PHNOM PENH, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's economic growth is expected at 7 percent this year, though the Southeast Asian nation faces some external risks, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Thursday.
"Based on the projection, Cambodia's economy will grow by 7 percent in 2017, thanks to expected recovery of agriculture and garment compared to 2016 while construction and real estate sector are expected to experience slower growth due to adjustments of credit and oversupply situation," he said in the opening speech of the 2017 Cambodia Outlook Conference here.
"Besides, non-garment industries are expected to perform well to underpin overall economic performance. This situation is expected to extend until 2018 for which growth is expected to achieve around 7 percent," he added.
However, Cambodia's economy also face some external risks such as the uncertainty of potential rate hike by the United States Federal Reserve, Brexit and the future of European Union and slower growth of some emerging economies.
"In addition, the expectation for the recovery of oil and international commodities price is also a risk for Cambodian economy," prime minister said. "All these signal the need and urgency to reform and diversify our economic structure aiming for higher value-added sector in order to maintain sustainable growth in the medium and long term."
Hun Sen said that in 2016, Cambodia achieved economic growth of 7.1 percent, driven by garment export, tourism, real estate and construction, and agriculture.
