Cambodia abruptly halted fuel imports from neighboring Thailand on Sunday as tensions between the two Southeast Asian countries escalate over a border dispute.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet wrote that “all fuel and gas imports from Thailand will be halted.” He added that Cambodia’s energy companies will be able to import sufficient fuel from other sources.
A few days earlier, Hun Manet’s father—Hun Sen, the country’s former leader—urged the government to halt imports such as canned food products and alcohol from Thailand. In the same Khmer-language Facebook post translated by local media outlet The Khmer Times, Hun Sen also claimed that a Thai opposition party wanted to ban fuel exports to Cambodia, and suggested that such a move would hurt PTT, Thailand’s state oil company, far more than it would hurt Cambodia.
PTT, No. 2 on the Southeast Asia 500, is Thailand’s largest energy company. Other major Thai energy companies are Bangchak (No. 17) and Susco (No. 281), which also export to Cambodia.
Still, it’s not clear how much the loss of Cambodia-bound fuel exports will hurt Thailand’s energy companies. Thailand exported 2.3 billion liters of fuel to Cambodia last year, according to local media, citing government data. That accounts for around 20% of Thailand’s total fuel exports, and was worth around 48 billion Thai baht ($1.5 billion).
By comparison, PTT generated $87.6 billion in revenue last year and its biggest overseas market was Singapore, followed by the U.K., U.S., and Malaysia. Cambodia was PTT’s seventh largest overseas market.
A growing crisis
Relations between Thailand and Cambodia have deteriorated since late May, when troops from both countries exchanged fire over a disputed border. One Cambodian soldier died in the incident.
Subsequent negotiations have not de-escalated the situation. The situation is even putting Thailand’s coalition government at risk, thanks to a leaked phone call between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Hun Sen. During the call, Paetongtarn urged Hun Sen not to listen to the “other side” in Thailand, including an outspoken Thai general. (Thailand’s army holds significant political clout, and ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father, in 2006.)
The leaked phone call led one of Paetongtarn’s political partners, the Bhumjaithai Party, to leave her coalition, giving the prime minister a slim majority in the country’s parliament. She has since apologized for her language during the phone call, calling it a negotiation tactic.
Since then, Thailand has escalated its pressure on Cambodia. The country is restricting border crossings into Cambodia, only allowing essential travel. The country is also halting the export of goods, like fuel and electricity, that could be used for so-called scam centers in Cambodia.
Thailand’s stock market has slumped since the political crisis began. The SET Index, which tracks companies listed on Thailand’s stock exchange, is down by more than 20% this year, performing worse than during the heights of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
