According to the Cambodian Daily: Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Cambodia’s garment industry was deeply affected in 2020, causing the closure of 129 garment factories, affecting the livelihoods of more than 70,000 workers.
On the 10th of this month, Han Su, State Secretary and Spokesperson of the Cambodian Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, stated that the employment situation in Cambodia has gradually improved since the New Year of 2021.
He said that a total of 129 garment factories were closed in 2020, involving a total of 71,202 workers (57,794 women). 112 new factories opened. At the end of last year, the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) also successively approved a number of investment projects.
As for the import of raw materials in the garment industry, Mr. Han Su said that unlike the early days of the epidemic, the garment industry no longer has the problem of lack of raw materials. Although the epidemic is not over yet, textile product exports remain stable. After the epidemic is over, Cambodia’s entire garment industry will quickly return to its original state.
The traditional shoe and clothing industry has moved southward in recent years. Southeast Asian countries have become large-scale production bases for Taiwanese businessmen. The increase in local monthly basic wages or minimum wages will affect manufacturers’ production costs. Except for Cambodia, which has slightly increased the monthly basic wage by 1.05% in 2021, other countries have stayed put. Shoe industry giants Baocheng, Yuqi, and Hongquan all have factories in Cambodia. The current impact is not significant, and we will continue to pay attention to it in the future. Salaries in other Southeast Asian countries have increased.
Taiwan includes Baocheng, Fengtai, and Yuqi in the shoe industry, Zhengxin, Jianda in the tire industry, and Daxin and Hongquan in the raincoat industry, all in Southeast Asia. Among them, Sanxiong Shoemaking’s revenue in Southeast Asia has become the group’s largest production base.
Southeast Asian countries review monthly basic wages or minimum wages every year or two.
Among them, Cambodia’s monthly minimum wage in 2021 is US$190, which will be raised to US$192, an increase of 1.05%, which is equivalent to about 1,330 yuan in RMB based on the exchange rate at the end of 2020.
After the Sino-U.S. trade war in 2019, Taiwanese companies in mainland China have made major adjustments to their production capacity allocation or moved to Southeast Asia to set up factories or expand production. Coupled with the catalysis of basic or minimum wage policies in Southeast Asian countries, the situation has This has driven upward pressure on local wages, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and other countries that have raised their monthly minimum wages or basic wages simultaneously in 2020.
Based on Vietnam’s monthly minimum wage in 2020, it will be increased in four regions. The increase ranges from about 5.14 to 5.74%, which will increase the personnel costs of newly hired employees by manufacturers. However, due to the Due to the epidemic, the Vietnamese government has not yet announced an increase in the minimum wage in 2021.
In other words, the first district of Vietnam includes Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Dong Nai Province. The monthly minimum wage in 2020 is 4.42 million VND (approximately NT$5,757 at the time) yuan), an increase of 5.74%, ranking among the regions with the highest monthly minimum wage in Vietnam.
In addition, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and other countries have not announced basic wages or minimum wage adjustments in 2021. Hongquan revealed that its factories in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia accounted for 25% of combined revenue in the first eleven months of 2020, with a total headcount of 1,300. </p
