Cambodia Investment Review
Cambodia’s expat landscape has evolved significantly over the past two decades, transitioning from a tight-knit community of post-UNTAC arrivals to a dynamic and diverse international workforce today. In this interview, with Stephen Higgins we speak with a long-time expat about how the scene has changed, the role of foreign expertise in Cambodia’s development, and the opportunities and challenges expats face in the Kingdom.
CLR: You’ve been in Cambodia for around 17 years, what was the expat scene like when you arrived?
When I came, there will still a lot of expats who had arrived during the UNTAC period, and the turbulent years that followed. Most of them seemed to have their own business that they were operating, and some were real characters, with amazing stories to tell. And you’d get to know most of the expats here, either from Friday night at the old Elephant Bar in Raffles, or the Elsewhere Parties, or IBC events. ISPP and Northbridge were the only international schools in town, and they were a lot smaller than they are today. There weren’t the shopping centres, the cinemas, the water parks, and other activities that we have here today, but somehow we all managed to keep ourselves entertained.
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One of the interesting dynamics back then was this divide between NGOs, and the business sector. The civil society and NGO sector felt much larger than it is today, at least relative to the business sector, and the two sides didn’t really seem to mix much. There always seemed to be a lot of suspicion about the motives of either side.
Fast forward to today, and the expat scene is much more diverse, much larger, but I think equally important to supporting Cambodia’s development as they were 17 years ago.
CLR: Speaking of that, why do you think Cambodia still needs expats to come here?
First of all, this isn’t just a Cambodia thing. Australia where I’m from, which has some of the best educational institutions in the world, still brings in plenty of international workers, including at CEO level.
But when you take into account what happened to the Cambodian education system and workforce as a result of the Khmer Rouge period, it’s not surprising that Cambodia has a higher need than some countries for expat workers.
One of the key things that expats bring is relevant job experience, or a specific skill set, that you can’t get locally.
The banking sector provides a great example of that. When I came here to run ANZ, I was just 34 years old but I still had a lot more banking experience than most people in the market, because that experience just didn’t exist. At one point we had 24 expats at ANZ when we were building out the bank and launching Wing, although by the time I finished at the bank it was down to 4. One of the things we were really conscious of at ANZ was expats having a target of “doing yourself out of a job”, which meant you had an obligation to pass on your skills and knowledge to the local staff.
And that knowledge transfer, and experience that expats can bring, was really transformational for the local workforce. The evidence for that is how many of today’s Cambodian Bank CEOs and Insurance CEOs came out of that ANZ environment.
The other area where expats bring value here is in building their own companies, which can create employment, and bring value to Cambodia. Your own publication Cambodia Investment Review is an example of that. At Mekong Strategic Capital, we’ve now got 13 staff in addition to the two expat founders, and those staff are young, dynamic, and getting to do some amazing things like working on the Amret and Nham24 transactions, and the $100m Cambodia Climate Facility. If not for two expats taking a punt on starting up the business, those local Cambodian’s are unlikely to have had those sorts of experiences.
CLR: I’ve heard that some companies bring in expats for reasons of “trust”. Do you see that happening?
Definitely, but again it isn’t a Cambodia specific issue, and there are normally two key reasons for it, beyond reasons of experience and skill.
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First of all, some large companies, particularly those operating in emerging markets, like to have people running their subsidiaries who they have known for a long period of time elsewhere in their business, and trust implicitly. So you see that quite a bit with multi-nationals operating here.
The other key reason is that some companies worry about local staff being more likely to be subject to inappropriate pressure. To help create something of a firewall, they have a rule that in say emerging markets, they simply don’t allow staff to become CEOs in their ‘home’ market. If those local staff want to become a CEO, then they need to move to another country, and become an expat. I know of several companies here that apply that approach, but I can’t say that I agree with it.
CLR: What are some of the big challenges that expats face here?
Like in any emerging economy, there are challenges. Regulatory uncertainty can be a hurdle for foreign businesses, as policies and procedures sometimes lack consistency. Another challenge is cultural adaptation—understanding local business customs and consumer behavior is crucial for long-term success. From a practical perspective, things like health care, schooling, supermarkets, and logistics have historically provided big challenges for expats, but much less so today. It really is a lot better than it was 17 years ago.
CLR: And finally, what are some of the benefits of being an expat here, instead of going to say Thailand or Vietnam?
Obviously I’m biased, but I think Cambodia is a great destination for expats. Theres the lifestyle factors now that make this a pretty enjoyable place to live, like restaurants, entertainment, much improved health care and shopping. But from a professional perspective, I think it is incredibly rewarding to be in a high growth economy that is changing rapidly, with local colleagues who are so eager to learn and develop, with a government that is very supportive of the private sector, and a local population that is so warm and welcoming. I just think it is combination that other countries can’t match.
It probably explains why I’m still here 17 years later, when I thought I’d only be here for two years. CLR
Cambodia Investment Review, in partnership with the International Business Chamber of Cambodia, has officially launched the Cambodia Leadership Review – 50 International Voices 2025. Now in its second edition, the publication highlights 50 of the most influential international business leaders and innovators contributing to Cambodia’s dynamic economic landscape.
Download the full publication here.
