Cambodia & Economy: 2024, decline in business start-ups

In the initial 11 months of 2024, the number of business creations decreased by nearly 20% in comparison with the same period in 2023. Concurrently, the number of business closures during the initial 11 months of this year augmented by almost 30% in comparison with the same period last year.

Despite this relative slowdown in new registrations and the increase in closures, a sharp rise in investment projects entering the market suggests that 2025 is likely to improve conditions for new business start-ups in the Kingdom.

According to data recently published by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), 9,530 new company registrations were accepted by the authority in the first 11 months of 2024. This figure represents a fall of around 17% compared with the same period last year.

Over the same period, company closures totalled 1,284, an increase of almost 33% on the same period in 2023. In terms of the types of businesses registered in 2024, private companies and foreign trading companies experienced the most marked slowdown, while joint ventures and limited companies showed greater stability and even growth in registrations compared with the records of 2023.In terms of new company registrations in 2024, private companies saw the biggest drop compared to the previous year, with a decrease of around 32%.

A similar trend was observed in the number of foreign trading company registrations, which fell by around 17%.

Meanwhile, joint venture registrations remained stable compared to previous periods. The MoC data also indicates an increase in companies seeking financial support during 2024. Applications for capital reserves increased by around 10 % in the first 11 months of the year, with 6,532 businesses seeking financial support.

However, while there was an overall increase, individual enterprise reserve capital applications dropped by around 33 percent, totalling 5,321.

Although business registrations have seen a slight dip thus far this year, positive growth in incoming investment projects suggests that 2025 will see a boost in new startups.

The Cambodia Development Council (CDC) approved 414 investment projects in 2024, with a total investment of almost $7 billion, an increase of almost $2 billion compared to the previous year.

This represents a substantial increase of 54 %, or 146 projects, compared to the previous year, when a total of only 268 projects were approved.

The total investment of the 414 projects was approximately $6.9 billion, marking a significant 40 percent increase from the $4.92 billion recorded in 2023.