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Cambodia

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Cambodia. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Phnom Penh

Head of State

King Norodom Sihamoni

Head of Government

Prime Minister Hun Manet

Li Auto’s flagship L9 SUV is displayed at the ongoing Auto China in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Electric & new energy vehicles

Li Auto targets BMW and Mercedes with premium SUVs in Middle East, Asia-Pacific

Beijing-based EV maker expects overseas deliveries to account for 30 per cent of its total by 2030, president Ma Donghui says.

26 Apr 2026 - 7:10PM

Scams and swindles

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

24 Apr 2026 - 5:19PMvideocam

The Philippines

This retiree in the Philippines downloaded an app. Then he lost his life savings

24 Apr 2026 - 10:41AMvideocam

China-Asean relations

China calls on Cambodia for ‘shared security and risks’ during global turmoil

Defence and foreign ministers meet in Phnom Penh after Hun Manet describes China as a ‘most important and most trustworthy good friend’.

23 Apr 2026 - 5:06PMvideocam

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun (from left) and Foreign Minister Wang Yi link arms with Prak Sokhonn, Cambodian deputy prime minister, and Cambodian Defence Minister General Tea Seiha. Photo: Handout/Agence Kampuchea Press

Thailand

Cambodia is boycotting Thai products. Smuggled chicken could show otherwise

The Cambodian public is maintaining a boycott of Thai businesses even as the country’s economy is reeling from the global fuel crisis.

23 Apr 2026 - 3:51PM

Trending in China

China influencer recounts harrowing Cambodia cyber scam plight; live-stream cut short

After her return, Umi tested positive for drugs; doctors suspect her leg pain was from nerve compression due to immobility.

21 Apr 2026 - 2:00PM

Asia travel

Asia’s next cocktail capital? The rise of Phnom Penh’s vibrant drinks scene

Bars in the Cambodian capital are redefining the city’s mixology with their focus on local ingredients, creativity and sustainability.

20 Apr 2026 - 9:15PM

A bartender puts the finishing touches on cocktails served at Seekers Spirits’ distillery and bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo: Seekers Spirits

Japan

Vietnam, Philippines trust Japan. But Indonesia’s more cautious

Analysts say Indonesia worries about its neutrality as Tokyo ramps up ties with the US and lags behind China on green investment.

22 Apr 2026 - 9:48AMvideocam

Asean

Opinion | As Iran war fallout hits Southeast Asia, US is losing influence to China

Asean survey reflects China’s growing strategic influence but also concerns. The question is: will China crowd the US out of the region?

19 Apr 2026 - 9:46PMvideocam

US Politics

Video | Cambodian man deported to Africa by Trump administration

Pheap Rom was among 20 men sent to Eswatini under Trump’s ‘third country’ deals.

20 Apr 2026 - 1:33PM

Cambodian Pheap Rom poses for picture at a restaurant in Phnom Penh on March 30, 2026. A Cambodian refugee long-settled in the United States, ex-convict Pheap Rom, remains bewildered at how he wound up behind bars in the African nation of Eswatini for months after being swept up in Donald Trump’s deportation blitz. (Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP) / To go with ‘Cambodia-Eswatini-US-Migrants-Rights-Crime’ Focus by Suy Se and Matt Surrusco

02:18

Renewable energy

China begins building US$1 billion hydropower station in Cambodia

As focus switches to renewable energy, pumped-storage hydropower project in Koh Kong province expected to be completed by 2029.

19 Apr 2026 - 8:00AM

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Upper Tatay pumped storage hydropower project in Koh Kong province, Cambodia, on April 10. Photo: Xinhua.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, unlicensed street photography becomes focus of crackdown

Kuala Lumpur authorities have seized photographic equipment from five foreigners since a warning in early April.

18 Apr 2026 - 9:39AM

Thailand

Songkran is here. So is Thailand’s worst energy crisis in years

Soaring costs for fuel and ice fail to dampen the mood as a wave of ‘revenge travel’ provides a much-needed economic boost.

13 Apr 2026 - 3:50PM

Asean

Asian Angle | Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China balancing act

An increasingly unpredictable Washington is making the region’s traditional hedging strategy harder to sustain.

12 Apr 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump (centre) stands for a group photo with Southeast Asian leaders at the 13th Asean-United States Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. Photo: AFP

Food and agriculture

Asia’s ‘panicked farmers’ brace for a looming rice crisis post-Iran war

Shortages of imported fertilisers and fuel could not have come at a worse time for many Southeast Asian rice farmers.

