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Tax incentives provide glimpse of the deeply deregulatory policies
that cast a long shadow over Cambodia’s national sovereignty and over
the effectiveness of these policies. The legal lease granted to investors
lasts 99 years, although the civil code of 2011 stipulated a maximum of
50 years, a period further extended to 70 years by the Environment
Minister. In effect, the period varies depending on the government’s
negotiator. Companies are also subjected to a 20% tax, but tax
exemptions on profits and salaries for up to six to nine years can
considerably reduce the tax burden. Foreign ownership can be up to
100%, and there is no cap on the repatriation of funds. Finally, price
controls on merchandise produced in the zone are unenforced, and
products that are exported to international markets are free of tax.

In addition to fiscal advantages , the government is also
contractually required to maintain a single office or OSS (One Stop
Service) to facilitate trade. These offices contain representatives of the
government agencies responsible for export permits and visas, as well
as the ministry of commerce, the ministry in charge of health and
sanitation inspections, customs, and the labor ministry. They are
designed to save investors time and energy with services that also
include human resources management. The labor ministry representative
in the zone is nominally responsible for recruiting local labor for
companies operating within the zone and for verifying work permits and
social organization.

The overwhelmingly majority of workers, approximately 95%, are
women, with an average age between 18 and 30. In fact, the author’s
investigations in 2012 and 2014 indicated that this legal age limit is
unenforced despite posters in workspaces proudly proclaiming
companies’ social commitments or that the minimum age for workers is
16 years. Labor is limited to piece work that forces workers to attain a
specific level of productivity and allows some them to earn higher
wages. Until 2013, average wages were fixed at $60 per month, or $
2 per day, but were boosted to $100 in 2014 following protest
movements. Because unions are forbidden within the confines of the

การอภิปรายรวมระหวางผูแทนจากตางประเทศ