Questions we answer
Common questions about entering and investing in Cambodia
Short answers to the questions we are asked most often, each pointing to the guide that covers it in full. Every answer is dated and sourced.
How do I enter the Cambodian market?
Four routes work: export directly, appoint a distributor, open a branch, or incorporate a local company. Each has a different cost, timeline and risk profile, and the right order is usually to test demand with exports, add a distributor once volume justifies local stock, and incorporate when you need your own legal entity, your own licence or access to investment incentives.
How do I find a distributor in Cambodia?
Define your criteria first, then source candidates from several independent channels rather than one list, verify each one on documents, references and a site visit, and introduce a shortlist. Directories show who exists; they do not show who performs, who is financially sound or who will stock your product.
How do I register a company in Cambodia?
Through the Ministry of Commerce, usually online through the Single Portal, which states eight working days for business registration when documents are complete. The document list is specific: a land title or lease for the registered address, the director’s Cambodian identity card, articles of association, and the parent company documents for a foreign company.
Can I register a Cambodian company from abroad?
Yes, through an accredited agent, and the Single Portal is entirely online. It does require Cambodian-situation documents: a land title or lease for the registered address, the director’s Cambodian identity card and the articles of association. The directors and shareholders have to be identified in the register, and the annual declaration has to be filed every year afterwards.
How much does it cost to set up a company in Cambodia?
The Ministry of Commerce charges KHR 1,680,000 to incorporate a private limited company when the name has been reserved separately, or KHR 1,720,000 when it is reserved in the same application, plus KHR 40,000 for the reservation. Tax, labour, any Qualified Investment Project fee and professional fees sit on top, and the year-one compliance stack has to be budgeted as well.
How long does it take to set up a Cambodian company?
The Single Portal states eight working days for business registration itself. That is the registration, not the whole process: licences, product approvals, the annual declaration cycle and, where relevant, Qualified Investment Project registration each run on their own clock around it, and professional work takes longer than the filing does.
Do I need a Cambodian partner to sell in Cambodia?
Usually not. A Cambodian limited company can generally be 100% foreign-owned, so a local shareholder is not legally required for most activities. The exception is land: a company that owns land must have at least 51% Cambodian voting shares, and some sectors carry restrictions of their own.
Do I need to register as a Qualified Investment Project?
Only if you want the investment incentives. A QIP registration gives access to an income tax holiday of three to nine years, or expenditure-based relief, and it comes with obligations: semester and annual reporting to the CDC, an external audit, and a Certificate of Compliance. Register without them if the incentives do not outweigh that.
How do I import goods into Cambodia?
Through the General Department of Customs and Excise: a pre-arrival check for any product that needs assessment, commercial documents, a declaration, payment of duty, specific tax and 10% import VAT, then release. The order matters, and a company registered to trade is the entity that can import and resell.
What are the import duty rates in Cambodia?
Four general ad valorem bands: 0%, 7%, 15% and 35%, depending on the tariff classification, with a specific tax on some goods and 10% import VAT on top. Look your code up yourself in the National Trade Repository, and check the FTA portal for the preferential rate your origin may qualify for.
Can I get zero duty on US goods?
Yes, under Prakas No. 632 of 8 August 2025, but only for goods that originate in the United States, are directly consigned to Cambodia, and are not used goods. The implementing instruction sets the evidence required, including the origin declaration lodged on the customs platform.
Do I need a work permit to employ foreign staff in Cambodia?
Yes. Foreign workers are capped at 10% of your local workforce, split 3% office, 6% skilled and 1% unskilled, and the annual quota window runs from 1 September to 30 November. Each person needs a work permit, and the permit comes before the work visa, although an initial visa valid for about 30 days supports the first application.
What is the minimum wage in Cambodia?
USD 210 per month for textile, garment, footwear and travel goods workers from 1 January 2026, with the probationary rate at USD 208. Statutory allowances sit on top: transport or accommodation USD 7, attendance USD 10, a meal allowance of USD 0.50 a day for overtime workers, and a seniority bonus of USD 2 to 11.
Can a foreign company own land in Cambodia?
No. Land may be held by Cambodian citizens or by a Cambodian entity with at least 51% Cambodian voting shares. Foreign investors use registered leases, economic land concessions, or a compliant landholding structure, and the title has to be checked by a lawyer you appointed before anything is signed.
How do I lease land for a factory in Cambodia?
