Consumerism Is Booming In Cambodia After Embrace Of Once-Forbidden Capitalism

Chy Sila, CEO of CBM Corporation, holds his mobile phone while driving a car in Phnom Penh
Thomson Reuters




PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Chy Sila has come a long way since he invested his $500 life savings in a small shop in cambodia vietnam tour package's capital to sell bootleg music and pirated movies.

Fast-forward 16 years and Cambodians are now watching the films he distributes not on scratchy DVDs but in a $5 million multiplex theater, a joint venture with Thailand's Major Cineplex and the centerpiece of a new mall owned by Japanese retail giant Aeon that drew 2 million visitors in its opening month.

The 39-year-old former cambodia vietnam tour package guide, university dropout and son of a mechanic is one of the biggest success stories in a country that was for years Southeast Asia's war-torn, aid-dependant basket case.

Though poverty is still rife in the countryside, an urban boom and robust growth fueled by garment manufacturing for brands such as Nike and GAP has given rise to a growing consumer class that earns triple the average income.

"We see there's a lot more buying power than before," said Chy Sila as he took a bite from a croissant and sipped cappuccino at one of the bakeries run by his CBM Corporation, cambodia tours from vietnam's biggest food and beverage firm.