New tariff for Cambodia's mobile operators

All mobile phone operators in Cambodia have to follow the new rule set by the government.

The new tariff are $4.5 cents minimum for within network call and $5.95 cents for across network call.

Smart Mobile used to offer 500% of bonus which 300% for onnet calls (within network calls) and SMS, another 200% for internet or another promotion which called Extra Exchange, the users can change from $1 to $15 for onnet calls, SMS and internet.

From now on, all mobile operators cannot offer bonuses over 50% of what their customers pay for top up. This made most of users get mad with the new rule and the post lots of images on Facebook to critic this issue. Seem the Ministry thinks about a mobile operator rather than Cambodian people's benefits.

Cambodia bans call bonuses

I got an SMS from Smart Axiata this morning at 1:09 am to inform its clients "Due to Prakas 232 we are presently not allowed to provide any call bonuses. We seek your understanding & support. Thank you for using Smart. Info: smart.com.kh".

This is not the first time, we remember last few years when Beeline came to Cambodia's market, it offered $0.05 per minute to call both across and within networks. Then it was rejected from Cellcard for interconnected calls. Later soon the royal government involved to solve this issue and banned to offer $0.05 rate anymore by set the maximize rate not lower than $0.07 for across network calls to all mobile operators in Cambodia. I am not sure whether it is a reason that VimpelCom exited Cambodia last week.

Now we are banned from call bonuses (or free calls) and seem we are far away from the free market economy. Government should care about its people's benefits rather than the businessmen. Users are not happy with this news and some mobile operators as well because they will be faced difficulty to compete with the bigger and older ones.

Phnom Penh after a heavy rain

(photos from Facebook users)

The weather seem goes wrong recently and now we are in dry season but we had shower rains in last few days and a heavy rain in this evening. After raining Phnom Penh remains flood in some regions can't even take a ride on motorbike along some main roads or we can say boulevard. If you go to Facebook then  you will see a lot of pictures showed about the flooded roads and some picture were edited in funny or critic to the governor for noneffective actions to this issue since many years so far. 

It just got a bit better for recent years. It still floods but not remain for few hours which some areas in the last few years remained flooded for days or weeks (Sangkat Phnom Penh Thmei).

It would be more better in 2015 due to restructuring used water system to save Phnom Penh from flooded. 

Classified websites boom in Cambodia lately

Internet users in Cambodia gain more and more day by day, especially for the giant social network Facebook. We have around 2 million internet users lately while it were only about 20,000 in 2009. At that time we had a few Khmer online news sites such as Kohsantepheap Daily, Everyday and Radio Free Asia but nowadays there are many websites published in Khmer language in the same content Breaking News which are looking no difference.

Despite online breaking news in Khmer but classified sites are much more established as well for online selling. Users can sign up and post free to sell something on the site by offering contact information. I can say the first and most successful one is Khmer 24 but many others tried to follow with nothing better or attractive. This is how they do business in Cambodia while a few people tried to lead but many others tried to follow even they know they cannot make it better then the existing ones. They better try to add more useful contents rather only online selling which are mostly made already.

Beside selling on classified sites some people did it on the largest social network Facebook. Did you ever sell something on internet?

Internet and mobile phone users in Cambodia

 (photo: visit-angkor.org)

A report published in November 2012 by visit-angkor.org, Cambodia's population were 14,953,000 and internet users were 2,466,304 including 690,520 are users on Social Networks. But a new report by Nielsen Online and ITU showed 662,840 internet users in Cambodia or 4.4%, rank 7 in the ten places ASEAN countries.

 The strange story is Cambodia has 19,642,563 mobile subscribers or 1.3 compare to its population.

Mobile networks (source: wikipedia)

• Cellcard [CamGSM Co.,Ltd.] incorporates the former Mfone with mobile prefixes: 012, 017, 077, 078, 089, 092, 095 and 011, 061, 076, 085, 099

• Smart [Latelz Co., Ltd.] merged with former [Hello Axiata Co., Ltd. (HACL)] with mobile prefixes: 010, 069, 070, 086, 093, 096, 098 and 015, 016, 081, 087 and landline prefixes: 45, e.g. the telephone number +855 23-451-234 is a Phnom Penh number from Smart

• Metfone [VTC or Viettel (Cambodia) Pte., Ltd.] with mobile prefixes: 097, 088

• Beeline [Sotelco Ltd. ] with mobile prefixes: 060, 066, 067, 068, 090 and landline prefixes: 46, e.g. the telephone number +855 23-461-234 is a Phnom Penh number from Beeline

