Mysterious Cambodian Tycoon Making His Presence Felt Across ESG Initiatives

Chen Zhi is the chairman of Prince Group, one of Cambodia's largest and fastest expanding business conglomerates, but little is known about him.

Aside from his official Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, which are most likely managed by his handlers, Chen Zhi of Prince Group appears to be keeping a low profile despite his extensive business interests in Cambodia.

He is often known as Chen Zhi, and he is of Chinese origin who later became a naturalized Cambodian citizen. After visiting Cambodia in 2010, he met with Prime Minister Hun Sen.

His extensive involvement in Prince Real Estate has resulted in the construction of many projects in both Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, Cambodia. These ventures paved the way for the development of over a million square meters.

Such projects include the Prince Plaza Center, the Prince Modern Plaza, the Prince IT Building, and the Prince City Center. They are still under construction right now, but they will be done soon.

The Prince Group includes Belt Road Capital Management, Prince Bank, Cambodia Airways, Prince Supermarket, Awesome Global Investment Group, and Canopy Sands Development.

It would not be surprising if he invests in other companies that have the potential to be profitable.

He is involved in philanthropy in addition to his corporate activities.

As a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, 2020 was a year of global difficulties. The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of millions of people. Cambodia was not immune to the pandemic. Cambodia was also struck by a major flood disaster during the same time period.

Chen Zhi made his presence known in Cambodian society with a year-long series of philanthropic deeds, including the decision to donate $3 million to assist Cambodia in purchasing 1 million COVID-19 vaccines.

Chen Zhi's Prince Group announced a further US$3,000,000 donation to assist in anti-pandemic efforts in Cambodia in February 2021. The total contribution to the war against Covid-19, including the initial vaccine donation last year, would have been $6,000,000.

Food has been distributed to 804 families and 234 police officers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as a result of these donations. The pandemic has infected these people. Chen Zhi's contribution, as part of the ESG programme, would assist the Cambodian government in vaccinating at least 80% of the country's nearly 13 million people.

Chen Zhi also helped those affected by the Cambodian floods.

Aside from monetary donations, Chen Zhi and the Prince Group invested in the capacity development of Cambodian people. Handwoven silk and traditional craftsmanship have a long history in Cambodia, dating back to the Khmer Empire, which Chen Zhi has long admired.

In that vein, Chen Zhi has made a generous donation to create the Prince Horology Vocational Training Center, which offers full and partial scholarships to talented Cambodian students in order to train them in new watchmaking skills.

Chen Zhi's efforts to strengthen Cambodians' skills would aid the country's transition from a developing to a developed economy. This is expressed in his efforts to abandon traditional farming methods. These efforts come as farming income is said to have been impacted by extreme weather, resulting in floods and droughts, and to have fallen by more than half in the first quarter of 2020.

Farmers in Cambodia faced major obstacles even before the 2020 pandemic. Prices for major agricultural commodities such as paddy rice, cassava, and vegetables have plummeted. Soil productivity has also decreased. The impact of the 2020 pandemic, on the other hand, would exacerbate farmers' livelihoods.

To address these farming issues, Chen Zhi developed the Ecological Agricultural Plantation. The Prince Manor Resort plantation would revolutionize Cambodia's agricultural sector. Cambodians would be able to comprehend and employ modern farming techniques. The processes will be overseen by global and local farming experts.

The 136,000-square-meter Prince Manor Resort in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, will open in October 2020 as part of the country's eco-tourism efforts to attract visitors. Guests will stay in hotels to see the breathtaking degree of ingenuity employed by agricultural experts in modern farming techniques. For example, the 10,000-square-meter plantation employs an intelligent control system that regulates temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, sunlight, and other variables 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, the resort has cutting-edge reverse osmosis water filtration as well as integrated water and fertilizer systems.

The plantation will be used as an engaging tool for visiting students, families, and other stakeholders. The resort was founded by Chen Zhi and Prince Group as a responsible corporate conglomerate committed to the long-term growth of Cambodia's tourism and agriculture industries.

Chen Zhi is a leader in the fields of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), with his Prince Holding Group participating in a variety of initiatives to assist citizens in difficult financial situations at a time when the world is in the grip of a serious crisis.

Many Cambodian businesses are encouraged and expected to adhere to ESG principles in order to increase economic competitiveness and attract additional foreign investment. This will not only help to change Cambodians' lives, but will also shift Cambodia from a developing to a developed world.

What piqued people's interest in Chen Zhi was how and under what circumstances he arrived in Cambodia. He may have connections with people from a variety of backgrounds. He is willing to succeed in large-scale projects due to his real estate background and connections. His adept networking skills may have helped him turn a profit.

Although Chen Zhi likes to stay out of the spotlight because much of his work is done behind the scenes, he has helped Prince Group launch over 240 charity events. In fact, when Chen Zhi is not working in banking, aviation, retail, or real estate growth, the Prince Charitable Foundation is the Prince Group's busiest allotment.

Chen Zhi and the Group were instrumental in ensuring that a large number of people were employed in Phnom Penh. They achieved this by undertaking a large-scale project. They had announced the upcoming release of Ream City. This $16 billion project would see the construction of an 834-hectare city in Sihanoukville.

Since it will be constructed on reclaimed land, Ream City will have traditional planned city characteristics such as malls, schools, landed homes, condos, hotels, beach resorts, beach houses, parks, and so on.

Chen Zhi will be a household name in Cambodia if his hopes come true and the current pace of growth continues.