New unit to fix prosthetics

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Cambodia announced yesterday the launch of a new mobile workshop that repairs prosthetics for the disabled in Siem Reap province.

“A mobile workshop – a transformed van equipped with a wide range of modern mobility equipment to provide servicing and repairs for mobility devices of people with disability – is now operating in Siem Reap province,” a Facebook post from the ICRC read.

The mobile workshop, which was launched last week, is travelling around Siem Reap making repairs and adjustments to mobility devices free of charge. The mini-bus is operated out of the Siem Reap Provincial Physical Rehabilitation Centre, with the goal of setting up similar mobile repair shops in Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear by 2017.

ICRC, which differs from the Cambodian Red Cross headed by the prime minister’s wife, Bun Rany, is currently overseeing the project with help from the Ministry of Social Affairs, but intends for the ministry to take full responsibility of the program at some point.

“This is the very first [prosthetics repair] van ever in Cambodia,” Ministry of Social Affairs Secretary of State Sem Sokha was quoted as saying in the ICRC’s Facebook post.

Bart Vermeiren, ICRC head of mission, told the Post that other efforts have been made to bring repair services directly to people with disabilities, but he said this one is more technologically advanced.

“It’s much cheaper and more efficient. It can be set up in 10 minutes,” Vermeiren explained. “There’s nothing magic about it, it’s just good technology,” he added.

Vermeiren also said his organisation is working on implementing a system to alert patients by SMS when the van is in their village.

Man, wife arrested for visa forgery allegations

A husband and wife from Banteay Meanchey province have been arrested in a joint operation between Cambodian and Thai police after the husband was caught allegedly crafting fake visas for Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand.

The pair were arrested on Friday after Thai police apprehended two workers at the border the day before who were carrying passports with counterfeited visas.

Police then laid a trap for the alleged forgers by asking the two visa bearers to call the husband, Yann Chantorn, 29, and arrange a meeting at a market across the Thai border.

He was then arrested, while his wife, Seng Ly, was arrested in their Poipet commune home, where police confiscated 23 passports and 14 faked stamps.

Banteay Meanchey deputy provincial police chief Oum Sophal, who could not confirm if Ly was actively involved in the scheme, said Chantorn had been masterminding fraud for the past two years, charging 8,000 baht ($227) per visa.

Moeun Tola, executive director of labour rights group Central, warned that vulnerable migrants could be “doubly victimised” by passport and visa fraud.

“First they are victimised by being trafficked by the illegal broker . . . And they fall victim again if they are arrested and jailed [with fake documents acquired by the broker],” he said.

“[The Cambodian migrants] often know nothing about whether it is legal or illegal.”

Wife, neighbour held in taxi driver’s murder

A woman and her alleged accomplice were sent to court yesterday after being accused of murdering the woman’s husband and dumping his body in a canal in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district.

Ly Sophana, spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said that the two suspects were sent to court yesterday morning.

“Municipal military police sent the suspects and case to the court already, and they are being interrogated,” Sophana said.

The victim, Kao Pha, 48, was a taxi driver with four children from Svay Rieng province. A military police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kao’s wife, Sao Sam Oeun, 46, had hired their neighbour to kill her husband for having an affair with another woman.

On October 13, her neighbour, Sou Pha, 30, allegedly killed her husband for $1,000 after pretending to need a taxi ride to Siem Reap.

The accused allegedly beat his victim to death before driving the body to Phnom Penh and dumping it into a waste canal where it was found the next day.

Spokesmen for the military police could not be reached for comment yesterday.

However, according to a post from the national military police Facebook page, Pha confessed to the murder.

“He secretly put a substance into his juice for the victim to drink and fall asleep. He then attacked him from behind,” the post reads.

Tower sharing for greater efficiency

Infrastructure makes up a substantial proportion of mobile network operators’ capital investments and a large chunk of their operating costs. One way for operators to reduce these costs is to share infrastructure with other operators, letting an independent tower company, or towerco, manage the tower network while they focus on their core business of data transmission and customer service. The Post’s Cam McGrath spoke recently to Suresh Sidhu, CEO of Edotco Group, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based Axiata that operates 70,000 towers in six Asian countries, about how the towerco business model works.