11 Apr 2026 - 11:04AM

A woman harvests rice in Kandal province, Cambodia. Spiking fuel and fertiliser costs are rattling major rice-growing regions. Photo: EPA-EFE

Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Video | Inside a scam centre on the Cambodia-Thailand border

The town-sized O’Smach Resort complex, which once housed 29 scam companies, occupies roughly 80 hectares (197 acres).

10 Apr 2026 - 7:12PM

Thailand

Thailand seizes US$260 million from scammers in ‘decisive’ crackdown

The latest seizure includes cash, cars and bank deposits, bringing the total value of assets confiscated to more US$620 million.

10 Apr 2026 - 7:20PMvideocam

Thailand

Thai men volunteer for military, driven by prospect of steady salary

Youth unemployment is roughly five times the national average and a stable job is rare for many entering the workforce.

9 Apr 2026 - 10:15AM

A soldier puts a hat on an enlisted man during the Thai military conscription drawing in Bangkok on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Banking & finance

As France pulls gold from the US, how can China become the next global gold hub?

Federal Reserve is no longer seen as a ‘safe’ place for nations to store gold as Trump’s unpredictability spooks the world’s central banks.

8 Apr 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Why Cambodia’s new law may do little to combat its scam centres

Analysts warn the lack of provisions addressing the role officials and networks play in enabling scams may limit the law’s effectiveness.

10 Apr 2026 - 7:19PMvideocam

Scams and swindles

Opinion | To beat Cambodia’s scam gangs, US must work with China – not blame it

Taking down the deeply rooted, well-connected syndicates would require both Washington’s economic leverage and Beijing’s operational efforts.

8 Apr 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

Thailand

Oil smugglers in Thailand worsen supply crisis as Anutin warns of tough times

Police are investigating alleged oil hoarding in southern Thailand and reselling to nearby countries, citing ‘abnormal’ vessel movements.

6 Apr 2026 - 8:04PMvideocam

A Thai farmer refuels diesel into an oil drum at a gas station in Ayutthaya province on Wednesday. Thai farmers are struggling with shortages of diesel, fertiliser and insecticides amid the ongoing Iran war. Photo: EPA

Scams and swindles

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

4 Apr 2026 - 6:22AMvideocam

Asean

How Asean’s neutral stance in Iran war protects its energy security

Granting Southeast Asian vessels safe passage through the strait allows Iran to come across as a diplomatic good guy, analysts say.

2 Apr 2026 - 3:19PMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

Cambodia’s scam industry exodus, Jollibee’s diaspora effect: 7 Asia highlights

From Cambodia’s scam industry exodus to Jollibee’s meaning to overseas Filipinos, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

31 Mar 2026 - 1:06PM

Jollibee employees attend to customers at an outlet in Manila in 2015. Photo: AFP

Indonesia

A US$19 billion scam industry is fleeing Cambodia. Where will it end up?

Scam bosses and their multibillion-dollar crime networks are fleeing to Myanmar, Laos and Thailand ahead of an April deadline.

29 Mar 2026 - 10:00AMvideocam

A Thai soldier shines a torch into a room disguised as a Chinese police station inside an abandoned scam centre on the Thai-Cambodian border on March 12. Photo: AFP

Singapore

Singapore seizes record Asian pangolin scales disguised as ‘dried fish skin’

The scales – estimated to be from more than 2,200 pangolins – were found after officials intercepted an inbound truck carrying sea cargo.

28 Mar 2026 - 5:59PM

US, Israel war on Iran

‘Getting worse each day’: why Southeast Asia is vulnerable to the fuel crisis

From Laos to Thailand, long queues are forming at petrol stations while residents are reeling from surging fuel prices.

23 Mar 2026 - 9:02PMvideocam

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Cambodia

Li Auto targets BMW and Mercedes with premium SUVs in Middle East, Asia-Pacific

Beijing-based EV maker expects overseas deliveries to account for 30 per cent of its total by 2030, president Ma Donghui says.

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

This retiree in the Philippines downloaded an app. Then he lost his life savings

China calls on Cambodia for ‘shared security and risks’ during global turmoil

Defence and foreign ministers meet in Phnom Penh after Hun Manet describes China as a ‘most important and most trustworthy good friend’.

