Kith Meng

Kith Meng, 47, is a dual Cambodian and Australian national who funded the banking-to-telecom Royal Group in 1994 and now owns more than 40 companies registered at the Ministry of Commerce. They include CTN and My TV, two of the most popular TV channels, as well as CNC, Cambodia’s first 24/7 news channel.

Kith Meng grew up in Australia after he lost both his parent during the Khmer Rouge regime. The youngest son of Kith Peng Ike, among the many landlords and merchants of Chinese heritage who were an early target of the Khmer Rouge, he studied economics at the University of Canberra, where he immigrated in the 1980’s.

Kith Meng owns the title of Okhna in Cambodia and is involved in a variety of million-dollar business sectors, ranging from dams development to banking. He owns MobiTel, the country’s largest phone company, and Cambodia’s first Internet Service Provider, Ezecom. In 2012, he also launched the first Cambodian national pay digital terrestrial TV platform, ONE TV.

By reputation, Kith Meng is known to be closely linked to the ruling party. It is however unknown if his funds contributes directly to it. He serves as an advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen and sits on the board of the Cambodian Red Cross, whose President is Hun Sen's wife, Bun Rany. According to a WikiLeaks cable, several sources believe that the CPP has tried to strengthen its relationship with Kith Meng because it wants CTN's ability to broadcast to a large number of Cambodians living abroad. Kith Meng was elected President of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce in 2007, a position he still has today. He, however, denies receiving any special privileges through these activities.