What infrastructure services does an independent tower company (towerco) provide?

Quite simply, we in the industry call this passive infrastructure. It’s mainly building the mast, the structure and the foundation, while the antennae belong to the operators. Our job is to build a tower, rent a tower, and sometimes provide power and a shelter where we keep the equipment. That’s it.

What is your revenue model?

The main revenue we get is rental from our tenants. Our leaseback model is essentially: I agree to pay you X to buy your towers, I will run them, and in return you will pay me Y a month.

All parties share the benefits of more than one operator on the tower. Typically, in the model, the more tenants per tower, the rates go down for everyone. I think this is the classic model for building long-term lock-in, but also long-term win-win solutions. If you come to our tower and you’re a second tenant you’ll probably get a slightly better price than if you were the first tenant alone. However the first tenant also gets a slightly better price as well. The more towers you take from us the more your price drops over time as well.

What other revenue streams do you have?

In Cambodia, the revenue is nearly all lease revenue. In other countries, we have some managed service revenues. We may, for example, provide operations and maintenance services in excess of the normal tower, but all services are linked around the tower.

We have a very focused business model and I take great pains with the team to remind them to stay tower-centric. We’re a telecom infrastructure company, let’s not get too distracted.

So we’ll build buy and operate towers, we’ll lease them out to tenants, we’ll build services around those towers – for example, we could provide energy or active operations and field services, or even provide fibre connectivity – but we’re not going to get into the wholesale fibre business or selling equipment.

How is the tower rental cost calculated?

We have to make sure that the cost that we offer is cheaper than the cost for operators to do it by themselves. In this case, the secret sauce comes from two things: The more people share the more you can amortise some of the costs for operators, and secondly, the more focused you are the more efficient you get at doing it.

For the operator, it’s about lowest cost of ownership over time. For us, it’s about maximising the number of things we can have per tower.

Is there also a sharing model for the energy systems of the towers?

Right now there is one energy system for each operator per tower, and we don’t think that is very efficient. Maybe that could be the next opportunity, both for us for growth, but also for a bit more efficiency between the operators.

How many towers does Edotco have in Cambodia, and how many of those did you build?

We have 1,870 out of around 9,000 in total, so about 20 percent of installed towers in the market. We acquired these towers from Smart, but we started building our own towers this year. I think by year-end, maybe 100 will have been built by us, and we plan to build another 100 by early next year.

Have you convinced the other major mobile network operators (MNOs) to share your towers?

They take some towers from us, but very few. In Cambodia, Smart is our anchor tenant. We essentially are buying the towers from them and offering those towers out to all parties. To an anchor, normally, it’s a sale and leaseback. You agree on a rate and you try and then make income and profit from selling it to more tenants over time. The anchor has to get comfortable that it’s an open infrastructure model, and that other people, including competitors, will come to the site and use it.

Now what’s happened in Cambodia is there’s been huge interest from all the new entrants. The existing MNOs have been a lot slower, but we’re hoping that over the next 12 months we can establish a better relationship with Metfone and Cellcard.

Thieves rob Takeo voter registration location

Thieves rob Takeo voter registration location

Police in Takeo province’s Prey Kabbas district are investigating the theft of equipment from a Prey Lvea commune voter registration office on Thursday.

National Election Committee voter registration department head Top Rithy said the thief or thieves broke the building’s lock and swiped all but the registration laptops, which are stored off site as the office has no electricity to charge the machines.

Calling it “the first of its kind”, Rithy said the theft – which netted a computer monitor, digital camera, fingerprint scanner, flash drive, network cables and a portable charger – did not affect the registration process.

The data on the laptops remained secure and the NEC’s provincial office quickly re-supplied their commune counterparts, he said.

