As 2024 draws nearer, confidence is returning that the coming months will generate activity essential for a healthy property sector as foreign investment returns to pre-pandemic levels.
The presence of apparent current empty stock, combined with that yet to enter the market, long-term investment is still appealing to foreign investors in this largely stable market.
Many agree that Cambodia weathered the pandemic well and, despite a glut of stock, quality projects will do well as sophisticated investors expect more from developers.
Even so, some quality projects remain vacant, suggesting that investors are no longer just looking for immediate returns, but for capital growth.
Many off-plan projects, such as Odom in Phnom Penh and Rose Apple Square in Siem Reap, offer attractive payment and GRR plans.
Such projects offer investors easy and stress-free opportunities due to ongoing reliable property management and the ability to attract and retain long-term tenants.
The opportunities of extended rental yield, coupled with long-term capital gain is a genuine shift away from the property flipping mentality previously expected with Phnom Penh property.
Regardless, the situation in the capital has people looking elsewhere, such as outer city, provincial, and beachfront locations.
Investors know that, as Cambodia develops, land prices will continue to increase and that better returns are more likely to come from a lower cost base.
The elephant in the room needs to be addressed, which are the global macro factors throughout Asia and the rest of the world.
Global inflation, China’s deflation, geopolitics associated with the Ukraine invasion, BRICS and other regional tensions are impacting on investor sentiment.
In particular, investors in various ASEAN, Middle Eastern and Western countries are looking bullish as they scour the globe, looking for safe, but lucrative opportunities.
Other investment opportunities:
Tourism
Prior to COVID, Cambodia positioned itself as a ‘go to’ destination for tourism, but international arrivals dropped 67% between 2019 and 2022 due to pandemic restrictions.
In November 2021, Cambodia was the first country in Southeast Asia to reopen its borders and, since then has seen an overall rise in tourism.
In concert, there was an unexpected but notable rise in domestic tourism. This has created new investment opportunities, especially in ecotourism.
With improvements in road and air connectivity to key destinations, coupled with decreasing air travel prices, tourists now stay longer and spend more in the Kingdom.
Agriculture
Cambodia’s agricultural sector also presents good opportunities for investors looking to capitalize, especially in value-added processing in crops, aquaculture, livestock, and feed.
This includes investing in seed, fertilizer, pesticide, and mechanization and automation technologies as well as logistics and infrastructure, such as transportation, storage, and irrigation.
The rice, cashew, pepper and other rural industries present opportunities for domestic and foreign investment and procurement.
Additional opportunities reside in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and finance in the agricultural sector that aim to improve supply chain management efficiencies.
Energy
With an increased focus on regulation, transparency and efficiency in the energy market, entities like Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) are looking to invest more in renewable energy.
This in turn presents opportunities for companies to provide energy-saving solutions for buildings and business operations. This includes the provision of broad energy solutions including financing options.
The high cost of energy in Cambodia continues to pose a challenge for foreign direct investment, particularly for manufacturing. As a result, many companies choose assembly over full manufacturing to keep costs down.
There are also opportunities for solar and wind energy, with an estimated $6.8 billion investment needed in solar and wind energy in Cambodia.
Information and communications technology (ICT)
Cambodia’s push toward a digital society is tangible. The ICT sector is primed to improve its network efficiency as it migrates from MPLS to SDN for better Quality of Experience (QoE), cost-benefits, and speeds.
The growing demand for more cloud options, security investments and data storage presents numerous opportunities for growth in the ICT sector.
The growing adoption of AI, IoT, robotics, and Wi-Fi is driving digitalization and the need for strategic execution of advanced digital technologies.
In terms of investment, there are plenty of opportunities in strategic projects such as the SEA Games, airports, and especially data centres.
Conclusion
As taxation and compliance laws mature, other industries investors are taking note of are – professional services such as finance, accounting, auditing, advertising, health services and insurance.
From a property perspective, this means an increased focus on smart homes, commercial property, health services, personal and digital safety.
Consumers are looking for better experiences and the local market has the money and the smarts.
Don’t be fooled, this small nation is on the rise and systemic changes are creating new, non-traditional opportunities almost daily.
The future is definitely here and Cambodia is the right place.
Real estate sector embarks on the road to recovery
In 2023, is property worth investing in Cambodia?