Through a registered lease or an economic land concession. The Land Law provides for perpetual leases of at least fifteen and up to fifty years, renewable, and concessions are used for larger investment projects. Check the title, any mortgage over it, the zoning and the licence for your activity before you sign, and register the lease so it is enforceable against a third party.
Which special economic zone should I choose in Cambodia?
Choose on logistics, power and water reliability, the labour pool and the licences your activity needs, not on the headline incentive, because the incentives follow the project’s CDC registration rather than the address. There were 35 operational zones in 11 of Cambodia’s 25 provinces as at March 2026, and the published counts differ because sources count approved and operational zones differently.
Is there a commercial court in Cambodia?
No. As at March 2026 the commercial court had still not launched, so enforcement runs through negotiation, Ministry of Commerce or Chamber of Commerce facilitation, or arbitration at the National Commercial Arbitration Centre, whose awards are recognised and enforced in Cambodia. Contracts should be drafted for that route, in both languages.
How do I enforce a contract with a Cambodian supplier?
Decree No. 38 on Contracts governs contractual enforcement. In practice you document what is owed, use a staged escalation with a named contact and a timetable, and keep arbitration or mediation available in the contract itself, with a bilingual text and a defined forum and governing law.
How do I close a Cambodian company?
Liquidation involves the tax authority and the Ministry of Commerce, with published fees, and it takes time. If you only want to stop trading, dormancy is the route, but it is a filing rather than an absence of activity: the annual declaration, the patent tax and the accounting obligations continue.
How do I verify a Cambodian company before I sign?
Check the Ministry of Commerce register for name, number, address, activity and shareholders, confirm the annual declaration has been filed each year, ask for the patent tax receipt and tax clearance, and check any land against the land title. Then ask who signs, how the counterparty is paid, and whether any commission is being paid to a third party.
How do I open a corporate bank account in Cambodia?
You need a tax identification number, the incorporation and business registration documents, and the paid-up capital the bank requires. Cambodian banks will also ask about the company’s activities and its expected transaction profile, and the account is usually opened in the company’s name with the directors as signatories. Practical experience varies by bank, so ask the bank for its document list before you travel.
How big is the Cambodian market?
Cambodia had 17,847,982 people in 2025, with real GDP growth of 5.3% and a 2026 forecast of 3.9%. Consumer demand is smaller and more urban than the population implies, because modern trade is concentrated in a few cities, so size the category with import data and then test it against what the channel can physically absorb.
What is the corporate income tax rate in Cambodia?
20% for medium and large taxpayers and permanent establishments, with progressive rates from 0% to 20% for small taxpayers and 30% for oil, gas and certain minerals. A 1% minimum tax on turnover also applies, except to enterprises maintaining proper accounting records, and a Qualified Investment Project can have an income tax holiday of three to nine years.
Should I choose Cambodia, Vietnam or Thailand?
Vietnam has the largest market and the deepest incentives at 17% for ten years, Thailand has the most predictable tax holiday regime at zero corporate income tax for three to thirteen years, and Cambodia has the lowest garment wage floor at USD 210 a month. The deciding factor is usually where your customers are, what your inputs are and how you intend to leave.
What are the main risks of investing in Cambodia in 2026?
AMRO cut its 2026 growth forecast to 3.9% in October, from 4.2% in July, and expects cross-border activity with Thailand to stay suspended. Non-performing loans at deposit-taking institutions were 8.3% at the end of 2025, and a severe El Nino is a downside risk to agriculture, which is 16.1% of GDP.
What is a patent tax in Cambodia?
It is the annual business licence tax, charged per activity and due 31 March, with a 50% discount in the first year after registration. A company trading in two activities can owe two patent taxes. It is a small number compared with the compliance stack around it, and it is a useful due diligence signal because payment evidence shows a company has been filing on time.
Do I need licences or certification to sell in Cambodia?
It depends on the product. Food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electrical and electronic goods go through pre-arrival assessment by CamControl, and other activities need licences from the relevant ministry or a certificate of conformity. Product labelling and barcode requirements add to the list. Check the licence checklist for your activity before you ship.
What should I bring to a first meeting about entering Cambodia?
Your product, price point and landed cost, the customers you sell to today, the volume you could move in the first year, the licences your activity needs, and the decision you have to make. A useful brief also states what you would consider a failure, because it stops the conversation drifting towards an answer you will regret.