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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sens family has amassed a vast fortune, with stakes in at least 114
domestic companies spanning most of the Kingdoms key sectors, including major energy, telecoms, mining
and trading rms, according to an investigation by Global Witness, which accuses the Hun family of outing
the countrys laws to build a business empire.
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Released today, the report, Hostile Takeover: The Corporate Empire of Cambodias Ruling Family, details
the vast holdings of the Hun family across 18 sectors, nding that 27 relatives of the premier are linked to
companies whose ocial share capital value is more than $200 million.
The data, collected from the Ministry of Commerces own business registry, does not provide information
on revenues or prots, meaning the gures represent just a fraction of the companies worth.
Further, the report and sources spoken to by the Post stress the paper trail is just the tip of the
iceberg, stating the family is believed to use proxies to hide the true size of its business empire and its
members personal fortunes.
Hun Sen has abused his position as Prime Minister to allow his relatives control of, or major stakes in,
most of Cambodias major industries, the report states.
However, this is not just about the accumulation of personal wealth or specic links between Hun family
members and particular companies the Hun families domination of Cambodias public and private
sectors has resulted in Hun Sen having near-total control over the country.
Contacted this week, government spokesman Phay Siphan declined to comment on the ndings, dismissing
Global Witness as trying to incite a rebellion against the premier and noting he was a spokesman, not the
prime ministers lawyer.
Spokesman for the Commerce Ministry Soeng Sophary acknowledged there was always a need to improve
regulation of the private sector, but attributed the premiers relatives success to their good reputation,
which attracted investors.
It is not perfect but Cambodia is now a free market, those who have the money can invest in the sector
they want to, no matter who they are, he said.
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The empire
In 2011, the prime minister declared his assets to the new Anti-Corruption Unit, a body established to
combat endemic graft led by Recommend
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Yentieng, who could not be reached for
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comment on the report this week.
"Today, I have fullled my obligation under the anti-corruption law," the premier said at the time.
He declared his sole source of income as his salary as the countrys leader: $1,150 per month, or $13,800 a
year.
Citing this gure, Global Witness accuses Hun Sen of breaching the anti-corruption laws illicit enrichment
clause, pointing out the discrepancy between the premiers professed income and his lavish lifestyle, luxury
houses and personal boasts that he funds projects and charitable deeds out of his own pocket.
According to Hostile Takeover, on paper, the family holds stakes in at least 17 trading companies, 10
nance rms, 10 hospitality and entertainment businesses, eight interests in both tourism and retail, and
seven in construction and real estate.
Their holdings also span energy, mining and agriculture and forestry, with six companies in each respective
sector; media, where the family predominately the premiers daughter Hun Mana, who directs Bayon
Radio and TV is linked to ve companies; and transport, an area with ve Hun-linked businesses.
There are also interests listed in three telecom rms, including Manas 6 per cent stake valued at $44
million in Viettel Cambodia, part of the Vietnamese-military controlled Viettel Group, which owns
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Metfone.
The familys portfolio also includes three manufacturing companies, three legal rms, two gambling
operators, two security outts, interests in two special economic zones and a pharmaceutical venture.
Among the 114 companies 11 of which do not have their purpose stated 103 list a member of the Hun
family as a chairperson or director or as having a shareholding of more than 25 per cent.
Multinational giants Apple, Canon, LG Electronics, Lenovo-IBM Nokia, Electrolux and Pioneer distribute via
companies linked to the family.
Products including Nescafe Gold, Kleenex tissues and Durex condoms are imported via a company linked
to the premiers sister, who also chairs a rm with the exclusive license to sell Johnnie Walker whiskey,
Hennessy cognac and Corona beer.
It shows that in Cambodia, as with elsewhere, its not even the 1 per centers, its the 0.01 per centers. We
are talking about a handful of people who have their hands in everything, Ear Sophal, an associate
professor of diplomacy and world aairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said of Global Witnesses
ndings.
