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Viewing cable 09PHNOMPENH276, CAMBODIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS DEEPENS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09PHNOMPENH276 2009-05-01 05:57 2011-08-30 01:44 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Phnom Penh
VZCZCXRO4096
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0276/01 1210557
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010557Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0652
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000276 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV EAID ETRD CB
SUBJECT:  CAMBODIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS DEEPENS 
 
REFS: A) PHNOM PENH 205 
 B) PHNOM PENH 97 
 C) 08 PHNOM PENH 1032 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Cambodia's heady days of double digit economic 
growth are over.  The adverse impacts of the global economic crisis 
have brought Cambodia's growth to a screeching halt, from 10.2 
percent in 2007 to low single digits, if not the World Bank's 
estimated negative 1 percent in 2009.  Nearly all of the pillars of 
Cambodia's economy - garments, tourism, and construction - have been 
adversely affected; only the agriculture sector has thus far been 
unaffected.  The economic crisis poses significant challenges to 
sustaining the country's progress toward its development goals and 
meeting the needs of the country's most vulnerable affected by the 
crisis.  To date the government's efforts to mitigate the adverse 
impacts have failed to address the fundamental challenges of 
sustaining economic growth and a more comprehensive, coordinated 
response is urgently needed to prevent greater numbers of the 
population from falling into poverty.  End Summary. 
 
Growth Prospects Growing Grimmer 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Cambodia's past decade of economic growth was remarkable by 
any standard.  However, it was overly dependent on the garment, 
tourism, and construction sectors, and now the global economic 
crisis is exposing the vulnerabilities of this narrowly-based 
economy.  In late 2008, international financial institutions were 
predicting the economy to grow at between 4.7 and 4.9 percent, which 
represented a significant slowdown from the average ten percent 
growth of previous years.  However, as the adverse impacts of the 
global economic crisis hit home, growth forecasts were successively 
revised downwards.  The Asia Development Bank (ADB) currently 
predicts a growth rate of 2.5% (predicated primarily on an expansion 
in the agriculture sector); the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
predicts growth to slow to -0.5 percent, and the World Bank (WB) 
forecasts -1 percent. 
 
Deep Impact in the Pillars of the Economy 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) A significant deceleration in growth is expected in all 
three of the key sectors of the economy in 2009: garments, tourism, 
and construction.  The garment industry has been the hardest hit of 
all of the sectors of Cambodia's heavily export-dependent economy 
(see septel).  The sector accounted for an estimated 30 percent of 
GDP in 2008.  In the first two months of the year, however, the 
volume of garment orders decreased by an estimated average of 30 
percent.  Compared to the same two months last year, garment exports 
are down by 40 percent and the value of garment exports declined by 
26 percent in January.  The Garment Manufacturers Association 
estimates that 50,000 - 70,000 workers have lost their jobs since 
Fall 2008, 33,995 in the first three months of the year alone. 
(Septel reports on the Garment Sector in more detail). 
 
4. (SBU) The tourism sector, which grew by nearly 20 percent in 
2007, is also showing signs of decline, with growth slowing to 5.5 
percent in 2008.  During the first quarter of this year, the number 
of foreign visitors declined by 3.4 percent.  While there have been 
fewer job losses in the tourism sector to date, hotels and 
restaurants report instituting hiring freezes and job losses are 
expected to follow. 
 
5. (SBU) Stagnation in the real estate sector has weakened the 
construction industry.  Real estate prices have declined by 30-40 
percent in some areas, according to the Bonna Realty Group, 
Cambodia's prominent real estate company.  Large foreign-invested 
construction projects have stalled or slowed.  For example, plans 
for a seven skyscraper project have been scaled down to three and 
the project has been delayed until 2010. Construction-related 
imports declined by 7 percent in the last quarter of 2008.  While 
precise figures are not available, firms report that unemployment 
among construction workers is on the rise. 
 
