Prime Minister Hun Manet yesterday said that the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) is in the final stage of negotiations with the Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD Company Limited to establish an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing factory in the Kingdom.
Presiding over the graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), Mr Hun Manet said that the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) is making earnest efforts to drive economic growth and those who say that we have done nothing are not using their eyes.
Dismissing the recent criticism emanting from some quarters on the government’s performance, Mr Hun Manet said that Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice-Chairman of CDC, is finalising the negotiation with BYD to invest in the establishment of the EV manufacturing plant in Cambodia.
“We may be aware that BYD is a giant Chinese company specialising in EV production, comparable to Tesla, the largest EV manufacturer in the United States.”
The latest discussion between both two sides on Wednesday is expected to create a fruitful outcome next year, the Premier added.
“Now, we [Cambodia] also have the Toyota factory from Japan that I went to inaugurate early this year and the Ford company the previous year along with many more car manufacturing companies.”
He emphasised that to enhance competitiveness, we cannot rely solely on the garment sector which has been the focus since the 1990s. If this continues, we risk falling behind other countries.
Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen our skillsets to attract new types of investments.
Mr Hun Manet pointed out that investors frequently ask him whether Cambodia has the human resources to operate the investment projects. He explained that while opening a garment factory does not require highly skilled workers, the car manufacturing sector demands specialised knowledge and expertise.
“Amid the economic tension between powerful countries, many foreign investors are shifting their companies to new locations. Recently, I met a group of businessmen from the US, EU and Japan and they often asked what are the potential resources in Cambodia and how is the development of human resources in the sector they wanted to invest?”
I responded that Cambodia has two separate human resources such as graduates with certification and vocational trainees across various fields but the most important issue is we can provide flexible human resources based on their demand, he added.
On the flexibility of the workforce, the Premier explained that Cambodians possess a strong foundation of basic skills, and with additional training, they will be well-equipped to contribute effectively as per investors’ requirements.
Speaking to Khmer Times, Natharoun Ngo Son, Country Director of EnergyLab said, “BYD has impressively positioned its brand as a globally recognised EV market leader (producing fully electric Car-Battery Electric Vehicles-BEV, and Hybrid Electric Vehicles-PHEV).
“Unlike Tesla, BYD manufactures hybrid cars that still use internal combustion engines, BYD sales on battery-only cars (BEV) have surpassed Tesla for the time at the end of 2023 (even though Tesla is still leading the BEV market share).”
He said that if a global brand like BYD chose to open a manufacturing factory in the country, it would be excellent news for Cambodia. An EV manufacturing factory can require, depending on the factory production chain structure, a more advanced skilled workforce compared to an assembling factory.
“This means it will provide an excellent opportunity to reskill or upskill the Cambodian workforce and offer new types of jobs for young Cambodians at higher income levels than other lower-value-added sectors,” he explained.
Natharoun pointed out that EnergyLab will launch a new skills development programme in early 2025 and one of its main goals is to produce a qualified Cambodian workforce dedicated to the EV sector growth.
It would be interesting to anticipate what BYD foresees as training requirements, and how some of those could be addressed within our new skills development programmes, along with other international EV brands’ needs operating in Cambodia,” the Country Director added.
