Taiwanese shoemaker builds new factory

Tuesday, 16 March 2010 15:03
Chun Sophal

TAIWANESE footwear producer Bao Cheng International Group (BCIG) is set to open a factory in Cambodia this year, according to a report released by the Cambodia-Taiwan Trade Association.

YH Chiang, chairman of the association, said Monday that BCIG is constructing a large footwear factory on 40,000 square metres of land beside National Road 4 in Phnom Penh.

It is planning to produce Adidas footwear for international export, he added.

“We hope that the company’s investment will help develop Cambodia’s economy,” he said.

According to the association, construction of the factory started last month. It is set to employ around 10,000 Cambodian workers.

BCIG currently has footwear factories in three countries, including China, Indonesia and Vietnam. It exports millions of pairs of shoes every year.

On Monday, Chiang did not disclose the amount of capital the company would invest in the scheme, nor the number of shoes the company would produce in Cambodia. He said the figures were the company’s private business.

Yun Heng, director of the Department of Evaluation and Incentives at the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said Monday that the investment project had been approved in early January 2010.

He told a reporter that he did not remember the value of the investment and, as he was travelling from Ratanakiri province to Phnom Penh, could not find out.

“We have already approved the investment project of this company because it responds to the government’s policy in striving to create more job opportunities for Cambodian people,” he said.

According to the Cambodia-Taiwan Trade Association, 300 Taiwanese companies are investing in Cambodia at present, mostly in the garment sector and in footwear production.