with Awer Mabil of the Argentine before all getting a consolation from Champions League games, the penalty spot for the Danes Bayern eased to a record-ex- who had captain Erik Sviatch- tending 15th straight win in enko sent off late on and are the competition. yet to register a point. Ajax go Lewandowski scored the to Liverpool next week. opener just before half-time at an empty Allianz Arena, his Hazard on target for Real 14th goal of the season and Inter Milan are on the brink also his 71st altogether in the of being eliminated in the Champions League, leaving group stage after Arturo Vidal him level with Real Madrid was sent off as they went down great Raul in third place on 2-0 at home to Real Madrid. the all-time list behind Cris- Eden Hazard gave the visi- tiano Ronaldo (131) and Lio- Manchester City’s Portuguese tors an early lead from the nel Messi (118). defender Ruben Dias (left) fights penalty spot at San Siro for his for the ball with Olympiakos’ Kingsley Coman scored Bay- Greek midfielder Kostas Fortounis first Champions League goal ern’s second and then crossed during a group Champions in a Real shirt, and Vidal was for Leroy Sane to head in their League match in Athens. afp sent off before the break after third, before Mergim Berisha seeing two yellow cards for pulled a goal back for the Aus- swept in from a Raheem Ster- come and will break every- stretching over three cam- “We have hit rock-bottom,” dissent in quick succession. trian champions. ling back-heel to secure a 1-0 thing,” said Guardiola, whose paigns going back to 2011-12. said Marseille coach Andre A Rodrygo shot went in off Marc Roca was sent off for win away to Olympiakos in side now just need a point The Nigerian Zaidu Sanusi Villas-Boas. Achraf Hakimi in the second Bayern, but they have a maxi- Greece, their fourth win out from their final two matches gave Porto the lead six min- Six-time European champi- half to make it 2-0, and Real mum 12 points and are guar- of four in Group C. to top the group. utes before half-time and Ser- ons Liverpool are not yet sure are now on course to qualify anteed to advance as Group City had 21 attempts on goal gio Oliveira scored a second- of progressing to the next from Group B after losing 3-2 A winners, while Atletico Ma- and their bluntness in attack Unlucky 13 for Marseille half penalty after on-loan round after going down 2-0 to at home to Shakhtar Donetsk drid sit second but continue is a source of concern, even if Second-place Porto are Liverpool midfielder Marko Atalanta at Anfield. in their first game. to toil in Europe this season their European progress pro- on the brink of joining them Grujic had been sent off for Three weeks after beating Shakhtar lost 4-0 to Borussia after being held 0-0 at home vides a tonic to their medio- in qualifying after a 2-0 win the Portuguese side. the same side 5-0 in Italy, Moenchengladbach, with Lars by Lokomotiv Moscow. cre Premier League form. at Marseille, which was the Marseille, who had defender Liverpool struggled with a Stindl scoring a penalty and Pep Guardiola’s City earlier “It will come, we would love French side’s 13th consecu- Leonardo Balerdi sent off, can- weakened starting line-up, Nico Elvedi, Breel Embolo and secured progress as Phil Foden to do more, but one day it will tive defeat in the competition not now qualify for the last 16. and Josip Ilicic put Atalanta in Oscar Wendt scoring. afp

Naples mayor Football legend Diego Maradona dead at 60 wants stadium Diego Maradona, one of the greatest the finest players ever to grace the field, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez In the final, Maradona set up the players of all time, died on November the Argentine World Cup-winning cap- announced three days of national mourn- 86th-minute winner against West Ger- renamed for 25 at the age of 60, plunging his native tain had undergone brain surgery this ing in the South American country. many. He scored twice in the semi-final Argentina and football fans around the month and died of a heart attack, a Argentine media first reported on against Belgium, beating four defend- late Maradona world into mourning. member of his entourage told AFP. November 25 that Maradona had suf- ers for the second goal. he mayor of Naples Renowned along with Pele as one of Maradona will forever be remem- fered a serious setback in his bid to But the match that defined his tourna- proposed on Wednesday bered for his “Hand of God” goal recover from the surgery earlier this ment, and possibly his career, was that Tthat the Stadio San Paolo against England in the 1986 World Cup month to remove a clot lodged between win over England, in which he scored be renamed in honour of the city’s quarter-final in Mexico City, when he his brain and skull. two goals that will be remembered for- beloved Argentine footballer, pushed the ball into the net. Family members were summoned to ever – for very different reasons. Diego Maradona. Minutes later he swerved through the his home north of Buenos Aires before the In the 51st minute, as England goal- “Let’s name the San Paolo helpless English defenders for a superb announcement of his death was made. keeper Peter Shilton reached to catch Stadium for Diego Armando Ma- second goal, capping a victory that Grieving fans later gathered at the the ball, Maradona jumped alongside radona!!!” wrote Mayor Luigi de perfectly encapsulated the mixture of Obelisk landmark in the centre of Bue- him and with a deftness that fooled the Magistris on Twitter. brilliant skill and often outrageous nos Aires and at Boca Juniors’ stadium, eye, flicked the ball with his hand The stadium on Wednesday behaviour that ran through his life. the Bombonera, where Maradona played through the England goalkeeper’s arms was illuminated in honour of the He struggled with addiction to cocaine from 1981-1982 and 1995-1997. and into the net. The referee allowed former Napoli player who died of and alcohol and had been plagued by the goal to stand. a heart attack at age 60, as fans poor health in recent years. ‘Hand of God’ After the game, Maradona said he gathered outside to mourn. Pele described Maradona as a “dear The life of the divine footballing tal- scored “a little with the head of Mara- Maradona led Napoli to their friend” and the 80-year-old Brazilian ent that was Diego Armando Mara- dona and a little with the hand of God”. only two league titles in 1987 and said he hoped they would “play togeth- dona was marked by wild highs and The goal he scored four minutes later, 1990, becoming a legend in the er in the sky” one day. lows, with Argentina and club sides when he picked up the ball in his own half working-class city, where fans Gary Lineker, who was in the England Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli. and glided past six England players, was on Wednesday poured into the team defeated in 1986, said Maradona Excesses with drugs and alcohol had named “Goal of the Century” by Fifa. streets after hearing of his death. was “arguably the greatest of all time” but long taken their toll on the mercurial “Diego made our people dream, referred to that infamous goal by tweet- talent’s health. Adored in Naples he redeemed Naples with his ing: “After a blessed but troubled life, Maradona was admitted to hospital Maradona grew up in poverty in Bue- genius,” tweeted de Magistris. hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort three times in the last 20 years for serious nos Aires but his extraordinary talent “Diego, Neapolitan and Argentine, in the hands of God. #RipDiego.” health issues – two of which were poten- was clear from a young age at Argen- you gave us joy and happiness! Lionel Messi led the tributes from mod- tially fatal – due to his addictions. tinos Juniors and Boca. Naples loves you!” ern-day players to his fellow Argentine, The highs were crowned by his per- It was in Naples where Maradona Napoli face Rijeka at the sta- Diego Maradona in Mexico City before the saying: “He has left us but he will never formances when he captained Argen- would enchant an entire city with two dium on November 26. afp start of the World Cup final. afp leave us because Diego is eternal.” tina to World Cup glory in 1986. Italian League titles. afp