THE joke doing the rounds in Phnom Penh is that Cambodia is set to become the next colony of Malaysia. It's not as funny as it sounds as locals gear up for a joke that is already a looming reality.
Malaysia's financial spin doctors are splashing the cash into the hands of all, and as a result are poised to make huge profits in a country with few regulations and an open mind when it comes to abiding by the rules that do exist.
Investors from elsewhere are chipping in, but Malaysian companies are risking all in a country with no shortage of inherent risks as it emerges from years of war.
Cash regularly changes hands for questionable services rendered, but the word bribe is rarely used - it doesn't need to be, such is the nature of business on the fringes of Cambodian investment.
The flip-side to all of this is that it is extremely difficult to break the law when there are so few controls on the flow of cash into and out of the country.
It is also juxtaposed with government ministers earning as little as US$50 (HK$390) a month in wages - a scenario sure to engender an environment ripe for corruption.