Reached yesterday, Prey Kabbas district police chief Chum Cheoun said officers were investigating the break-in. He said it appeared the intruders had rifled through boxes in the building looking for valuables.

“The officials discovered the theft about 7am the next day,” he said.

“Our brothers had locked the door, but on the night they were not on guard . . . they were careless because it was raining.”

The NEC is currently working to register Cambodia’s 9.6 million eligible voters on new digital lists before the end of next month.

Rithy, of the NEC, said the body often reminded its staff to be cautious of theft.

“The NEC has issued much guidance for its officials and constantly reminds them to be on alert,” he said.

PM bodyguard held over raid on Forestry Administration

The Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court on Saturday detained a captain in the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit on a months-old charges of obstructing a Forestry Administration official after he and a gang of alleged accomplices illegally retrieved his vehicle from impound more than two years ago, according to court spokesman Long Sitha.

Captain Lun Leng’s car was allegedly impounded by Forestry Administration officials with a load full of illegal timber in late 2013, said Sitha, who noted Leng’s charges were not for the transportation of forest products. Rather, Leng was charged in July over his alleged participation in the raid by himself and nine others on January 2, 2014 on the provincial Forestry Administration depot to retrieve the confiscated car.

“When they arrived, they did not ask [permission],” Sitha said. “They pulled the wood out and drove the car away.”

If found guilty, Leng faces between one and five years in prison, as well as a fine of 10 million to 100 million riel ($2,497 to $24,795). He was arrested on Friday morning while eating breakfast at a restaurant in Kampong Chhnang town’s Ba’er commune.

Asked why it took nearly three years to arrest Leng, Sitha said the case had been held up by court procedures.

Sitha said that he was still waiting for confirmation of Leng’s membership in the Bodyguard Unit from the Ministry of Defence, but did confirm the authenticity of a photo of a Bodyguard Unit ID card confiscated from Leng that identified him as a captain and was signed by the unit’s commander, Hing Bun Heang.

Bun Heang could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Forestry Administration had a busy weekend, according to postings on the agency’s Facebook page.

Officials in Preah Vihear’s Sangkum Thmei district confiscated a car loaded with 350 kilograms of rosewood in Chamroeun commune on Friday, although the driver fled the scene before they could be arrested.

In nearby Choam Ksan district, officials based at Preah Vihear temple successfully apprehended Heng Ravuth in Choam Ksan commune, whose car was alleged to have been loaded with 73 pieces of rosewood weighing a total of 383 kilograms.

In Siem Reap, provincial Forestry Administration officers stopped a truck loaded with 120 pieces of luxury wood in Svay Leu district’s Boeung Mealea commune. The post did not say whether a suspect was arrested.

Multiple Forestry Administration officials could not be reached yesterday for comment on the busts.

An Agriculture Ministry report issued this month revealed that while timber seizures have gone up dramatically in the past 12 months, the number of suspects being sent to court and fined have fallen.

PM bodyguard held over raid on Forestry Administration

The Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court on Saturday detained a captain in the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit on a months-old charges of obstructing a Forestry Administration official after he and a gang of alleged accomplices illegally retrieved his vehicle from impound more than two years ago, according to court spokesman Long Sitha.

Captain Lun Leng’s car was allegedly impounded by Forestry Administration officials with a load full of illegal timber in late 2013, said Sitha, who noted Leng’s charges were not for the transportation of forest products. Rather, Leng was charged in July over his alleged participation in the raid by himself and nine others on January 2, 2014 on the provincial Forestry Administration depot to retrieve the confiscated car.

“When they arrived, they did not ask [permission],” Sitha said. “They pulled the wood out and drove the car away.”

If found guilty, Leng faces between one and five years in prison, as well as a fine of 10 million to 100 million riel ($2,497 to $24,795). He was arrested on Friday morning while eating breakfast at a restaurant in Kampong Chhnang town’s Ba’er commune.

Asked why it took nearly three years to arrest Leng, Sitha said the case had been held up by court procedures.

