Paper Tree (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., a plantation and wood chipping company with various pre-existing horticulture operations across Cambodian provinces, has unveiled plans to register its projects with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) to gain qualified investor status.
The move looks to expand the Thailand-headquartered company’s cooperation on forestry investments with local investors in Cambodia.
The announcement followed a meeting last week between representatives of the firm and Nuth Un Vanra, Deputy Secretary-General of the Cambodian Investment Committee at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), who consulted the company on the council’s registration process.
Paper Tree (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Thai-based company, Paper Tree Holding Co., Ltd. The company has established operations in Cambodia since 2013.
The company oversees plantations and other works in Cambodian province’s neighbouring Thailand, including Banteay Meanchey, Battambang and Pailin.
During the meeting with the investment committee last week, Yuenyong Subsaud, Director of Paper Tree (Cambodia) Co., Ltd, detailed the company’s ongoing investments in Cambodia’s tree planting sector to members of the CDC’s Cambodian Investment Committee, particularly in border provinces.
Subsaud said that the company’s operations in Cambodia currently include nursery establishment, tree planting, factory setup and wood chip production for export.
Primarily the Cambodian-based firm manages eucalyptus tree plantations and other timber sourcing mechanisms in provincial areas for onward processing post-export.
The harvested eucalyptus wood is then grinded into pulp in Cambodia for export to Thailand where it is used in the manufacturing of paper and other products.
In the meeting with CDC officials, Subsaud expressed the company’s intention to register its projects with the council in order to increase collaboration with local investors to expand industrial timber plantations in Cambodia.
In response, Deputy Secretary-General of the Committee Un Vanra welcomed the company’s investment plans in the forestry and horticulture sector.
Un Vanra provided detailed guidance on registration procedures to the company’s management in attendance, including incentives and protections available for investors in Cambodia under the investment programs offered by the CDC.
Pursuant to the Law on Investment 2021, a QIP is an investment project that has received a Final Registration Certificate (FRC) from the CDC and is therefore entitled to receive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from the Cambodian Investment Board (CIB).
Such projects are given incentives to operate in Cambodia as they are seen as having a positive impact on the economy.
The three categories of QIPs in Cambodia include ‘domestic qualified investment projects’, ‘export qualified investment projects’ and ‘supporting industry qualified investment projects.’
Foreign companies that are registered as QIPs can benefit from either a special tax exemption or a special tax depreciation.
Since this month, investors are also now able to register qualified investment projects (QIP) for assessment by the CDC through the ‘QIP Online’ mechanism accessible at the URL: qip.cdc.gov.kh.
The QIP Online system allows investors to apply for their QIP registration at the CDC more easily, faster and more transparently, whether physically present in Cambodia or not.
The increased ease of access to the registration process through the new online mechanism is part of the CDC’s efforts to modernize its investment project registration system to attract more investors and improve the ease of doing business for ongoing beneficial investors.
The recent digitalization of the QIP system is also in accordance with key priorities of the 7th-mandate Royal Government of Cambodia, which prioritizes both digital society reforms and increased investment. khmertimeskh