Cambodia is boycotting Thai products. Smuggled chicken could show otherwise

The Cambodian public is maintaining a boycott of Thai businesses even as the country’s economy is reeling from the global fuel crisis.

China influencer recounts harrowing Cambodia cyber scam plight; live-stream cut short

After her return, Umi tested positive for drugs; doctors suspect her leg pain was from nerve compression due to immobility.

Asia’s next cocktail capital? The rise of Phnom Penh’s vibrant drinks scene

Bars in the Cambodian capital are redefining the city’s mixology with their focus on local ingredients, creativity and sustainability.

Vietnam, Philippines trust Japan. But Indonesia’s more cautious

Analysts say Indonesia worries about its neutrality as Tokyo ramps up ties with the US and lags behind China on green investment.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | As Iran war fallout hits Southeast Asia, US is losing influence to China

Asean survey reflects China’s growing strategic influence but also concerns. The question is: will China crowd the US out of the region?

.css-1t72pn8{color:#C79A00;}Video | Cambodian man deported to Africa by Trump administration

Pheap Rom was among 20 men sent to Eswatini under Trump’s ‘third country’ deals.

China begins building US$1 billion hydropower station in Cambodia

As focus switches to renewable energy, pumped-storage hydropower project in Koh Kong province expected to be completed by 2029.

In Malaysia, unlicensed street photography becomes focus of crackdown

Kuala Lumpur authorities have seized photographic equipment from five foreigners since a warning in early April.

Songkran is here. So is Thailand’s worst energy crisis in years

Soaring costs for fuel and ice fail to dampen the mood as a wave of ‘revenge travel’ provides a much-needed economic boost.

Asian Angle | Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China balancing act

An increasingly unpredictable Washington is making the region’s traditional hedging strategy harder to sustain.

Asia’s ‘panicked farmers’ brace for a looming rice crisis post-Iran war

Shortages of imported fertilisers and fuel could not have come at a worse time for many Southeast Asian rice farmers.

Video | Inside a scam centre on the Cambodia-Thailand border

The town-sized O’Smach Resort complex, which once housed 29 scam companies, occupies roughly 80 hectares (197 acres).

Thailand seizes US$260 million from scammers in ‘decisive’ crackdown

The latest seizure includes cash, cars and bank deposits, bringing the total value of assets confiscated to more US$620 million.

Thai men volunteer for military, driven by prospect of steady salary

Youth unemployment is roughly five times the national average and a stable job is rare for many entering the workforce.

As France pulls gold from the US, how can China become the next global gold hub?

Federal Reserve is no longer seen as a ‘safe’ place for nations to store gold as Trump’s unpredictability spooks the world’s central banks.

Why Cambodia’s new law may do little to combat its scam centres

Analysts warn the lack of provisions addressing the role officials and networks play in enabling scams may limit the law’s effectiveness.

Opinion | To beat Cambodia’s scam gangs, US must work with China – not blame it

Taking down the deeply rooted, well-connected syndicates would require both Washington’s economic leverage and Beijing’s operational efforts.

Oil smugglers in Thailand worsen supply crisis as Anutin warns of tough times

Police are investigating alleged oil hoarding in southern Thailand and reselling to nearby countries, citing ‘abnormal’ vessel movements.

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

How Asean’s neutral stance in Iran war protects its energy security

Granting Southeast Asian vessels safe passage through the strait allows Iran to come across as a diplomatic good guy, analysts say.

Cambodia’s scam industry exodus, Jollibee’s diaspora effect: 7 Asia highlights

From Cambodia’s scam industry exodus to Jollibee’s meaning to overseas Filipinos, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

A US$19 billion scam industry is fleeing Cambodia. Where will it end up?

Scam bosses and their multibillion-dollar crime networks are fleeing to Myanmar, Laos and Thailand ahead of an April deadline.

Singapore seizes record Asian pangolin scales disguised as ‘dried fish skin’

The scales – estimated to be from more than 2,200 pangolins – were found after officials intercepted an inbound truck carrying sea cargo.

‘Getting worse each day’: why Southeast Asia is vulnerable to the fuel crisis

From Laos to Thailand, long queues are forming at petrol stations while residents are reeling from surging fuel prices.

Opinion | As Iran war fallout hits Southeast Asia, US is losing influence to China

Video | Cambodian man deported to Africa by Trump administration