Can you imagine how the benets of globalisation could be shared more widely, and more
transformatively, under dierent circumstances? Its all about ksae (string) and knong (backing) in
Cambodia. Who you are born to, unfortunately, determines how far you can go, and that is a pity.
Chhay Lin was also recently transferred a 51 per cent Another highly visible investment is the 6 per cent
stake in The Bay a $250 million condominium and she owns in Cambodias leading mobile service
hotel project in Phnom Penh developed with a provider Metfone which is part of Vietnams largest
Singaporean company, which severed ties with its and military-run telecom provider Viettel.
previous partner, disgraced businessman Sok Bun,
after he was imprisoned for assaulting a former Manas link to big international brands comes from
her chairing of Moon Media, an outdoor advertising
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Vichea was unreachable this week, while DFNN had not responded for a request for information as of press
time.
From its core, the empire branches out to relatives both by blood and marriage.
Hun Sens younger sister Hun Seng Ny has 12 listed companies. His cousin Dy Chouch, along with Chouchs
ex-wife Seng Keang who Global Witness previously accused of running the countrys premiere logging
syndicate in a separate report are connected to ve.
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Keang, described as a close associate of rst lady Bun Rany, is listed as the chair and director of garment
rm Grand Harvest International (GHI).
GHI is connected to a Hong Kong rm of the same name that claims to supply major brands including
Tommy Hilger, Polo Ralph Lauren and All Saints.
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Nieces, nephews and in-laws also boast impressive portfolios. The children of Hun Sens brother Hun Neng,
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a current lawmaker and former governor of Kampong Cham province, have links to 28 rms, while his wife
chairs two.
Contacted yesterday, Nengs son Hun To, linked to ve rms, including LHR Asean investment, which runs a
network of petrol stations, swore at a Post reporter and said his companies operated legally.
Dont make this a headache for me, said To, who was previously linked to drug smuggling by Australian
newspaper The Age, an accusation he stridently denied.
Reached on Monday, Neng said he doubted the information about his immediate familys business
interests revealed by Global Witness, conveyed to him by the Post.
HML Law Firm & Consultants is particularly well positioned to ensure good cooperation and results from
lobbying government ministries and oces, according to its website.
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According to the data, family-linked companies hold According to the report, Maniths role in the military
mining concessions in ve provinces including a makes his involvement illegal. According to Article 25
20,000 hectare plot owned by Worldwide Investment of the law governing military ocers conduct, no
Group in Oddar Meanchey. member of the armed forces is allowed to be a
member of a board of directors or to ensure the
The company is held by Hun Sens niece Hun Kimleng, management of a private company.
the chairwoman of HML law rm.
But the Hun familys involvement in energy does not
On its website, Worldwide states that the location has stop there. Global Witness highlighted that Hun Mana
a huge deposit of coal, while noting the company is the chair of Jaya Holding, a subsidiary of a
also has a license to dredge sand along 4km of the Singaporean-listed oshore energy services
Mekong. company. The parent company sold o all of its
subsidiaries in 2014 to an Australian rm for $625
Several agricultural ventures are also mentioned million. Records show that Mana originally bought
including at least three economic land concessions into the company for $220,000.
two of which are embroiled in land disputes as is a
casino license awarded to Vina (HK). Vina is directed Meanwhile, Hun To, a nephew of the prime minister,
by Kim Heang, wife of CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat, and runs a string of gasoline stations under the
counts Hun Mana as a shareholder. directorship of LHR Asean Investment.
In a response to Global Witness, Heang denied The report highlighted that familial favouritism is rife
beneting from a system of patronage led by the and that the structures of patronage have extended
premier. into the private sector, with chairmanships,
directorships and majority shareholdings ending up
However, the report goes on to demand that the in the hands of family members or cronies.
companies voluntarily demonstrate that they were
awarded licenses and contracts without bias, citing Global Witness also points out the familys links to
Criminal Code and Anti-Corruption provisions that Cambodian petroleum rm Kampuchea Tela.
