Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen on October 7 posted on social media to refute claims from some overseas commentators that "the government issued new banknotes because it is short of money." He said that to prevent such statements from misleading the public, it was necessary to publicly explain the government's current fiscal situation.
Hun Sen noted that from his time as Prime Minister to the present, every time the government released new banknotes, some people have interpreted it as "the national treasury is out of money." He stressed that issuing new notes is a normal monetary management arrangement and does not indicate any fiscal funding shortage.
On fiscal data, Hun Sen said Cambodia's treasury currently holds no less than 2.5 billion US dollars in cash reserves. In the first nine months of this year, government revenue has exceeded 5 billion US dollars, averaging roughly 500 million to 600 million US dollars per month; by comparison, monthly government salary expenditure is about 230 million US dollars.
Hun Sen said current revenue can cover routine government spending while keeping treasury cash reserves at a relatively high level, pushing back against claims that Cambodia's government is "in financial difficulty and has no money to use."
Hun Sen also alleged that some overseas figures have withheld donations previously raised for displaced people and are suspected of using the funds to finance a political party inside Cambodia. He called on those involved to hand the money over to people who truly need help as soon as possible.
Hun Sen said he could later release a recording of a related meeting addressing whether the donations were discussed for use in party funding. The allegations remain a unilateral disclosure by Hun Sen for now, and further developments await verification.
