Philippine Chamber of Commerce launches in Cambodia

Phnom Penh — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (PhilCham Cambodia) was formally launched on 21 January 2021 in the presence of over 100 guests from Philippine, Cambodian and foreign companies in Cambodia. Among the Philippine companies that participated were Philippine Airlines, Liwayway, Yellow Cab, and Century Pacific.

Also in attendance were Filipino entrepreneurs and executives working at Cambodian and multinational companies, and the Executive Directors of the American, Australian and British Chambers of Commerce.

The program featured short remarks from PhilCham Cambodia President Benilda Custodio Fernando, Assurance Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers (Cambodia) Ltd., and Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson and Undersecretary of State Sovicheat Penn. Third Secretary and Vice Consul Frances Louissa Cleofas delivered the remarks on behalf of the Embassy.

Prior to the launch, the Board of Directors and the Executive Secretary of PhilCham Cambodia paid a courtesy call on Ambassador Maria Amelita Aquino on 15 January to introduce PhilCham Cambodia and discuss their plans and programs. Ambassador Aquino lauded the group for their initiatives and cited PhilCham as the Embassy’s partner in promoting trade and investment between the Philippines and Cambodia.

PhilCham Cambodia began in 2016 as an informal Network for sharing information and best practices on doing business in Cambodia among Philippine business owners and Filipino executives based in Cambodia. In August 2020, a total of eight Filipinos volunteered to become the founding members, Board of Directors and Secretariat of PhilCham Cambodia, namely Ms. Benilda Custodio Fernando, Ms. Sundee Viñas, Mr. Ronald Almera, Mr. Jay Ian Capungan, Mr. Romyr Libo-on, Mr. Ben Betonio, Ms. Maria Rowena Medina, and Ms. Ninja Flor Ricaforte.

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