A record wrecked - Cambodia comes to terms with first Covid-19 fatality

• Published date: 12 March 2021
• Publication title: The Phnom Penh Post

After a year-long record of zero human loss, the Kingdom might have double down efforts to save her people and the economy by making several unaccustomed moves News of Cambodia's first Covid-19 fatality, a 50-year-old driver from Phnom Penh, sent the social media into a frenzy, and shivers across the local stock exchange, which saw a $66.6 million wipe out of the index's total market capitalisation year-to-date on Thursday. The index slipped 1.

3 per cent from the beginning of 2021 to close at its lowest level of 632.45 points, as total trading activity fell the most in that period while investors paused to employ a "wait and see" approach. "If this situation continues, investors may switch from companies that are more affected [by the pandemic] to less affected ones," said Cambodia Securities Exchange chief operations officer Ha Jong Weon.

Out of the seven Mainboard-listed counters, four were losers, two gained and one remain unchanged. Judging from the sudden turn of events, Ha felt that investors might be inclined to trade more based on company fundamentals and technical analysis.

The loss of Cambodia's first Covid-19 patient culminates after a full-year battle of trying to keep the contagion under control without fatalities, notwithstanding two or three upheavals. Its efforts, which were lauded by the World Health Organisation and other international bodies, saw the Kingdom charting a comparatively mild uptick to its neighbours since the pandemic began.

Still, just as the country comes off a historical contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) at minus 3.1 per cent in 2020, this latest wave, and most critical at that, is expected to press down on economic growth in 2021. The National Bank of Cambodia projected a four per cent growth this year, far more modest than International Monetary Fund's prediction of 6.

8 per cent last October. "If the outbreak fails to be brought under control in one or two months, it will likely drag down 2021's growth prospect, hurting the main sectors of the economy, particularly export-oriented sectors," said economist Dr Chheng Kimlong.

As it is, the current outbreak of community transmission has had a negative impact on the economy, particularly the rising budgetary expenses in having to cope with the spread. Added to that is the voluntary or involuntary temporary closure of businesses and service centres, as well as travel restrictions to contain and prevent a larger spread, Kimlong said.

Having said that, he contends that the government would continue expending its maximum $2 billion current fiscal and non-fiscal stimulus programmes to support businesses and individuals affected by the pandemic. The country has also raised over $30 million to purchase vaccines while separately receiving an estimated $40 million of foreign aid from countries such as the US and Australia to combat Covid-19. This is independent of the loans, grants and credit line provided by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank over the course of 2020. As of June 30, last year, multilateral partners had dispensed a cummulative sum of $4.7 billion, Ministry of Economy and Finance's Public Debt Statistical Bulletin...