Sitha said that he was still waiting for confirmation of Leng’s membership in the Bodyguard Unit from the Ministry of Defence, but did confirm the authenticity of a photo of a Bodyguard Unit ID card confiscated from Leng that identified him as a captain and was signed by the unit’s commander, Hing Bun Heang.

Bun Heang could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Forestry Administration had a busy weekend, according to postings on the agency’s Facebook page.

Officials in Preah Vihear’s Sangkum Thmei district confiscated a car loaded with 350 kilograms of rosewood in Chamroeun commune on Friday, although the driver fled the scene before they could be arrested.

In nearby Choam Ksan district, officials based at Preah Vihear temple successfully apprehended Heng Ravuth in Choam Ksan commune, whose car was alleged to have been loaded with 73 pieces of rosewood weighing a total of 383 kilograms.

In Siem Reap, provincial Forestry Administration officers stopped a truck loaded with 120 pieces of luxury wood in Svay Leu district’s Boeung Mealea commune. The post did not say whether a suspect was arrested.

Multiple Forestry Administration officials could not be reached yesterday for comment on the busts.

An Agriculture Ministry report issued this month revealed that while timber seizures have gone up dramatically in the past 12 months, the number of suspects being sent to court and fined have fallen.

Four Cambodian hostages freed after being held by Somali pirates for four years

Four Cambodian fishermen taken hostage by Somali pirates four and a half years ago touched down at Nairobi airport yesterday evening after being freed by their captors on Saturday morning.

Their ordeal began in March 2012, when fishing vessel Naham 3 was hijacked in open water south of the Seychelles, according to the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Global Maritime Crime Programme, Alan Cole, who is based in Kenya.

“[It was] brought back to a remote area of Somalia where there was no law enforcement capability. It sank, and they had to swim to shore. Three [crew members] died in the process,” Cole said yesterday.

Once ashore, the hostages were moved to Galmudug state in central Somalia, according to Leslie Edwards, a British ransom expert whose firm, Compass Risk Management, coordinated the negotiations for their release over the past 18 months.

“They were being held many kilometres from Galkayo [a city northern Galmudug] in the bush, in very bad conditions,” said Edwards, who is currently in Nairobi. “They all have long-term health conditions.”

While none of the Cambodian captives were in life-threatening condition, one received treatment on Saturday night for a months-old gunshot wound.

“One Cambodian received a gunshot wound and received treatment from a doctor in Galkayo,” Edwards said. “It’s not a life-threatening injury, it’s months old. He should be fine. I’ve seen photos and he’s been lucky, the bullet passed in and out through his foot.”

Neither Edwards nor Cole were able to comment on whether a ransom was paid for the men’s release, although both said that community members in Galkayo played a considerable role in their eventual release.

“It will be confidential; but generally speaking, the local community had a big part to play in this. When they were taken, it was expected big money would be paid; but when the vessel sank there was little chance of a ransom being paid. It’s likely the local community negotiated with pirates,” Cole said.

Edwards described the involvement of local elders and community leaders as “critical”.

“They threw their weight behind the release of the hostages because it was a smear on their community,” he said.

The hostages were not flown to Nairobi immediately after their release, as rival factions in Somalia’s ongoing civil war were exchanging artillery fire on Saturday night, preventing a plane chartered by the UNODC from reaching them, according to John Steed, regional coordinator for NGO Oceans Beyond Piracy.

Compass Risk Management’s Edwards said the hostages would receive medical checkups upon arrival in Nairobi at 6:30pm yesterday, local time (10:30pm Phnom Penh). “Any who are unfit to travel will stay here until they are,” Edwards said.

The rest will be repatriated to their home countries, according to the UNODC’s Cole, a process he said would be coordinated by a nearby Cambodian embassy for the four Cambodians.

Yesterday evening, neither of Cambodia’s ambassadors to Kuwait or Egypt were aware of the fishermen’s plight or release. The Turkish consulate – Cambodia’s next-closest diplomatic mission – was unreachable yesterday, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry did not respond to requests for comment.

