Low marks for Cambodia’s efforts to combat illicit trade
Cambodia ranked third-worst for illicit trade out of 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region in a recently released index by the Economist Intelligence Unit that analysed governments’ abilities to combat illegal trade operations. The report, commissioned by the European Chamber of Commerce of Singapore, reviewed countries under four categories: intellectual property rights, transparency and trade, customs environment and supply and demand. Cambodia was given an overall score of 23.9 on a weighted scale of 100, while Laos scored 12.9 and Myanmar came last with 10.8. At the other end, Australia had a top score of 85.2. “Not surprisingly, the region’s poorer economies – Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar – sit at the bottom of the rankings,” the report said, adding that poorer countries will continue to be plagued by budgetary constraints that make it difficult to implement necessary reforms.
