Case Studies

Joseph, an Australian national, is interested in investing real estate in Cambodia. He wishes to occupy a landed property in Forest Haromy project, Kompot province. He travels to Cambodia once in a while and is not in a position to manage property himself.

Solution

In general, only natural persons and legal entities with Cambodian nationality may own freehold land in Cambodia. Whilst land holding company and nominee structure seem to be popular for some foreign investors in property investment, this approach carries high risks, potentially high tax burden or fraudulence. Thanks to the new Trust Law of Cambodia, Joseph may hold an interest over the landed property by means of trusts mechanism. Zillion Trust as a duly-registerd trustee company would hold the landed property for and on behalf of Joseph who would be a trustor, and Zillion Trust would also invest the trust property (i.e., lease the property to another investor) for the benefits of Joseph or his beneficiary in accordance with a Trust Deed to be entered into between Joseph and Zillion Trust. By law, such trust property is to be registered with the Trust Regulator, being the competent authority to regulate trusts. This would provide a layer of protection for Joseph when investing in property in Cambodia.