However, Cole said yesterday that the fishermen’s relatives had already been contacted, although he was unable to provide the four Cambodians’ names.

The four were not the first Cambodians to be taken by Somali pirates – 15 fishermen were repatriated from the East African state in 2011. But the 26 men flown out yesterday were the last remaining hostages held by Somali pirates, Cole said.

At the peak of Somalia’s piracy epidemic, more than 750 hostages were taken, of whom, “only very small numbers were Cambodians”, he added.

Vietnam to list beer companies in quest for cash

Vietnam to list beer companies in quest for cash

Sloshed back at rowdy open-air "bia hoi" day and night, beer is Vietnam's tipple of choice and now its cash-strapped government is drawing on the nation's penchant for lager to raise billions of dollars by selling stakes in state-owned brewers.

The unprecedented divestments in two state crown jewels, the makers of the much-glugged Saigon and Hanoi beers, are expected to net as much as $2.2 billion.

The sale comes as part of long-promised reforms to privatise bloated state firms, which official figures show contributed about one third of the country's GDP last year.

It is hoped the reforms will set the communist country back on track to meet its ambitious economic targets and jumpstart growth which has slowed this year.

For Vietnam's government, beer is a logical place to start.

With a population of 93 million people, the country is one of Asia's leading swillers of beer.

Vietnamese consumed more than three billion litres of the cold stuff last year, according to Euromonitor marketing firm.

That thirst has piqued interest from foreign brewers, eager to tap growth markets at a time when sales in many developed markets in Asia are forecast to plateau.

"Vietnam has one of the fastest growing beer consumption markets in the world, and that's obviously an appeal," said Kevin Snowball, CEO of PXP Vietnam Asset Management in Ho Chi Minh City.

- Down it, down it -

The government said this month the two companies, Habeco and Sabeco, would be listed in the first three months of 2017 and would be open to local or foreign bidders.

For the Vietnamese who crowd into the open-air bia hoi markets during lunch, dinner and for some, in between, privatisation promises to keep the good times rolling -- as long as the buyouts don't mess with flavour.

"I don't want beer Hanoi to be affected by the taste of Carlsberg, I don't want beer Saigon to become so similar to a Sapporo... the key is to keep the distinctive taste of the beer," said Duc Thang, 48, speaking over a glass of cold brew.

Like millions of others across the country, Thang comes to the bia hoi to unwind.

"At a bia hoi you can talk about so many things -- you can chit-chat, talk business, family problems. It's easier to talk when you have one or two beers."

Some major names already have a foothold here -- Heineken has about 17 percent of the market, competing with other players like Carlsberg and Sapporo -- and reports say Thailand's ThaiBev and Singha Beer may now be ready enter the fray too.

But the sales could instantly transform a foreign buyer into a top brewer: Sabeco enjoys about 45 percent market share, while Habeco has 17 percent, according to Euromonitor.

The government says it will sell its 90 percent stake of Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp (Sabeco) for $1.8 billion, and its 82 percent stake in the Hanoi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corp (Habeco) for $400 million.

Both companies declined to speak to AFP.

- 'The right time' -

Economists say the government is selling the stakes because it is thirsty for cash.

Public debt hit 62 percent of GDP this year according to official figures, and is climbing closer to the government-sanctioned debt ceiling of 65 percent of GDP.

"It's the right time for the government to consider selling a number of state-owned companies to get more for the budget," economist Pham Chi Lan told AFP.

Selling off controlling stakes is also expected to help clean up corporate governance and boost productivity, which have not happened with piecemeal selloffs in the past.

"Many of these benefits will only come if there's a strategic investor that really takes on a majority stake," said Sebastian Eckardt, lead economist for the World Bank in Vietnam.

Some credit a new regime of communist leaders in power since April with making good on promises to privatise, but will wait to raise a glass until the deals are done.

"We're very positive on this, as long as it happens, because it's been talked about for a very long time," said Snowball.