China-Cambodia Ties: Overseas investments stimulate Cambodian economic growth

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As campaigning in Cambodia's election gets underway, the ruling Cambodian People's Party has made much of recent economic growth. The country is now seeing annual GDP growth of approximately seven percent. A large part of the stimulus is coming from overseas, and one source in particular, as Tony Cheng reports from Phnom Penh.

A green patchwork of fields, as you see all across Cambodia, a country whose economy is still rooted in agriculture, but things are changing fast.

TONY CHENG PHNOM PENH "These lush green paddy fields are the same you see all over the Cambodian countryside, but this area is soon to be dramatically transformed. Early next year construction will start on Phnom Penh's new airport, and when completed it will take over 2,600 hectares to make up the 9th largest airport in the world."

Already the land is being bought up by developers and prices are rising, much to the irritation of those who sold early.

EEM FARMER "I got 4 dollars per square meter and now villagers are getting 15 to 20 dollars. I'm not very happy about it."

But others see new opportunities opening up as Cambodia develops.

Vital infrastructure projects, like the new airport, are being made possible with investment that's flowing into Cambodia.

SINN CHANSEREY VUTHA DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL, CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY "You look at the geo-economy now, ok? You can see the development pole has been shifted from Europe to the Middle East and Asia now. And we hope that this opportunity can develop our country and our economy based on the availability of resources."

Those resources are coming from China primarily and the evidence is all over Phnom Penh.

The once sleepy capital has been transformed into a bustling hub of activity with high rise housing developments and office blocks springing up across the city.

But some have expressed concern that Cambodia is over reliant on China, and if its own economy was to falter, Cambodia could suffer too.

That, says the Director of the Cambodian Development Council, is not a major concern, as Japan, Korea and Thailand are also heavy investors in Cambodia., but he also points out that the current wave of money, is a result of initial investments made years ago.

SOK CHENDA SOPHEA CAMBODIAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL "I used to receive visitors in the morning because I wasn't sure if I'd have electricity in the afternoon. Then at one point, because there were a certain number of garment factories, the majority of them Chinese, then investors came and put money in to produce electricity. It just so happened that those investors were Chinese."

For ordinary Cambodians the question of where the money originates doesn't seem to be a problem, they're just happy to see the impact it's having on their economy. Tony Cheng, CGTN, Phnom Penh.