VZCZCXRO5701
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #1034/01 2211034
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091034Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8784
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0692

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PHNOM PENH 001034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, INR/B 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM PINR CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA'S TOP TEN TYCOONS 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary.  Prime Minister Hun Sen is making efforts 
to bridge the gap between the political and private sector by 
cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with the 
country's most prominent business tycoons.  These business 
leaders contribute money to the ruling Cambodian Peoples 
Party (CPP) and Hun Sen can call on them to fund charities 
and public works projects and to attract foreign investment, 
achievements for which the CPP can claim credit.  In return, 
the business tycoons enjoy the added credibility and 
legitimacy of having the Prime Minister's support.  These 
symbiotic relationships illustrate the networks of business 
tycoons, political figures, and government officials that 
have formed in Cambodia, which reinforce the culture of 
impunity and limit progress on reforms such as Hun Sen's 
self-declared "war on corruption."  Post highlights the 
storied lives and diverse investment portfolios of ten of the 
most prominent of these well-connected tycoons.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
Kith Meng: "Mr. Rough Stuff" 
---------------------------- 
¶2.  (SBU) A dual Cambodian-Australian citizen with a BA from 
Australian National University, Kith Meng was born on 
September 1, 1968.  He is described as a relatively young and 
ruthless gangster by Mekong Bank Chairman Michael Stephen 
(PROTECT).  Another well-connected business man in the 
Cambodian community claims that Kith Meng is notorious for 
using his bodyguards to coerce others into brokering deals. 
As the chairman and CEO of Royal Group of Companies (RGC), 
his resume runs the gamut of many different businesses.  He 
is concurrently the chairman of mobile phone company Cam GSM 
Co., Cambodia Television Network (CTN), Cambo Six European 
soccer betting Co., and CamLot Lottery Co.  He has also 
become an exclusive distributor of Canon products.  Kith Meng 
owns the Northbridge International School and the Cambodiana 
Hotel.  One of the most widely recognized achievements of the 
Royal Group is its new joint venture with Australian-based 
ANZ bank, in which both companies established ANZ Royal Bank 
in 2005.  The Royal Group owns 45% of the new bank.  Kith 
Meng also recently launched a new Cambodian insurance 
company, Infinity General Insurance, through a joint venture 
with Kuala Lumpur-based Infinity Financial Solutions. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Recently, Kith Meng was elected President of the 
Cambodian Chamber of Commerce.  He also serves as an advisor 
to Prime Minister Hun Sen and serves on the board of the 
Cambodian Red Cross, whose President is Hun Sen's wife, Bun 
Rany.  Politically, Kith Meng has good relations with the 
Cambodian People's Party, FUNCINPEC, and the Sam Rainsy 
Party.  He claims credit for negotiating the three-way deal 
among the parties to engineer Sam Rainsy's return to Cambodia 
in early 2006.  Several sources believe that the CPP has 
tried to strengthen its relationship with Kith Meng because 
it wants CTN's ability to broadcast to a large number of 
Cambodians living abroad.  Kith Meng speaks, reads, and 
writes both Khmer and English. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Ly Yong Phat: "The King of Koh Kong" 
------------------------------------ 
¶4.  (SBU) A prominent Cambodian-Thai dual citizen, Ly Yong 
Phat was born in Koh Kong on January 7, 1958 under the name 
of Phat Suphapha.  He is nicknamed "The King of Koh Kong," 
for his prominence in his home province, which is located in 
southwestern Cambodia bordering Thailand.  Although he never 
went beyond high school, Ly Yong Phat amassed a large fortune 
from importing and exporting cigarettes, generating 
electricity, and running casinos and resorts.  He has good 
relations with businessmen and government officials on both 
sides of the Cambodian-Thai border, including particularly 
close ties to Cambodian officials of Thai heritage such as 
Defense Minister Tea Banh, Navy Commander Tea Vinh, and Koh 
Kong Governor Yuth Phouthang.  Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak 
is his cousin. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) As he currently serves as a CPP Senator and advisor 
to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ly Yong Phat boasts to visitors 
that he was personally appointed to develop his home 
province, Koh Kong.  He also sits on the board of the 
Cambodian Red Cross, headed by Hun Sen's wife.  He is the CEO 
and Chairman of the cigarette distributor Hero King Co. Ltd, 
an administrator and majority shareholder of Koh Kong Sugar 
Industry Co., Ltd, and the Koh Kong Plantation Co., Ltd.  The 
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) (PROTECT) reported 
that, after receiving land concessions that exceed the legal 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001034  002 OF 004 
 