6. (SBU) Among the four key pillars of the economy, only agriculture 
has emerged from the crisis relatively unscathed.  The ADB predicts 
growth in the agriculture sector to exceed the 4.5 percent level 
achieved in 2008.  The sector's growth potential (which accounted 
for 34.4 percent of GDP in 2008) could help to mitigate some of the 
adverse impacts of the economic slowdown, such as providing social 
safety nets for affected workers.  However, an expansion in the 
agriculture sector will not be sufficient to offset the declines in 
the other key sectors, nor boost Cambodia's sagging GDP. 
Additionally, the sector remains vulnerable to changing and 
unpredictable weather conditions and the volatile commodities 
market. 
 
7. (SBU) While the banking sector was largely sheltered from the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000276  002 OF 002 
 
 
global financial crisis, the slowing economy is expected to have a 
secondary impact on the banking industry.  The WB and IMF have 
warned of increased risks of non-performing loans, which are 
believed to be underreported.  The economic slowdown and resulting 
stagnation in the real estate market will increase the sector's 
exposure (Ref A).  Microfinance institutions report rising 
delinquency rates, as farmers who borrowed based on the high food 
prices of early 2008 now find themselves unable to repay their loans 
due to the steep fall in commodity prices. 
 
Significant Social Consequences 
------------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) Slowing growth presents significant social challenges for 
Cambodia.  With unemployment on the rise, it will be increasingly 
difficult to absorb the estimated 270,000 new job seekers entering 
the workforce each year.  The economic crisis is eroding Cambodia's 
laudable poverty reduction gains and threatens to put at risk 
Cambodia's achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 1 percent 
reduction in the poverty rate in 2009.  The country's most 
vulnerable are still reeling from the high inflation of the first 
half of 2008.  According to a recent WB report, an additional 
200,000 people are expected to fall below the poverty line this 
year, the highest number of "new poor" in the region. 
 
9. (SBU) Rising unemployment and pessimism about future prospects 
could give rise to a number of social ills, such as drug use, 
criminal activity, child labor and exploitive labor conditions, and 
human trafficking.  A recent Interagency Conflict Assessment, 
utilizing the new Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework 
developed by State and USAID, identified rising unemployment 
affecting at-risk youth, resulting in illicit behavior, such as drug 
abuse and gang activity, as a significant threat to Cambodia's 
political and social stability. 
 
Government's Response 
--------------------- 
 
10. (SBU) Despite downplaying the bleak growth forecasts and 
continuing to officially maintain that economic growth is targeted 
at 4-6 percent this year, the government appears to be taking the 
threats to the economy seriously.  As recently as April 28, Dr. Hang 
Chuon Naron, Secretary General, Supreme National Economic Council, 
Ministry of Economy and Finance, told a gathering of development 
partners that 6 percent growth was still within the range of growth 
forecasts.  However, it is not readily apparent that the government 
has developed a comprehensive strategy for meeting the diverse and 
deep challenges of the economic crisis head on. 
 
11. (SBU) While the government has already taken a number of 
measures in response to the crisis, these do not appear to have been 
as part of a coordinated response.  In consultation with the private 
sector, the government adopted specific measures, such as tax relief 
for the garment industry, expanding foreign vehicle access to 
promote tourism, and support for agro-business.  The government also 
created a USD7 million dollar fund to provide training and 
microcredit to laid-off workers and announced the prioritization of 
pro-poor spending to protect the most vulnerable and provide 
additional social safety nets.  While mitigating measures such as 
these are badly needed, they do not address the underlying 
fundamental structural problems which constrain economic growth and 
threaten to undermine progress towards meeting the country's 
development goals (Ref C). 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
12. (SBU) The unique factors that gave rise to Cambodia's decade of 
rapid economic growth are unsustainable (Ref B).  What is really 
needed are important structural and regulatory reforms to create a 
more favorable business environment, facilitate trade, and diversify 
the economic base, enhancing Cambodia's competitiveness in the short 
and long term.  A comprehensive response to the crisis requires 
close coordination among numerous government ministries and 
departments, which has proven difficult even in the best of times, 
and may be particularly more difficult in the face of a declining 
economy as competition among government entities increases for 
scarce government resources.  It will likely be up to development 
partners to support the government's efforts by accelerating and 
coordinating their assistance programs, particularly those in the 
short term which support vital social safety nets. 
 
RODLEY