Page 42 - Demo

Cambodia hasn’t suffered a single year of recession in 20 years. It skipped the Asian Financial Crisis of the 1990s, ignored the tech-bubble of the early 2000s, and even outgrew the recent 2008 Financial Crisis.
There’s no such thing as a recession-proof country but Cambodia is about as close as it gets. The reason is that Cambodia, like many frontier markets, is less correlated with the global economy.
Almost every country is dependent on others in the 21st Century. If China, the US, or Europe gets sick, the rest of the world will too. The exceptions are countries which aren’t reliant on foreign capital.
Cambodia is under the radar of most investors yet this is quickly changing. Multinational firms like Samsung, Nike, Toyota and more are setting up operations in Cambodia’s bustling capital of Phnom Penh.
Foreign investment grew by over 800% in the past decade and seems like it’s just now getting started.
Manufacturing is also growing at an impressive level – especially due to the lower cost of labour compared to China, which is becoming too expensive for industry.
Realizing the potential here, investment is flooding in. But a problem exists: well-paid expats, often making six-figure salaries from international firms, have issues finding apartments that meet their standards.
Phnom Penh has a shortage of expat-quality housing in several areas – especially in the city’s central and western districts like Daun Penh and 7 Makara.
That means there’s potential in buying older apart- ments, renovating them, and either renting them out or reselling them afterwards.
It’s possible to buy property in Cambodia for $50,000, put $20,000 worth of renovation into it, and then have it be worth $100,000 on the market.
On the other end of the spectrum, some mid-sized towns in Cambodia are now booming with activity, construction, and growth as the nation’s middle class becomes prominent.
These second-tier cities see practically zero foreign investment activity – it will inevitably arrive over the next decade though. First movers are always in the best location.
Either way, Cambodia is one of the most exciting and undiscovered places in Asia for property investment.
Can Foreigners Buy Cambodia Real Estate?
Cambodia not only allows foreign investment but encourages it arguably more than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. Setting up almost any type of business with 100% foreign ownership is easy.
A one-year multiple entry visa takes $250 and a few days. Living in Cambodia with a long term visa is simple and cost-effective.
For real estate buyers, foreigners can own strata titles for condominium units directly in their own name. But strata titles are not available for land or shophouse apartments. The general consensus is that new condo- minium buildings are overpriced.
You can often find the best deals in older shophouse apartments left over from colonial times. Plots of land with development potential are also promising for active investors.
However, things get more complicated for these two types of properties since foreigners can’t directly own anything except a condominium unit.
You must either set up a nominee agreement, enfor- ced by several different types of contracts, with a Cam- bodian citizen or form a Cambodia land holding com- pany.