 
limit of 10,000 hectares from the government in 2006, Ly Yong 
Phat used his influence to send armed military police forces 
to grab land from villagers and to clear their lands by 
burning down their crops and trees.  He speaks Khmer, Thai, 
and Chinese dialects. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Mong Reththy: "Hun Sen's Money Man" 
----------------------------------- 
¶6.  (SBU) With only four years of schooling at a temple in 
Phnom Penh, Mong Reththy has emerged as one of the most 
influential businessmen in Cambodia and is often referred to 
as "Hun Sen's Money Man."  Born in Takeo Province on July 11, 
1959, he founded Mong Reththy Group Co., Ltd, which initially 
exported rubber to Singapore, Malaysia, China, and other 
Asian countries.  His company has now expanded and made a 
fortune in palm oil and cattle.  Mong Reththy has also 
launched other companies such as Samnang Khmeng Wat (Luck of 
Pagoda Boy) Construction Co., Ltd, which received an 
exclusive contract to construct buildings for all of Prime 
Minister Hun Sen's charity projects.  He has contributed 
greatly to Cambodia's infrastructure by building schools, 
pagodas, hospitals, roads, and bridges.  His business 
portfolio also includes the Green Sea Agricultural Co. 
economic land concession in Stung Treng province, which is 
ten times the size permitted by Cambodia's Land Law of 2001. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Mong Reththy is likely the closest business tycoon 
and ally to Prime Minister Hun Sen, given that they take 
trips together to China and they both lived in the same 
temple in Phnom Penh, Neakavoan, while attending secondary 
school.  Also, Hun Sen publicly shielded Mong Reththy by 
deflecting accusations made by a former Secretary of State, 
the late Ho Sok, when Mong Reththy was implicated in a 
seven-ton marijuana drug bust in April 1997.  Mong Reththy 
owns a private port, Oknha Mong Port (aka Keo Phos Port) near 
Sihanoukville, which he uses to export his agricultural 
products. Comment: The recently departed Canadian Ambassador 
(PROTECT) visited Okhna Mong Port and was disturbed by the 
extreme deference customs and police officials stationed 
there paid to Mong Reththy, leading her to question how 
robustly government port security and customs measures are 
enforced.  End Comment.  Recently, Mong Reththy entered into 
a USD 50 million joint venture with Thai billionaire Charoen 
Sirivadhanabhakdi to build the first Cambodian sugar refinery 
by December 2008, in which Mong Reththy will have a 51% 
stake.  The refinery will process sugar palm from Mong 
Reththy's large estate on the road to Sihanoukville.  He is a 
Vice President of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, a board 
member of the Cambodian Red Cross and serves as a CPP senator 
as well as advisor to Hun Sen.  He speaks Khmer and limited 
English. 
 
------------------------------ 
Sy Kong Triv: "Pacific Giant" 
------------------------------ 
¶8.  (SBU) Born into a well-to-do ethnic Chinese family in 
Kampot on August 8, 1947, Sy Kong Triv is the chairman of KT 
Pacific Group, a manufacturing and distribution company that 
provides one of the largest varieties of services in the 
country.  He personally owns many local businesses including 
KTE Mitsubishi electronics and the Mondial Center, the 
largest business and wedding reception center in Phnom Penh. 
He also has joint ventures in a number of diverse businesses 
including British American Tobacco (BAT), Eastern Steel 
Industry Corporation and SCA Airport, through which he owns a 
large portion of the Phnom Penh International Airport.  He is 
also the co-director along with Lao Meng Khin (co-owner of 
Pheapimex) of a  Chinese tree plantation company called 
Wuzhishan LS, which has been accused of environmental 
degradation in sacred ancestral areas, negatively affecting 
the health of the local indigenous population, according to 
the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) 
(PROTECT). 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Like other major tycoons, Sy Kong Triv is one of 
the CPP's main financiers.  He is also a Vice President of 
the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce and an advisor to the 
Association of Khmer-Chinese of the Kingdom of Cambodia.  He 
speaks Khmer, Vietnamese, three Chinese dialects, and limited 
English. 
 
