Cambodian postal sector laws under review

In another announcement on Government draft law amendments, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) has said it is reviewing and revising a draft law on the Cambodian postal sector. According to the Phnom Penh Post, the law is expected to be finalised before the end 2020 and Ministry undersecretary of state and working group leader Huot Chanyareth said the 20-year-old postal law was being updated to "meet the needs of regulators, operators and customers." All courier services operating in Cambodia will be subject to the new regulations once they come into effect. There are said to be three major changes:

• The State can ensure effective control for licensed companies.
• Increased government tax revenue.
• Service providers and recipients will gain mutual trust.

The postal law was enacted while Cambodian State was in control of all postal businesses before a revised regulation of the service in 2011 was issued. That is when Post Cambodia, which is the only State-run carrier, was formed. The current Law on Posts was passed in 2002 and applies to all Cambodian postal services, express delivery services, postal remittance services, delivery services via telecommunication images and postal services upon request -regardless of whether the delivery of goods is done by land, sea or air. Cambodia Post Office in Phnom Penh

Cambodia Postal services

In 2020, there are more than 40 postal service providers licensed in Cambodia. These include DHL, TNT, ZTO, UPS and Kerry Express Cambodia, "while others have not registered with the ministry but are operating every day" Chanyareth said. In March 2020, it was reported that 43 postal service licences had been issued by the MPT to private companies. This has increased competition in the local market as there were only 20 licensed operators in Cambodia in 2017. Cambodia Post has distribution partners in 192 countries but had to halt international postal services earlier in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, some of the international couriers were still able to carry out limited services. From a business point of view, the postal services in Cambodia have been cited as being quite expensive and less reliable compared to neighbouring SEA countries. Although Cambodia Post has vastly improved its services in recent years, offering courier tracking and, electronic payments and express services. Canadia Bank is a 50 per cent shareholder, followed by Fullerton Bank with 45 per cent and Cambodia Post with 5 per cent.

Cambodia Post revenues

• 2016: $9 million
• 2017: $8.5 million
• 2018: $13.81 million
• 2019: $11 million