Sokimex is not only the first Cambodian
company of petroleum products, but it has
several businesses in other areas of the
Cambodian economy. Can you introduce us
briefly your corporation with its main axes
of activity?
Sokimex is indeed the first petroleum company
of the country but it is also involved in
several other businesses like pharmaceutical
products; tourism with hotels in Siem Reap
and Sihanoukville; we are also present in
the garment industry with two factories
in Phnom Penh and we have other business
operations in Sihanoukville with an oil
jetty, and an export terminal in the port.
We started business as a trading company
importing mainly construction materials
like cement, steel, beverages, petroleum
and other needed materials and exporting
agricultural products like beans, rice,
corn and rubber. At that time Cambodia was
leaving a planned economy system to enter
a period of free market.
Can you share with us the main figures
of Sokimex and its evolution in the last
few years?
Sokimex has around 2000 employees in total.
The capital of the company is 100 million
USD, most of the capital is in the form
of fixed assets, around 60%, as we invest
a lot in properties in Cambodia, like the
hotels, the jetty, the gas stations, etc...
The turnover in the year 2002 was between
500 and 700 million USD. We have around
184 gas stations and small distribution
outlets distributed all over the country.
Your company is the market leader in
the field of petroleum products, what is
your market share and what are your development
plans to maintain this leading position?
Sokimex has 45% of the market in Cambodia.
We reached and will maintain this position
by being the cost leader. Our strategy is
to reduce the costs in every process we
undertake. First, we follow the trends in
the oil market so we only buy oil when the
prices are low. We have quite a big storage
capacity with tanks of our own in Sihanoukville,
Phnom Penh and Battambang so we can allow
ourselves to have huge quantities of stock
at barely no cost. Our own jetty in the
port of Sihanoukville helps us also to reduce
the costs and we have also our own trucks
to deliver the oil to the stations.
Your activities in the oil industry
are all downstream, but Cambodia has a promising
potential in the exploration and exploitation
of oil. Do you have any plans to start in
the upstream side of the oil industry?
So far there are no intentions for Sokimex
to get into the exploration and exploitation
of the oil reserves of Cambodia. We have
seen several foreign companies coming to
Cambodia and spending big quantities of
money into exploration. the costs attached
to this kind of operations are too high.
We prefer to keep our business into the
import and distribution. We have done some
feasibility studies to build a refinery,
but if we build a small capacity refinery,
the quality of the final product will not
be as desired and building a high-technology
refinery would take an investment Sokimex
can not engage at this moment. Furthermore,
the need of the Cambodian market is not
big enough for a large refinery and that
would force us to export our products, leaving
us exposed to a market where we cannot compete
with the big international oil companies.
Sokimex has a strong diversification
policy, specially what concerns tourism.
You have the ticketing concession of the
Angkor Wat temples and the Sokha Beach resort
in Sihanoukville. Can you tell us more about
Sokimex's tourism development policy?
The Cambodian government and our company
as well is focusing in tourism as there
are several natural resources we can exploit.
There are hundreds of temples sites spread
throughout the country and the landscape
of Cambodia offers also nice beaches and
mountains that can attract tourists towards
our country. Sokimex has the long term plan
to build several hotels throughout the country.
A 3 star hotel in Sihanoukville is almost
finished and later on will be upgraded to
5 star hotel. We have already built a 5
star hotel in Siem Reap and we have a nearby
terrain where we will build a motel too.
Other projects we have in the tourism sector
is the construction of a hotel in Preah
Vihear, close to the Thai border. We have
proposed the government to provide us the
concession agreement and we will build the
road from Preah Vihear to Siem Reap. In
the same spirit, we want to build another
hotel in Kampong Thom close to another temple
site under the same conditions, that is,
concession agreement in exchange of road
construction. If we achieve that, we will
be able to offer to tourists a whole package.
First we link several temple sites and from
there, the tourist will be able to go South
to visit Phnom Penh and finally relax at
the beach resorts of Sihanoukville. With
this strategy we hope to help Cambodia develop
a strong tourism sector.
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Can you explain us more about the capacity
of the hotel in Siem Reap and the other
hotels you are planning to construct?
Our hotel in Siem Reap has 200 rooms with
Chinese, Thai and Japanese restaurants.
There are spa and massage facilities, shopping
center, conference rooms and sport installations
including a swimming pool. The other hotels
will have the same kind of structure. Our
target market is the upscale international
and local tourist.
For the temples of Angkor Wat you have
a contract with the Apsara Authority. The
construction of the oil jetty in the port
of Sihanoukville was in partnership with
Marubeni Corporation. What is your strategy
in terms of partnership and for which of
your businesses would you be interested
into attracting associates?
We are indeed looking for a foreign partner,
specially to manage our properties. I am
involved in the negotiations with potential
partners. Often, we come across barriers
when it comes to budget and salary negotiations.
Due to that, we are willing to try to operate
the hotels by our own hiring someone with
expertise in the field who can train the
personnel and help us save money.
What about other businesses you have?
Specifically in which ones would you be
interested into attracting partners?
Cambodia has also a great potential in
agriculture. So far we are not implicated
in this sector, but we are looking at the
possibilities. In the long term Sokimex
will be involved in this sector, not only
in the production but also in the processing
area and we will definitely engage a foreign
partner to help us specially in the financing.
Agriculture is a long term business and
it needs a lot of investment.
Next to your function as Vice-Chairman
of Sokimex, you are also implicated in the
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce where you are
the Vice-President. Can you tell us a little
bit more about the Chamber of Commerce?
I have been working for 5 years in the
Chamber of Commerce. There I meet a lot
of foreign delegations interested in Cambodia.
The Chamber mainly gathers and channels
information for our members about the business
and economy of Cambodia and also about possibilities
outside our country. We also work in collaboration
with the government providing them with
information and helping them to improve
the laws concerning the business environment
and investment possibilities. The Chamber
of Commerce has also cooperation agreements
with other chambers in neighbouring countries
to exchange information. The Chamber has
36 elected members and 20 advisor members
appointed by the Minister of Commerce. Further
there are around 700 ordinary members comprising
all kind of companies, from the biggest
corporations in the country to small and
medium enterprises.
A man with such a broad scope of activities,
is the kind of people that interests our
readers. What can you tell us about your
professional background and what has been
your greatest satisfaction while working
at Sokimex?
I have a degree as engineer and a post-graduate
MBA degree. I worked 4 years for the government
and then I decided to establish my own business
for two years. After this short experience,
I started to work for Sokimex in 1991. Seen
Sokimex growing so fast and having the opportunity
to develop my own skills and creating jobs
for so many Cambodians, are without a doubt
my greatest satisfactions.
With your position in Sokimex and at
the Chamber of Commerce, you are one of
the main representatives of the private
sector in Cambodia. In this position, what
would be your final message to potential
investors interested into Cambodia?
Cambodia has several natural resources,
but we lack human and financial resources.
There is still need of participation of
the private sector to rebuild the economy
of the country. There are several opportunities,
just come, talk to the local businessmen
and join them in partnerships to exploit
those natural resources Cambodia is so rich
of. The Cambodian government will also be
there providing a good environment to conduce
businesses in the country. I think it is
the right moment to come to Cambodia to
do business.
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