Doing business in Cambodia: the getting-started guide

Doing business in Cambodia is more accessible than many foreign founders expect. Cambodia is one of ASEAN's most dynamic economies, with a GDP of nearly 49 billion dollars in 2025 and one of the highest trade-openness ratios in the region. The US dollar circulates freely, foreign ownership rules are liberal in most sectors, and the administration is steadily digitizing. For an entrepreneur, that combination makes Cambodia an unusually open market, provided you know the fundamentals before you start.

This guide walks through the four things every founder should get right when starting a company in Cambodia: legal structure, tax, banking and hiring, and points you to the people who can help you do it faster.

Setting up your company in Cambodia

The most common structure for foreign founders is the Private Limited Company, which can be 100% foreign-owned in the large majority of sectors. Company registration in Cambodia is handled online through the government's single-window platform, which has cut timelines considerably in recent years. Plan for a few weeks end to end, a minimum share capital, and registration with the Ministry of Commerce and the tax administration.

A few sectors, such as land ownership and some regulated activities, carry restrictions on foreign ownership, so it is worth checking your specific activity early. For most tech and services businesses, however, the path is straightforward and does not require a local partner.

Tax and banking in Cambodia

The US dollar is used everywhere, with the Cambodian riel serving mainly for small transactions. Corporate income tax, VAT and monthly filing obligations mean a reliable local accountant is essential from day one. Cambodian tax compliance is monthly, not annual, and penalties for late filing add up quickly, so this is not a corner to cut.

Opening a business bank account is straightforward with local banks, including French-owned BRED Bank Cambodia, and digital banking is widely available. Cambodia's payments landscape has leapfrogged in recent years, with QR payments and mobile wallets now ubiquitous, which is good news for any consumer-facing startup.

Hiring and building your team

Cambodia's tech talent pool is young and growing fast, supported by institutions such as the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT). Salaries remain competitive by regional standards, and English is widely spoken in the tech sector, with French present in parts of the professional and academic world. Labor rules are formalized, so it pays to have proper employment contracts and to understand seniority and severance obligations from the outset.

Many founders start with a small local core team and a few senior hires, then scale as revenue allows. The talent is there; the differentiator is usually the quality of your onboarding and management, not the availability of people.

Your fastest shortcut: the ecosystem

Surrounding yourself with the ecosystem, chambers of commerce, communities and mentors, is the single biggest accelerator of a successful market entry. That is one of the core roles of La French Tech Phnom Penh: opening its address book to newcomers, from a trusted accountant to your first local hire or pilot customer.

If Cambodia is on your roadmap, start with the community. A handful of well-placed introductions will teach you more about the real market than weeks of desk research, and it is free to join.