• qb [Cambodia Advance Communications Co., Ltd. (CADCOMMS)] with mobile prefixes: 013, 080, 083, 084

• Excell [GT-TELL (Cambodia) Investment Co., Ltd.] 018

Internet service providers (Some of them are shut off the business now, source: wikipedia)

• Digi (DTV Star)
• PPCTV Broadband Internet Service
• EMAXX TELECOM
• Wicam
• Cellcard (Mobitel)
• ClickNet
• Ezecom
• Metfone
• AngkorNet
• MekongNet
• Camintel
• Telecom Cambodia's Camnet
• Mfonenet
• Everyday
• TeleSURF
• Clicknet
• PCP
• AZ (Online)
• Hiway Telecom
• Cambodia Internet Corp
• EmCom
• Bereline (SOTELCO)
• Latelz
• Dragon Royal Telecom
• Citylink
• Vimean Seile
• Chuan Wei
• MekongNet (Angkor Data Communication Group)
• NTC - NeocomISP Limited
• WirelessIP
• Cambo Technology (ISP) Co., Ltd
• Dianlany Internet Telecom
• CIDC IT
• AncoBrothers
• CB (Cambodian Broadband)
• Mobilastic
• Wireless Internet Provider
• MKN
• PP Net Phone
• Neocom ISP (NTC)
• WIP
• Angkor Net
• GTD
• CDC
• Cambotech
• Cam-Broad
• Open Net

Russia's VimpelCom exits Cambodia

VimpelCom parent company of Beeline, offload its entire stake of 90% in Sotelco Ltd. to the local investment partner Huot Vanthan.

Jo Lunder, CEO of VimpelCom, said: “We have previously outlined our Value Agenda within which our operations are reviewed to assess their future value to the Group. The decision to sell our interest in Cambodia is a result of this process.  We are happy that our long term partner in the company now takes control of the business in Cambodia.”

Beeline has around one million users in Cambodia follows (Hello Axiata has 2.5 million users + Latelz has 4.9 million users), CamGSM has 3.4 million users and Viettel has nearly 10 million users.

Kith Meng, one of Cambodia's top tycoons

 

Kith Meng is a Cambodia businessman, the chairman of Royal Group. He also owns a stake in the local's leading TV and cellphone operator companies, Cambodian Broadcasting Corporation (CTN, MyTV, CNC...) and CamGSM (Cellcard).

He is well known for making joint venture businesses with international foreign companies to Cambodian companies.

He was born in 1968 and the youngest of 3 sons of Chinese Cambodian businessman Kith Peng Ike. His family were sent to a labor camp during Khmer Rouge regime. He and his 2 brothers were separated from their parents, who later died of starvation. Later then they departed for Thailand. In 1980, however, he and his brother, Kith Thieng were found by a fellow family member in a Thai refugee camp, and both brothers immigrated to Australia, where they worked and schooled in the nation's capital, Canberra.

 In 1991 Meng and Thieng returned to Cambodia, selling furniture and office supplies to the UN, and operating a Canon copiers franchise, before establishing The Royal Group. Now, Meng is President of Cambodia's Chamber Of Commerce, and carries the honorary title of "Neak Oknha", conferred upon him by the Royal Family.

 His business:

The Royal Group is Cambodia's largest, diversified conglomerate and holding company with investments in various industries in the country including telecommunication, media, banking, insurance, resorts, education, property, trading and agriculture. It is based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The company is chaired by Neak Oknha Kith Meng, a Cambodian businessman.

Subsidiaries:

• Telecommunications and information technologies
  • CamGSM: Cambodia’s leading mobile telecommunications network
  • NETi Solutions: I.T. software and business consulting services

• Finance
  • Infinity Financial Solutions: Cambodian insurance provider, backed by Swiss Re
  • ANZ Royal Bank

• Media
  • Cambodian Broadcasting Corporation: Cambodia's largest television network
  • CEPCO: Cambodian TV distributor with exclusive rights to HBO, Cinemax and the Disney Channels
  • Bamboo Media: Cambodian media and advertising agency

• Hotels and resorts
  • Royal Park Resort: located in Siem Reap, gateway to the Angkor region
  • Caesar Resort & Casino

• Agriculture

• Property development
  • Koh Rong Island Resort - is an ecologically sustainable Cambodian island resort
  
  
   (Source)