Selling to the Government

Cambodia enacted a law on public procurement in January 2012, which codified the pre-existing patchwork of sub-decrees and other regulations governing the public sector.  Despite these clear regulations, the conduct of procurement is often nontransparent.  The Cambodian government often provides short time frames to respond to public announcements of tenders, which frequently are not widely publicized.  Cambodia is not a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.

There are several potential government tender opportunities in the areas of infrastructure, ICT, and healthcare.  The government has been improving road infrastructure for both main roads connecting to the country’s borders and small roads in rural areas. 

Healthcare infrastructure is still limited.  A few modern and standard public hospitals are only available in the capital city.  There is a need to improve hospital buildings and upgrade medical facilities throughout the country. 

U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. government advocacy.  Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign government projects or procurement opportunities.  The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts.  Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government.  Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional information. 

Financing of Projects 

Major infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges are financed by government budget and partly by foreign assistance such as grants and loans.  A lot of other infrastructure projects such as airports, telecommunication systems, and ports are funded by private investment mostly in the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT) concessions. 

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales

Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract.  Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB).  The Guide to Doing Business with Multilateral Development Banks overviews how to work with MDBs.  The International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

Learn more by contacting the:

• Commercial Liaison Office to the Asian Development Bank
• Commercial Liaison Office to the World Bank.