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criminalise the granting of unfair advantages or According to the Commerce Ministrys records, the
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preferential treatment by the state.
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premiers wife, Bun Rany under her maiden name
was previously listed as a shareholder, though
Given Hun Sens history of corruption and the lack of resigned at an undisclosed date.
transparency in Cambodias opaque public sector,
this pattern should raise serious alarm bells, state According to the report, the company has long been
the authors. suggested as a proxy of the family, its true interests
concealed by front men shareholders.
Curtis Chin, a former US ambassador to the Asian
Development Bank, said that while it was important Reached on Monday, a Tela representative said the
to dierentiate between illegal activity and simply Posts request for comment would be forwarded to
leveraging connections, the report was a wake-up the relevant person. No response was received as of
call for the need for more transparency. press time.
For Cambodia to grow amidst the greater Sok Puthyvuth, Hun Malys husband, also appears to
connectivity and competition that the ASEAN have beneted from the familys immense power. As
Economic Community might bring, it needs to up its the chair of Soma Energy, the company secured a $3
game in terms of corporate governance and million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
transparency, Chin said. General Electric for a biomass plant in 2012 to turn
rice husks into energy.
The anonymous business consultant, however, said
that because of Cambodias largely deregulated When reached by the Post, he admitted that while
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economy, the Hun familys investments, though large, the family ties have paved the way for lucrative
did not necessarily harm market competition. business deals, the relationship was at times fraught
with diculties.
Modernisation, he said, meant the private sector was
moving away from the patronage system towards In some circumstances, it denitely helps when you
smarter business practices, adding many foreign are frustrated with policy and you know things need
businesses did not want to risk associating to be changed in a way that is good for the country,
themselves with politically exposed gures. he said.
The more interesting question is how the family But other times it hurts because international
accumulated all this wealth he said, noting previous companies dont want to be attributed with a family
estimates of the familys wealth as being in the that does not have the best reputation, he said.
billions.
Additional reporting by Cheng Sokhorng
Were trying our best
Though Global Witness provided right of reply for all family members mentioned in the report, including
the prime minster, only Sok Puthyvuth, the husband of the premiers daughter Hun Maly, responded,
conceding that he saw many issues and that good solutions are seldom implemented correctly.
I can understand your assumption that I have abused my power to get to where I am today, but I can
assure you that I take seriously the challenge of building a responsible and respected private sector group,
wrote Puthyvuth.
Contracts to develop a new building for the Civil Aviation Authority and involvement in the $100 million
Phnom Penh International Airport extension held by one of Puthyvuths companies, agro-industrial
conglomorate Soma Group, were called into question by the report.
Speaking last week with the Post, Puthyvuth, who on July 1 was re-elected as head of the Cambodian Rice
Federation, said his ties with the family could inuence policy change in a way that was good for the
country.
But speaking yesterday, a diplomat, who requested anonymity, said the lack of transparent market
structures and the de facto need for high-level backing to eectively protect investments were among the
reasons why business people from his country were reluctant to do business on a larger scale in Cambodia.
When looking at the Cambodian economy, on the surface there seems to be a liberal economy approach.
However, business policies frequently are capricious, with vested interests in mind, and there is no
institution which ensures fair competition, they said, via email.
It is not easy to operate a business under these kind of conditions. Also, a lack of fair competition
inevitably distorts the market mechanisms, and the price for this has to be paid by the consumers.
Though other countries in the region are also plagued by allegations of nepotism and cronyism, author of
Hun Sens Cambodia Sebastian Strangio said Cambodia had almost no institutions to restrict the
dominance of personal relationships over the economy and politics.
The dierence in Cambodia is the extent of the purity of the patronage streams, Strangio said, via email.
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Theres no clear distinction between business and politics in Cambodia. The phrase conict of interest in
Cambodia is in many senses meaningless: why wouldnt you trade power for economic gain, or vice-versa?
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