---------------------------- 
Kok An: "Gambling King Pin" 
---------------------------- 
¶10. (SBU) Born in Koh Kong Province as Phu Kok An on July 7, 
1954, Kok An dropped his Chinese last name (Phu) when Lon Nol 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001034  003 OF 004 
 
 
seized control of the Cambodian Government and discrimination 
against Cambodians of Chinese ancestry was rampant.  With a 
high school education, he started a lucrative business in the 
1980s, trading goods between Thailand and Vietnam.  In the 
1990s, he became involved with the fishing business and the 
cigarette industry.  He also broadened his business interests 
when he started operating Crown Resorts Casino in PoiPet and 
soon after built a power plant.  Kok An is Managing Director 
of ANCO Brothers Company, Ltd, a Cambodian company that 
distributes tobacco for Singapura United Tobacco Ltd. (SUTL). 
 Since 1993, he has distributed the 555 brand of cigarettes 
for British American Tobacco (BAT) in Cambodia. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Kok An has strong ties to the ruling CPP and was 
reportedly one of the people who helped pay the USD 50 
million in compensation to Thailand for damage to the Thai 
Embassy during the anti-Thai riots in early 2003, according 
to Director General of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce Meng 
Tech (PROTECT).  He currently serves as CPP senator and 
advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen.  He also is a member of 
the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce and on the board of the 
Cambodian Red Cross, run by Hun Sen's wife.  Kok An speaks 
Khmer, Thai, Chinese, and some Vietnamese. 
 
----------------------- 
Sok Kong: "Mr. SOKIMEX" 
----------------------- 
¶12. (SBU) Despite having only a third-grade education, Sok 
Kong managed to transform USD 50 into USD 50 million in 
capital.  After fleeing Phnom Penh to Vietnam in 1975 when 
the Khmer Rouge seized the city, Sok Kong returned after the 
collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime and began a business 
distributing and supplying Vietnamese-manufactured rubber 
products such as bicycle tires.  He soon created his own 
rubber mill and secured a contract with the government to 
produce rubber shoes made from tires.  He also supplied the 
government with military uniforms, food, and medicine for 
military personnel. 
 
¶13. (SBU) His company, SOKIMEX, is the largest petroleum 
supplier in the country and sells to both the government and 
the private sector.  Although its primary product is 
petroleum from Vietnam, it has also expanded to provide 
transport, power, agro-industry, rubber plantations, and 
tourism services.  One of SOKIMEX's biggest successes was 
acquiring the ticketing rights to Angkor Wat in 1999.  There 
is much controversy surrounding the revenue from Angkor Wat 
as reports suggest that SOKIMEX is grossly underreporting the 
amount of money it makes from ticket sales.  In addition, 
Angkor Wat conservation advocates say that insufficient 
revenue from these sales is dedicated to temple preservation. 
 Sok Kong has also allegedly gained a bad reputation for not 
paying taxes on oil, but has recently made efforts to 
increase tax payments.  He is still very close to Hun Sen and 
the government hierarchy.  He speaks Khmer, Vietnamese and 
some French. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Yeay Phu & Lao Meng Khin: "Power Couple" 
---------------------------------------- 
¶14. (SBU) One of the most politically and economically 
connected couples in the country (after Prime Minister Hun 
Sen and his wife and Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh and his 
wife), Lao Meng Khin and Yeay Phu (aka Choeung Sopheap) were 
born on January 1, 1944 in Sihanoukville and May 11, 1949 in 
Kampot Province, respectively.  They are the co-owners of 
Pheapimex Fu Chan Co. Ltd, a controversial logging company 
that has expanded to cover salt iodization, iron ore 
extraction, bamboo cultivation, pharmaceutical imports and 
hotel construction.  According to a number of NGOs that 
monitor environmental issues, Pheapimex is the company that 
has acquired the largest total land area through the logging 
business.  Recently, the company has shifted from logging 
concessions to economic land concessions (ELCs), by which it 
now has access to at least 315,028 hectares of land for 
agribusiness. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Phu, who is of Chinese origin, uses her contacts in 
China to attract foreign investment from Chinese companies 
such as Wuzhishan LS and Jiangsu Taihu International.  Her 
husband, Lao Meng Khin, is a Vice President of the Cambodian 
Chamber of Commerce, and he serves as a CPP senator and 
advisor to Hun Sen.  Together, they have a joint venture with 
Sy Kong Triv through Wuzhishan LS for a pine tree plantation 
in Mondulkiri Province.  This dynamic duo has a rather strong 
relationship to Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany.  Lao Meng 
Khin has accompanied the Prime Minister on more than one trip 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001034  004 OF 004 
 
 
to China, while Yeay Phu, who is a board member of the 
Cambodian Red Cross, is reportedly a close friend and 
business associate of Bun Rany.  Yeay Phu is also a business 
associate of Tep Bopha Prasidh, the wife of the Minister of 
Commerce; and Ngyn Sun Sopheap, the wife of the Director of 
the National Department of Customs and Excise.  The Pheapimex 
couple's son is married to the daughter of Lim Chhiv Ho, the 
Managing Director of Attwood Import Export Co., Ltd.  In 
addition to Khmer, Lao Meng Khin speaks Mandarin Chinese and 
Yeay Phu speaks several Chinese dialects. 
 
