Panalpina opens new office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia


Panalpina has announced the opening of a new office in Cambodia, from which it will provide its global and local customers with air freight and ocean freight services, customer brokerage, in-land transportation, cross-border trucking (with Vietnam and Thailand), Container Freight Station consolidation, and warehousing and storage services. Located within the capital city of Phnom Penh, the new office became operational in August.

Benny Ong, Country Manager for Panalpina Cambodia, commented, “Our new office in Cambodia demonstrates Panalpina’s interest in the emerging economies we believe will provide strong opportunities for business growth”.

Cambodia offers Panalpina opportunities for growth in the textile, agriculture and construction industry. Cambodia’s two biggest industries are textiles and tourism. The garment industry represents the largest portion of Cambodia’s manufacturing sector, accounting for 80% of the country’s exports, which directly impacts the volume of air freight shipments to and from the country. In 2015, air freight volume increased 14%, year-on-year, at Phnom Penh International Airport. Cambodia’s total garment and footwear exports earned $6.3bn in 2015, with a growth rate of 6.7% compared to 2014. Exports have been growing continuously for the last 20 years.

Revenue growth has also been enjoyed by two of Cambodia’s international shipping ports, Phnom Penh river port and Sihanoukville. Phnom Penh has enjoyed strong growth in recent years thanks to continually growing container traffic. The port handled 144,813 TEUs in 2015, up 8.3% year-on-year as the result of surging exports, particularly rice and construction materials. Cambodia’s sole deep-sea port Sihanoukville handled 392,000 TEU’s actual container throughput in 2015, with average growth of 10% to 15% per annum during the last five years.

“As manufacturers increasingly look towards Cambodia as a key market for goods, the need for transport logistics increases.” added Ong. “Cross-border trucking between Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand is fuelling demand for more value added services.”

Panalpina has also stated that it will be keeping an eye on opportunities within the oil and gas sector in the country, as in the last few years, the Cambodian government has granted a number of licenses for petroleum exploration.

Source: Panalpina