Japanese retailer Aeon has opened its first shopping centre in Cambodia – the first modern international shopping centre in the country.
Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen attended the ceremony alongside Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida in Phnom Penh on Monday.
“The investment by Aeon Group is a key message highlighting the economic potentials of Cambodia reflected through noticeable enhancement of living standard of Cambodians,” said Hun Sen, according to the Bangkok Post.
Hun Sen continued, noting the new shopping centre “will showcase the progress, prosperity and peace of Cambodia, and it is definitely an indicator for other Japanese companies to come to Cambodia.”
With the biggest food court in the country, the shopping centre has attracted 50,000 Cambodians daily since opening on 20 June and, according to the Bangkok Post, cost US$250m to build.
Aeon opened its first shopping centre in Vietnam in January and plans to open stores in Indonesia by the end of 2014, adding to the 138 shopping centres across Japan, China and Vietnam.