------------------------------ 
Lim Chhiv Ho: "The Gatekeeper" 
------------------------------ 
¶16. (SBU) Born in Sihanoukville on October 1, 1961, Lim Chhiv 
Ho is one of Cambodia's most well-connected women. She is the 
Managing Director of Attwood Import Export Co., Ltd, the 
official distributor in Cambodia for Hennessy Cognac and 
popular brands of beer and whisky including Johnnie Walker 
and Heineken.  As a growing company, Attwood has diversified 
its services and now owns hotels, real estate and property 
development firms as well.  The company has received 
contracts from the government to develop Special Economic 
Zones (SEZs) in Sihanoukville and Bavet near the Vietnamese 
border.  She has also recently signed a joint venture with 
Zephyr Co. to create the Japan Cambodia Development 
Corporation, which will establish another SEZ close to Phnom 
Penh.  To attract investment, these zones offer various 
privileges to both local and foreign businesses including a 
nine-year tax holiday, exemptions on VAT and import and 
export duties. 
 
¶17. (SBU) Lim Chhiv Ho, a vice president in the Cambodian 
Chamber of Commerce, has very strong connections to other 
prominent government and business officials in the country. 
One of her strongest connections is to Choeung Sopheap (Yeay 
Phu), co-owner of Pheapimex Co.  Lim Chhiv Ho's daughter is 
married to Yeay Phu's son.  Lim is a close business associate 
of Tep Bopha Prasidh, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh's 
wife, who owns 10 percent of shares of Attwood valued at 
approximately USD 1 million.  Lim Chhiv Ho is also a business 
associate of Ngyn Sun Sopheap, the wife of the Director of 
the National Department of Customs and Excise.  Lim Chhiv Ho 
is a Cambodian Red Cross board member and fundraiser. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Pung Kheav Se: "Banking Pioneer" 
-------------------------------- 
¶18.  (SBU) A soft-spoken Cambodian of Chinese ethnicity, Pung 
Kheav Se was born in 1946 in Phnom Penh.  He is one of the 
most well-known bankers in Cambodia.  Pung Kheav Se fled 
Cambodia in the late 1970s to Montreal, Canada, where he made 
a fortune buying gold from the central bank and reselling it 
at a profit.  As the founder of Canadia Bank, the largest 
bank in the country, he holds one-fourth of the nation's bank 
deposits.  He is the owner of the Independence Beach Resort 
Hotel in Sihanoukville as well as the new upscale Sorya 
Shopping Center in Phnom Penh.  He is also currently the 
chairman of Cambodia's Foreign Trade Bank and the Association 
of Banks in Cambodia, an advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, 
and an advisory member of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. 
He speaks Khmer, English and Chinese. 
 
¶19.  (SBU) Comment:  Cambodia's tycoons are a close-knit and 
powerful group, who often share involvement in charitable 
activities like the Cambodian Red Cross and are further bound 
together by marriages and business partnerships.  Many have 
been awarded the honorary title of "Okhna" which over the 
last five years has been bestowed on those who have 
contributed large sums of money to the government's coalition 
parties, CPP and FUNCINPEC. (Most of these donations appear 
to have gone towards the CPP party.)  Another striking aspect 
of this network is the active involvement of the spouses of 
government and business officials who are significant 
shareholders in various businesses.  Hun Sen's relationship 
to this group is both symbiotic and self-limiting.  The 
tycoons help to finance the CPP, contribute greatly to 
economic growth, and undertake important charitable work such 
as the construction of schools and hospitals, while reaping 
the benefits of close government ties.  Hun Sen announced a 
"war on corruption" in 2004, which was aimed at legal, 
judicial, and public administration reform.  However, Hun 
Sen's very reliance on his tycoon network may hinder progress 
in battling corruption, illegal logging, and other sensitive 
issues that he claims are priorities.  End Comment. 
CAMPBELL