The new Cambodia

• Source: Global Times
• [00:06 July 24 2009]
• Comments

 Chinese characters can be seen on the shop signs throughout Phnom Penh.

By Ren Jianmin in Phnom Penh

Cambodia, a country almost destroyed by prolonged conflict and war, has now entered a new era of rapid growth and development.

In the last two years alone, tremendous changes have taken place in the country. There are more modern buildings in Phnom Penh and more luxury cars on the street. The whole country is in a growth rush.

The prevalence of the greenback

One of the most impressive changes is the growing popularity of the US dollar. From hotels to grocery stores, nearly all transactions involve the dollar. Flight tickets, items in the supermarket and even pedicabs on the streets can be paid for with the currency.

The dollar is so much more popular than the local currency, the riel, that if you want to pay with riels in a supermarket, clerks have to calculate it back to dollars, making the local currency almost alien.

Besides the US dollar, the Thai baht is another hard currency in Cambodia with which you can buy virtually everything.

According to the locals, the prevalence of the US dollar began in the 1990s when the riel depreciated badly due to inflation. A foreign-exchange law that was passed in that period lifted restrictions on the circulation, transfer and international remittance of the American currency.

Cambodians believed that by skipping the exchange between the dollar and the riel, they wouldn’t be affected by unstable exchange rates.

However, the freelance use of US dollar also offsets the adjustment function of Cambodia’s central bank. The government introduced a universal currency, but hasn’t been received as well as hoped.

The popularity of Chinese

Shops across the country use Chinese signs. And from Phnom Penh to rural areas, clerks in hotels can speak Chinese.

A manager from a Chinese-funded company said, “I was able to speak Lao after spending two years in Laos. H o w ever, I still can’t speak Cambodian after living here for three years. There are too many people speaking Chinese.”

According to local statistics, there are more than 80 Chinese schools in Cambodia. The Duan Hoa Chinese School in Phnom Penh alone holds more than 100,000 students. Khmers also attend such schools.

Meanwhile, there are three Chinese newspapers in Phnom Penh, including the Cambodia Sin Chew Daily, which is funded by the Malaysian Sin Chew Daily. And some cable TV channels, such as HBO, are subtitled in Chinese, not Cambodian.