Siam Cement Group plans to expand products and services in Cambodia

Siam Cement Group (SCG) plans to expand new service solutions and retail operations in Cambodia to tap opportunities in the country's growing construction industry and changing consumers' behaviour.

According to, SCG's Managing Director of Kampot Cement plant, Somwang Manpimonchai, “Our target this year in Cambodia is to maintain existing businesses which produce and sell our products, and to add new service solutions and introduce retail or B2C to the market."

As part of a five-year plant, roofing solutions and interior decoration will be introduced to the Cambodian market by SCG. "Consumers’ behaviours have changed now," Mr Manpimonchai said. "They need something comprehensive."

Mr Manpimonchai conceded that his firm’s products are more expensive than the same products by its competitors, but says the company’s product quality is far superior.

"People here in Cambodia care more about quality and strength than the price. They use stronger and better quality construction materials. So the cost [using SCG's materials] is 30-40 per cent higher and some materials are imported," he added.

Roofing solutions for residential houses will undergo a trial starting in March, he said. As for the retail market, SCG will offer online and offline services for retail – B2C –for home construction, renovation and decoration.

The construction market is also gaining momentum in Cambodia. New projects are being approved, such as a new expressway that will connect Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. The expressway will stretch over 190km and will be built on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis by state-owned Chinese Communication Construction Co Ltd, with construction costs estimated at nearly US$2bn. "Construction has commenced, requiring about 500,000-600,000t of cement for three years of work. As leader in the market, we will supply the bulk of the materials ," Mr Manpimonchai said.

Another expressway project involves the construction of a 160km stretch of road connecting Phnom Penh to Bavet in Svay Rieng province, which will be linked to an expressway from the border gate at Moc Bai, on the Vietnamese side, to Ho Chi Minh City.

"The government also has plan to expand its airports to facilitate the boost of tourism," he added.

Kampot Cement now produces around 2Mta of cement at its factory in southwestern Cambodia. The company is studying whether to set up more factories.