Cambodia

Representatives of more than 100 ethnic Kuoy villagers plan protest over the opening of a $360 million sugar mill – one of the largest in Asia– owned by Chinese company Rui Feng (Cambodia) International, which has been involved in series of land disputes with local villagers since 2012.

Singapore's HLH Group, which already has a 10,000 ha concession in Kampong Speu Province, says it will invest US$10 million to for a 400-hectare agricultural food processing park in Cambodia.

Authorities in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have granted hundreds of long-term land leases called economic land concessions to foreign and domestic developers to set up rubber, sugar or other plantations or mining projects. A closer look at the issue

The Bunong say they never were warned their land would be taken and were not offered compensation before the land started to be cleared — two steps required under Cambodian law.

While vast tracts of Cambodia remain concentrated in the hands of a few and accusations of land grabbing remain rife, the broader distribution of land is more than equitable, the government says.

Australian banking giant ANZ has come under fire for its response to a scandal over its financing of a sugar plantation previously linked to forced evictions and child labour in Kampong Speu province.

​Almost two years ago Oxfam revealed that Australia’s Big 4 Banks — the ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac — are backing agriculture and timber companies linked to land grabs in developing countries.

A Thai environmental auditing firm has confirmed that it is assessing the fallout from a trio of plantations in Oddar Meanchey province that Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol abandoned in late 2014 amid mounting accusations of land grabbing.

Three local NGOs have filed a com­plaint with international sug­ar industry group Bonsucro for re­admitting Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol even though thousands of fam­ilies forced off the company’s for­mer plantations in Oddar Mean­chey province have yet to be fully compensated.

After Canada, Denmark, Finland and the World Bank, Germany is ending its work on land rights in Cambodia, a strong indictment of the government’s at­titude toward land grabbing.

Kurt Langbein, director of a documentary film, “Land Grabbing“ visits the scenes of land grabs and talks to farmers, local communities and to the investors behind the schemes. The injustice of this destructive “development” model could not be clearer.

Jef Boedt, general manager of Socfin Cambodia, explains the company’s investment in Cambodia and operating challenges linked to land rights.